You know, I'm not actually a historian. Or a comic book artist. I have an appreciation of history, and a degree in Fine Art with a concentration in painting. I work for a nonprofit, researching and appraising antiques and collectibles. Most of it is standard stuff, but I get some strange items now and again. Have you ever seen a gorilla-hair coat? With sparse, black hair, it looks disturbingly like human scalps. How about a pickled shark in a jar? Did you know than many antique pianos have keys made from elephant ivory, and innards made from gold? Don't get me started on the number of radioactive items...did you know, before they realized the long-term ill effects of radiation, radium water was a health cure and uranium was used to color glass and pottery? Museum of Quackery has more on radium cures.
Google Red Fiestaware or Vaseline Glass for more about uranium glass and pottery. They are not radioactive enough to glow in the dark, but they will register on a Geiger counter, and have a telltale glow under ultraviolet light.
Things I have not seen that I hope to run across someday include a radium-water crock and a crown of feathers. Um, solar panels would be nice but I'm not asking for miracles.
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