Woman Loves ‘Favorite’ Plate—Until She Looks Closer: ‘Scary’
A simple household favorite became a source of unease when its true composition came to light.
Reddit user DominaPulla shared a photo this week of what she called her “favorite” sandwich plate that she discovered was made of “uranium glass.”
The original poster (OP), a 31-year-old woman, wrote: “I got two of these in a stack of plates from my mom who was cleaning out her stuff–I’ve been using these for a couple years.”
The photo shows what appears to be a light shining on the plate, making it have a neon green glow.
Uranium glass was commonly produced from the late 19th century through the early 20th century when manufacturers added small amounts of uranium oxide to glass to create bright yellow or green tones.
‘Like eating lead’
Much of the discussion centered on whether the plate posed any real danger. Several Reddit contributors focused on the type of radiation involved and how exposure occurs.
“Yaa, I don’t get it either, its mostly alpha decay so unless you grind it up and swallow the glass, it will do nothing to you,” one pundit reassured.
Another addressed both radiation and toxicity saying, “Uranium-238 might as well be stable. The half-life is in the billions of years. However, yes if you eat it, it’s extremely toxic.
“Your body thinks it’s iron and it’s not iron. It’s a lot like eating lead.”
Meanwhile, others pointed out that everyday exposure from intact uranium glass is minimal.
“You’re fine,” another Reddit contributor offered.
“Uranium glass emits a very low level of radiation. Basically on par with natural background radiation.”
A fellow commentator chipped in: “That’s why the scratches on the plate are scary. I don’t want alpha decay lodged in my upper intestine for years on end.”
In a comment, the OP provided some further information saying “I know its harmless roughly, but good practice would be to put it away for display instead, just for good measure.
“However, this sucks because its my favorite plate and it’s bummin’ me out that I cant use my favorite plate anymore without thinking about the pickles and hot sauce that touch it becoming radioactive no matter how irrational that is.”
Other Viral Radioactive Household Objects
Reporting from Newsweek supports many of the explanations shared in the thread.
Newsweek covered a viral TikTok video where a collector revealed the exact shade of crockery to look out for in your kitchen—as it could be radioactive.
The bright crockery shown in the video is from a Fiesta Tableware Company dinner collection, which has launched 52 colors since 1936, according to its website.
The collector showed the plate online, saying: “This Fiestaware is probably the most active sample I have. It’s radioactive because it was painted with a uranium-based glaze, to give it that rich orange color.
“The dish was mostly popular from the 1930s to the 1970s. People were unaware of the side effects of eating out of uranium dinnerware.”
Newsweek has reached out to DominaPulla for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.
