The Growing Stones

It's quite simple, really. If you get 'em wet, they start to grow, and brother, they grow fast! A rock the size of a brick will get 6 feet tall and double its diameter if you dump half a gallon of water on it. Then it falls over and breaks up and each piece will grow when it gets wet. Scary, eh?

No, you can't touch it! Not when it's wet anyway. It'll suck the minerals out of you and then you'll die. Terrible way to go. Now, once it's dry...see how it looks grey when dry, but greenish when wet...it's safe to touch.

Only place you'll find it is here in this crater. See, I figure a meteor crashed here a few thousand years ago and this stuff is unlike anything on earth. Yeah, right, good thing it's way out here in the outback. Still, it does get a bit of rain every couple of years. I figure this crater used to be twice as deep, but the stones are slowly filling it up. Another century or two and they'll start spilling out into the surrounding area. Things could get bad then, what with Kangaroo Creek only a couple of miles away.

Sure, sure, take a sample or two. Maybe you can figure out how to stop it. Me, I'm just gonna stay out here with my mine over yonder. Now let's have us a cup of joe...well away from those damned stones.