6 ms·

That's cool and all but ... what's the point? What do you do with these rocks afterwords?

debo_ 1y ago
I have several children in my life who are going through a shiny objects phase. I ask them to give me rocks that they like, and then I tumble those rocks for them. They really seem to like it.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
photonthug 1y ago
Most people do this so that they can eat the rocks afterward. They are shiny and very nutritious, and it strengthens the teeth. It's normal for some teeth to break off during this phase, but a) you already have colorful rocks to replace the teeth with, and b) old broken teeth can now be placed inside the tumbler for smoothing. 9/10 geologists agree that unsmoothed teeth that aren't made of rock are the number one cause of oral hygiene problems
- lossyalgo 1y ago
  +1 can confirm. Also the best rock candy is made with actual rocks.
  - DonHopkins 1y ago
    You can train the smart ones [1], and even wirelessly remotely control them with a mobile app [2], as long as you restrict yourself to commanding them to do things they were going to do anyway, just like cats. Kudos to the Stoned Republicans of the High Frontier Panel and The Heritage Foundation for their groundbreaking earth shattering work on Smart Rocks! [1] Brilliant Pebbles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Pebbles#Smart_Rocks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Pebbles#Smart_Rocks >In March 1988, Teller and Wood were able to directly brief President Reagan on the concept, taking the model pebble with them and theatrically hiding it under a black cloth when reporters were allowed to take pictures. Teller reiterated that the price for the system would be on the order of $10 billion. Photographic proof (not AI generated): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brilliant_Pebbles_presentation.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brilliant_Pebbles_present... [2] Pet Rock Remote Control: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG0FAKkaisg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG0FAKkaisg Featuring my Finger Flicking Pocket PC Pie Menus!
- sumnole 1y ago
  Halite is my favorite. I grind it up and put it in everything.
  - Balgair 1y ago
    It's so rare though! Mars has a lot, but Earth has like only a handful of places. Use the artificial stuff instead, much cheaper!
- hagbard_c 1y ago
  This must be the first true troll to ever land on this site, freshly escaped from Discworld. For those who don't understand I'd just point at the dietary habits of Discworld trolls.
j4coh 1y ago
As best I can tell you can’t even properly monetise this or get VC funding. Seems like a waste of effort.
- noir_lord 1y ago
  Indeed spending time on things that bring you pleasure but other people may not understand isn't part of that grind mindset, if you aren't grinding you should be sleeping and honestly if you are sleeping a healthy amount you aren't grinding enough. Or something - "because I find it enjoyable" is a perfectly self contained reason as long as you aren't hurting anyone else (or yourself).
  - conorh 1y ago
    I really appreciate the grinding puns in this comment.
  - ternus 1y ago
    > If you are sleeping a healthy amount you aren't grinding enough Unless you build a soundproof box for your rock tumbling - then you can run it 24/7.
- Nition 1y ago
  Gronk think, did man become so obsess with grindset that even forget like shiny rock? Even word based on grind stone. Once was, whole economy based on like shiny rock! Special ritual, give shiny rock for marry girl. Human like shiny rock seem very basic thing. Gronk wonder... what we become?
- kjs3 1y ago
  Maybe if you rub some AI on it in your pitch deck it could be acceptable to the HN peanut gallery.
jdlshore 1y ago
People like the way they look and feel, and I imagine they get some satisfaction out of having turned a rough rock into something beautiful. They put them in their house where they can admire them, and others can admire them. Many are probably given away as gifts. Some might be used to create larger works of art, such as earrings or other jewelry.
RebeccaTheDev 1y ago
I mean, it's a hobby? It doesn't necessarily have to have a point other than to enrich your existence.
steve_adams_86 1y ago
My son and I get a kick out of it. For a while he was selling them on the street outside our town home, and that was absurdly lucrative for him. He has made around $200 so far. I'm pretty sure it's because he's cute. In any case, it's just a fun thing to do and experiment with, learn, and explore. I've also thrown a bunch into an aquarium as 'river stones', because it's illegal to take them from rivers here and buying them is way too expensive. Those are just bland, small pieces of dark granite to simulate the environment the aquarium is modeled after.
andai 1y ago
Is shiny!
sunrunner 1y ago
No, they're minerals! Jesus teiferer, I've got some geodes coming that are very delicate, alright?
xpe 1y ago
After carefully weighing, cataloging, chanting, and valuation, the custom is to skip them into river of their birth. (This is why river rocks are so smooth.)
ofalkaed 1y ago
Lots of people use the end result in some other hobby like jewelry or other crafts. The stores here that cater to tourists are filled with things made from/with local tumbled stones, mostly agate. I considered getting one for a mancala set but we have a lot of rocky shoreline and river beds, finding well enough polished stones in the required shape/size is not all the difficult.

