I am a Rock Licker!

This is a hard post for me to write, because I'm admitting publicly to something I'm not very proud of. But when I'm rockhounding on the shores of Lake Superior and I find a particularly interesting rock, sometimes, not all the time, but definitely sometimes, I lick it!

So why on earth, you may ask, do I lick rocks? Well, to me the answer is obvious - to see what they look like wet. I never lick wet rocks that have just been pulled from the edge of the lake. I only lick dry rocks pulled from the rubble on the beach. And of course this does not apply to all rocks. It only applies to the interesting dry rocks I find in the rubble.

What makes a rock interesting enough for me to want to lick it? The detailed answer to that question is a post for another day. But the simple answer is, sometimes when a rock is dry, it can be hard to identify its unique characteristics. By licking it, I can quickly and efficiently see if it has any of the special signs I'm looking for.

Perhaps you're thinking that since I'm literally on the shore of the world's largest freshwater lake, wouldn't it make more sense to bring the dry rock to the lake and dip it in? Yes, it might make sense, but it would also take up far too much of my precious picking time. And it would be harder on my back and knees. And it's just not as much fun. And above all else, rockhounding should be fun.