I’d give laser pointers to Neanderthals. Even if they did figure out some useful application for them (maybe hunting?) they’d run out of batteries eventually.
I’d give laser pointers to Neanderthals. Even if they did figure out some useful application for them (maybe hunting?) they’d run out of batteries eventually.
A bottle with a highly concentrated solution of polonium, radium, plutonium or anything spicy and ionizing.
Preferably coupled with something that glows nicely, like ZnS. Just pick a suitable fluorescent dye and make it blue or green for bonus points.
I’m reminded of the real-life Brazilian scavengers that found some medical cesium, and decided to do body paint with their kids. :(
I can imagine the body paint story ended badly… No need to look up the facts with an introduction like that.
Wasn’t there also a Russian RTG core that was so hot it would melt the snow around it? Some scavengers found it, and got immediately blasted with a lethal does of radiation—as you would expect.
With this post, OP was clearly aiming for a minor annoyance or a frustrating little prank, but that story just gave me an idea that goes a fair bit beyond that… More like diabolical malice, but here goes anyway.
Sending one of those plutonium cores back in time to the neanderthals would be a pretty good candidate too. It doesn’t really glow, which is a bummer, but it has other “magical” properties to compensate. The heat might still attract them to it, and the intense radiation would kill them within a day or two. If they somehow manage to touch the plutonium itself—a feat worthy of recognition—they could also experience its toxicity.
Interesting, I hadn’t heard about that one. A little bit more caution around the mysteriously steaming machine would have been wise, even if you don’t know about radiation - they didn’t just get close, but made camp around it, and possibly wore it while working.
The RTG in the accident was using Strontium-90; weapons-grade plutonium is actually not super lethal to handle, FYI. It’s mainly an alpha emitter, so a good pair of gloves is enough. Unless you eat it. Then you’re dead, same as Polonium.