Vintage 1947 Lone Ranger Atomic Bomb Ring KIX Cereal
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:52865375 | Date of Creation: 1947 |
| Brand: General Mills KIX Cereal | Color: Multi-color |
In 1947, General Mills’ KiX cereal brand offered the Atomic “Bomb” Ring as a premium in exchange for 15 cents plus a cereal box top. Also known as the Lone Ranger Atomic Bomb Ring, it was a reflection of the public’s preoccupation with the power and potential of atomic energy at the time.The ring had an adjustable gold-coloured band with lightning-blast explosions on its sides. An aluminum warhead was mounted on top and contained a removable red plastic tailfin. The tailfin was... hollow, making it a hidden compartment for tiny secret messages.Removing the red base gave access to a “hidden atomic chamber”, a.k.a. a spinthariscope, in the warhead. Looking through the toy spinthariscope’s plastic lens while in a dark room revealed flashes of light. These scintillations were the by-product of an interaction of radioisotopes caused by polonium alpha particles striking the ring’s zinc sulfide screen.While infusing minute traces of radioactive material into a kid’s toy wouldn’t fly today, advertisements for the ring assured that it was “perfectly safe” and contained “harmless” atomic elements. The minute traces of Polonium-210 in the spinthariscope had a half-life of about 140 days, meaning that any Atomic Bomb Rings still in existence today can no longer produce visible scintillations.YOU ARE NOT RECEIVING THE AD SHOWN IN THE LAST PHOTO ABOVE--THAT IS JUST TO SHOW YOU HOW THIS RING WAS ORIGINALLY ADVERTISEDPlease examine all photos carefully because they are pictures of exactly what you are receiving--if you have any questions please ask before purchasing.
