XRF

X-ray Fluorescence. That's what that means. Basically it is an X-ray that can tell us what something is. Helpful in this case as it will tell us that a taxidermy specimen has been treated with arsenic, mercury or lead, which are the most concerning elements. It can tell you other things, but today we were concerned mostly of this aforementioned three.

Taxidermy was treated with any of these three elements for the following reasons:
- pest prevention
- skin treatment
- painted elements

Obviously there are other reasons, but these are the main ones.

This is my colleague Lu using the handheld XRF on her monkey, Barbara. Lu is possibly the smartest person ever, and yet the humblest. I strive to one day be like Lu. She's a little bit super woman, a little bit Einstein, and a whole lot of the greatest!