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Origins of Blarney Stone Revealed

Posted by samzenpus on from the origin-story dept.

sciencehabit writes "Kissing the Blarney Stone, which involves hanging upside down from the battlements of Blarney Castle near Cork in Ireland, is meant to bestow eloquence and persuasiveness. Such claims are not known to have been put to the test in a clinical trial, but then not much is known about the rock itself. Some say it is made of Welsh bluestone, the same material used to make the monoliths of Stonehenge. Others say it was cleaved from the Stone of Scone, which forms the coronation seat used by the kings and queens of Scotland and Great Britain for hundreds of years. Now, some light has finally been shed on the stone's mysterious origins by the chance find of a microscope slide in the Hunterian Museum of the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Analysis of the sample, which is cut thin enough to be transparent, by geologists at the museum reveals that it is not a bluestone, nor is it sandstone like the Stone of Scone. In fact, it is a 330-million-year-old carboniferous limestone typical of that corner of Ireland and contains fragments of fossilized brachiopod shells and bryozoans."

10 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I always laugh when i see idiots kiss the stone. When drunk, the locals have a habit of urinating on it.

    1. Re:In other news... by Scutter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you're going to let a little piss get in the way of your fun, you're in for a boring life.

      --

      "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
    2. Re:In other news... by careysub · · Score: 2

      That locals like to urinate on the Blarney Stone seems almost as well-known as kissing the Stone.

      In other words - you wouldn't catch me kissing it.

      At least the urine is sterile. The same cannot be said for the lips that are kissing it.

      --
      Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
  2. OBLG: Futurama by powerlord · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So according to The Fine Article ...

    Those who want to kiss the stone should basically go "Kiss Our Shiny Fossilized Asses"?

    --
    This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
  3. The Stone of Scone by Minwee · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not to be confused with the "Scone of Stone", which can be purchased at O'Callaghan's Deli down the road.

    1. Re:The Stone of Scone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Nor to be confused with the Scone of Stone, the famous dwarf bread upon which rests the authority of the Low King.

    2. Re:The Stone of Scone by MondoGordo · · Score: 2

      Oh come on ... modded Informative ? ... funny maybe but hardly informative.

    3. Re:The Stone of Scone by bmeiers · · Score: 2

      Ah, the O'Callaghan's scones. I'd almost forgotten about them. Thank you for this thoroughly informative comment.

  4. Re:How Do You Slice A Stone So Thin? by Spiridios · · Score: 2

    How do you slice a stone so thin that it becomes transparent? I have enough trouble with blocks of cheese.

    You start by cutting it into a thin, but not extremely thin, block. Then you grind away material until it's thin enough to transmit light. See Thin Sections.

  5. Re:Hogwash! by Immerman · · Score: 2

    Maybe, but how old was the clay he used?

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.