I have several children in my life who are going through a shiny objects phase. I ask them to give me rocks that they like, and then I tumble those rocks for them. They really seem to like it.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

photonthug 1y ago

Most people do this so that they can eat the rocks afterward. They are shiny and very nutritious, and it strengthens the teeth. It's normal for some teeth to break off during this phase, but a) you already have colorful rocks to replace the teeth with, and b) old broken teeth can now be placed inside the tumbler for smoothing. 9/10 geologists agree that unsmoothed teeth that aren't made of rock are the number one cause of oral hygiene problems

lossyalgo 1y ago
+1 can confirm. Also the best rock candy is made with actual rocks.
- DonHopkins 1y ago
  You can train the smart ones [1], and even wirelessly remotely control them with a mobile app [2], as long as you restrict yourself to commanding them to do things they were going to do anyway, just like cats. Kudos to the Stoned Republicans of the High Frontier Panel and The Heritage Foundation for their groundbreaking earth shattering work on Smart Rocks! [1] Brilliant Pebbles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Pebbles#Smart_Rocks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Pebbles#Smart_Rocks >In March 1988, Teller and Wood were able to directly brief President Reagan on the concept, taking the model pebble with them and theatrically hiding it under a black cloth when reporters were allowed to take pictures. Teller reiterated that the price for the system would be on the order of $10 billion. Photographic proof (not AI generated): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brilliant_Pebbles_presentation.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brilliant_Pebbles_present... [2] Pet Rock Remote Control: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG0FAKkaisg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG0FAKkaisg Featuring my Finger Flicking Pocket PC Pie Menus!
sumnole 1y ago
Halite is my favorite. I grind it up and put it in everything.
- Balgair 1y ago
  It's so rare though! Mars has a lot, but Earth has like only a handful of places. Use the artificial stuff instead, much cheaper!
hagbard_c 1y ago
This must be the first true troll to ever land on this site, freshly escaped from Discworld. For those who don't understand I'd just point at the dietary habits of Discworld trolls.

j4coh 1y ago

As best I can tell you can’t even properly monetise this or get VC funding. Seems like a waste of effort.

noir_lord 1y ago
Indeed spending time on things that bring you pleasure but other people may not understand isn't part of that grind mindset, if you aren't grinding you should be sleeping and honestly if you are sleeping a healthy amount you aren't grinding enough. Or something - "because I find it enjoyable" is a perfectly self contained reason as long as you aren't hurting anyone else (or yourself).
- conorh 1y ago
  I really appreciate the grinding puns in this comment.
- ternus 1y ago
  > If you are sleeping a healthy amount you aren't grinding enough Unless you build a soundproof box for your rock tumbling - then you can run it 24/7.
Nition 1y ago
Gronk think, did man become so obsess with grindset that even forget like shiny rock? Even word based on grind stone. Once was, whole economy based on like shiny rock! Special ritual, give shiny rock for marry girl. Human like shiny rock seem very basic thing. Gronk wonder... what we become?
kjs3 1y ago
Maybe if you rub some AI on it in your pitch deck it could be acceptable to the HN peanut gallery.

jdlshore 1y ago

People like the way they look and feel, and I imagine they get some satisfaction out of having turned a rough rock into something beautiful. They put them in their house where they can admire them, and others can admire them. Many are probably given away as gifts. Some might be used to create larger works of art, such as earrings or other jewelry.

RebeccaTheDev 1y ago

I mean, it's a hobby? It doesn't necessarily have to have a point other than to enrich your existence.

steve_adams_86 1y ago

My son and I get a kick out of it. For a while he was selling them on the street outside our town home, and that was absurdly lucrative for him. He has made around $200 so far. I'm pretty sure it's because he's cute. In any case, it's just a fun thing to do and experiment with, learn, and explore. I've also thrown a bunch into an aquarium as 'river stones', because it's illegal to take them from rivers here and buying them is way too expensive. Those are just bland, small pieces of dark granite to simulate the environment the aquarium is modeled after.

andai 1y ago

Is shiny!

sunrunner 1y ago

No, they're minerals! Jesus teiferer, I've got some geodes coming that are very delicate, alright?

xpe 1y ago

After carefully weighing, cataloging, chanting, and valuation, the custom is to skip them into river of their birth. (This is why river rocks are so smooth.)

ofalkaed 1y ago

Lots of people use the end result in some other hobby like jewelry or other crafts. The stores here that cater to tourists are filled with things made from/with local tumbled stones, mostly agate. I considered getting one for a mancala set but we have a lot of rocky shoreline and river beds, finding well enough polished stones in the required shape/size is not all the difficult.