Polonium isn't something you mix up in your garage by cooking cold tablets containing pseudo-ephedrine. According to one source only about 100 grams are made worldwide annually - about two-tenths of a pound.
Although it is extremely toxic, a tiny amount of polonium is available for purchase by you, or me, or Vladimir Putin (if he uses a fake US address) from an outfit in New Mexico known as United Nuclear Scientific Supplies, LLC for $69.
United Nuclear's webpage states (I suh-wear this is true): "The sole purpose of United Nuclear Scientific Supplies, LLC is to put the "fun" back into science."
NEW TOPIC: The award for the dumbest spam has to go to the dopes who sent this to me yesterday:
From: PayPaI (sic)
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Re: New email added to your account
Dear Customer, You or some other person have added a new email address [carlos78@comcast.net] to your PayPaI account. If you don't agree and want to change this email or you need assistance with your account, click the link, modify and save your profile. www.mgimmensee.ch/paypal...
A. Pay Pal would not send me an e-mail addressed to undisclosed-recipients.
B. Did they think I wouldn't notice that the link ends in ".ch" which is the two-country Internet code for Switzerland when Pay Pal is located in San Jose, California?
I'll have the tuna sashimi, please.
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: Definitions of half-life and atomic number; a link to a periodic chart of the elements and to United Scientific's web site. Two photos of objects in space, one from my back window, the other from the Hubble.