Geiger Counter Encounter

I made my usual Sunday pilgrimage to the VofA this morning but it wasn't a stellar junking trip and I only came home with a couple of glass tops. I was hoping one of them would fit my largest terrarium and it did fit perfectly so the trip wasn't a bust.
Junking is total relaxation to me and really clears my mind. This was an especially brutal week at the office, including Saturday, so I really needed some rest and relaxation today.
The husband had a bicycle ride planned and then bicycle store-hoping with his buddies afterwards so I decided to take the "alone time" and roam around in the world a little myself. I decided to hit a couple of antique malls in a little berg nearby that I hadn't visited in ages. Sorry the picture is so dark! In the first shop I got some great old postcards, lace, rhinestone jewelry, buttons, rayon bias tape, an 1888 crochet book and all those gold things are actually stacks of gold stickers. They had lots of little bits and bobs so it was great fun to "excavate" for treasures!

The second shop (right next door!) was priced much higher and I only picked up a couple trinkets. The best thing I got there was a good story...

This couple walks in and goes straight to the front counter and they pull a large orange Fiesta ware tray out of a paper bag and demand their money back. The clerk politely pointed to a sign saying all sales are final. At that point, okay get ready, the guy pulls out a GEIGER COUNTER and points it at the plate. Well the Geiger counter goes off in a beeping racket, just like in the movies and the guy starts going off on the poor clerk that this tray is radioactive and it's illegal to sell things that are radioactive and on and on. The poor clerk was taking it all in stride pretty well considering the place was packed with customers and the Geiger counter was, well, going pretty berserk. They eventually took their plate and their receipt and left with the understanding that the clerk would contact the proprietor of the booth it came from and give her their number. Once they left I complimented the clerk on keeping her cool in an unusual situation and said I'm pretty sure most people who collect vintage are aware that some Fiesta ware used uranium in the glaze and you shouldn't eat off it. Or sleep with it under your pillow.

But it left me pondering... who has a Geiger counter at their house for crying out loud and I wonder if we should be worried about some wacko-o amassing an enormous collection of Fiesta ware dishes. That Geiger counter sounded just like the ones in the movies.