, 9 tweets, 5 min read Read on Twitter
I promised I’d be nice to #quartz this year.

It’s a perfectly adequate collection of silicate tetrahedrals. Whoo. Go quartz.

Don’t mind that #serpentine is a pettable green delight named for serpents. Quartz is fine.
My personal preference is that if I’m going to learn about a mineral, I want to be able to identify it when I stumble on it in the wild.

I want the joy of knowing what I have & to be absolutely confident I didn’t get confused. #Serpentine makes ID easy.

But that’s just me.
Like any good danger noodle, #serpentine requires an ounce of common sense to work with it safely.

Namely, don’t huff or lick chrysotile, but if you do, expect to die ~20 years later if something else doesn’t kill you first.

#Quartz doesn’t require common sense. Yay quartz.
#Serpentine is happy to substitute in when taste exceeds budget.

Want green marble counters? Jade jewelry? Serpentines will look similar, are easier to work with, & are far cheaper.

#Quartz is totally not being deceptive when marketed as herkimer diamonds.
#Serpentine is green (sometimes yellow; rarely white, grey, brown, black, purple) & usually opaque (sometimes translucent). Yellows fluoresce cream.

It feels greasy, waxy, or silky, & are elastic-bendy.

All serpentines are soft (2-5, fingernail to glass) & light (2.5-3.2).
#Quartz is... uh, it’s hard but not too hard? And any colour.

If you leave it alone in perfect conditions, it grows as hexagonal pointy crystals.
& if you smash it, it glows.

Um.
It’s plentiful at Earth’s land surface! Statistically, that rock near you is probably quartz.
#Serpentine soils are harsh with a lack of key minerals & excess heavy metals. Plants that do well are typically stunted, have grey-green leaves, & are sometimes carnivorous.

Serpentine soils also grow amazing wine. No serpentine? No California or West Australia wines.
#Quartz makes nice sand grains. If you grind a lot of quartz into just the right size grain, beaches will squeak at you when you walk on them.

Friendly Beach, Tasmania squeaks very nicely. It’s cute.

Quartz sand fails as smooth flowing landslides that can be pretty.
Serpentines are the pettable green minerals you just can’t keep from stroking fondly, while quartz is probably that rock over there near you.

Vote crystal sneks. Vote delicious wine. Vote rocks you can pet (but not lick!). Vote #serpentine!

Go #quartz.
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Mika McKinnon
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!