Wow! Those New Countertops are RadioACTIVE!

Here is one way to impress your neighbor. Or kill your children. Or scare you.
The NYTimes, a few weeks back, ran this story about radioactive gases trapped in granite counter tops.

I didn't realize, or refused to believe, that the new york times was now running "scare the shit out of you" stories in an attempt to boost circulation.

[Dr. Sugarman, a pediatrician] stopped in his tracks in the kitchen, which had richly grained cream, brown and burgundy granite countertops. His Geiger counter indicated that the granite was emitting radiation at levels 10 times higher than those he had measured elsewhere in the house.

“My first thought was, my pregnant daughter was coming for the weekend,” Dr. Sugarman said. When the technician told her to keep her daughter several feet from the countertops just to be safe, she said, “I had them ripped out that very day,” and sent to the state Department of Health for analysis. The granite, it turned out, contained high levels of uranium, which is not only radioactive but releases radon gas as it decays. (nytimes)

So, I'm not sure which is a bigger sign of the coming apocalypse. That your counter may be radio active, that the new york times is printing this crap, or that we eat these stories up like candy. All I know is that I've just got to get me one of those geiger counter things. Who knows what might be radioactive in my house. I hope not this, it already scares the shit out of me.