My cousin thought my petrified wood was just a weird piece of firewood

Last summer at a family cookout in Boise, I brought a nice piece of petrified wood I found on a hike. My cousin Mike picked it up, turned it over, and asked if I was going to throw it on the grill. He genuinely thought it was just a heavy, weird log. I told him it was over 50 million years old, and he just stared at it and said, 'So, it's a rock that used to be a tree? That's the dumbest magic trick ever.' I had to explain the whole silica replacement process while he held a hot dog. Has anyone else had to defend a cool rock from being used as a barbecue accessory?

4 comments

4 Comments

henry_anderson541mo ago

Used to think rocks were boring until I found some myself.

dianawilson1mo ago

My cousin has a whole basement full of rocks he collected. I always thought that was the weirdest hobby. But then I held a piece of obsidian he found, and it was like holding glass made by a volcano.

dylanwells1mo ago

Totally get that, obsidian is wild stuff. I picked up a piece on a hike once and just stared at it for ten minutes. It's crazy how something so simple can feel so special.

abbyhall5d ago

Picked up a piece of obsidian at a flea market once for two bucks. Turned out it was just really dark glass from an old bottle factory. Still have it on my windowsill though, reminds me not to trust everything shiny.