xkcd #3131: Cesium

Title text:

Someday I hope to find a way to mess up a recipe so badly that it draws the attention of the International Air Transport Association, the International Mathematical Olympiad, or the NSA.

Transcript:

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Source: https://xkcd.com/3131/

explainxkcd for #3131

326 points · 14 comments · view on lemmy.world

14 Comments

peoplebeproblems@midwest.social · 61 pts · 1y (7 replies)

Holy shit it was cesium-137?

It can be found in natural U-238, but otherwise it's produced in nuclear fission. Stupid radioactive, and has a halflife in your body of like 70 days.

People who consumed this will be at a higher risk of cancer.

How the fuck did shrimp get contaminated with Cesium-137? Did they have like an X-ray machine radiation source blow up over a batch?

fahfahfahfah@lemmy.billiam.net · 58 pts · 1y (5 replies)

Apparently the shipping containers themselves were contaminated. The shrimp itself wasn’t detected to be radioactive but they’re recalling it anyways out of caution.

peoplebeproblems@midwest.social · 27 pts · 1y (3 replies)

That makes sense, but it's weird that the shipping containers were contaminated unless they were shipping nuclear waste or unsafe radiological sources...

Bubs@lemmy.zip · 28 pts · 1y

Best guess I heard was broken medical equipment leaked cesium

ayyy@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 1y

Smuggling and clandestine military operations with zero regard for public safety are more common than you’d think, because when things go wrong nobody gets punished.

_stranger_@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 1y

I'm sure they hosed it out before piping in the shrimp.

ryannathans@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 1y

This needs to be higher

ikidd@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1y

[ removed ]

squaresinger@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 1y

It's not often that a news story makes it into an xkcd.

EvilEdgelord@sh.itjust.works · 24 pts · 1y (3 replies)

Live reaction from Schrödinger's cat: