The “Glowbody” Minnow marketed by Abbey & Imbrie in their centennial year, 1920, will be glowing long after I and all who are reading this are six foot under. The “permanently luminous material” used inside the crystal body is made from radium. Radium is said to have a half-life of over l600 years, so the term “permanent” works for me! Half-life is a complicated formula that requires someone who paid a lot closer attention in algebra class than I did, but trust me, it’s a really long time!
The tube of radium inside was described as having “every appearance of a wrigling worm”. Wait, I thought this was supposed to be a minnow. Hold on; the description goes on to say that, “The “Glowbody” Minnow has nickel-plated head and tail, with fins and propeller”. Ok, is this a minnow with a glow worm inside? Well, whatever this lure was supposed to mimic is a little unclear, but one thing is for sure, the body certainly still glows as spelled out on the box label. Speaking of the box label, they really should have used a spell-checker before it went to the printer. Every time I read it, I swear I find another mistake! And I sure hope I never drop and break this thing. I’d really hate to have to call a hazmat team to come clean up and properly dispose of it…
If you have any questions/comments, Elissa Ruddick can be reached at elissaruddick AT aol DOT com.
-- Elissa Ruddick
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