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[edit: Changed over to make it a general thread about unusual rocks, etc.]
Strange 'Polo' rock from Texas
http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_2975458,00.html
I do doubt the most common rocks are fossils and agate or I'm visiting
Emps
Strange 'Polo' rock from Texas
Mystery Rock
Local man's odd find has experts perplexed
By Brye Butler / Reporter-News Staff Writer
June 19, 2004
Kevin Oliver said he's sure he doesn't have rocks in his head.
He does, however, have a big one in his living room. It's brown, weighs some 40 pounds and is hollow in a few places. Oliver said he thinks it's worth big bucks.
''This is no ordinary rock,'' he said.
At a glance, local geology buffs haven't been able to identify the rock Oliver came across while clearing underbrush on property in north Abilene.
''It's about to drive me crazy,'' Oliver said. ''I want to find out what it is.''
Months ago, ''I picked this thing on up and I thought, 'What the ... ''' Oliver said.
Because the rock looked so odd, Oliver said, he took it home and hosed it off. It's smooth but not perfectly round and about a foot and a half in diameter.
Oliver said he took it to the geology departments at Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University.
Professor Richard Schofield said that in his 22 years with McMurry's geology department, he's never seen anything like it.
In looking at the rock, he couldn't determine its composition, age or origin. Its partial hollowness could be from weathering, Schofield said.
As for its value, Schofield said, ''It could be nothing, but I can't say with any certainty.''
He suggested Oliver send the rock to Texas A&M University, where staff could cut a sample to study.
Charles Lightfoot, a longtime member of the Central Texas Gem and Mineral Society, said the most common rocks in the Abilene area are fossils and agate, a striped gemstone.
''It's hard to say what he found,'' Lightfoot said without having seen Oliver's rock.
A diamond in the rough, Oliver likes to think.
http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_2975458,00.html
I do doubt the most common rocks are fossils and agate or I'm visiting
Emps