Fukushima Flintstone

c. 2400-2500 C.E.

Fukushima, Japan

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Small lead box (approx. 60x60x18 mm) containing a rare piece of Fukushima Furintosutōn (Fukushima Flintstone).

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Fukushima Flint, has only been found on the site of a breast implant factory, next to the ill-fated Fukushima nuclear plant that suffered an unfortunate series of disasters leading up to the huge explosion of 2134 that dwarfed the 20th-century Chernobyl disaster.

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Fukushima Flintsone became popular from 2360 C.E.,  when extreme societal risk aversion led to illicit ‘risk markets’ being formed. Risk leisure ranged from eating high salt and fat content foods, and consuming excess alcohol at the milder end of risk scales,  through to high dose Fugu-tasting events and the wearing of radioactive gemstones. It was argued that this strange market emerged as 'nanny state safety’, and was increasingly widespread as insurance premiums on all aspects of people’s lives produced a kind of societal numbing. The exploitation of personal data by a range of industries is considered to have been a contributing factor.

 

The wearing of knapped or cut stones was an elite form of ‘risk wealth’ display, risk being a valuable status symbol of the extremely wealthy. Owners of the stones would only wear them for a maximum of thirty minutes over lead woven and rubber composite garments and take iodine tablets for a week before and after wearing. They would usually be accompanied by security guards to amplify the spectacle of already considerable risk.

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The craftspeople who worked with these gems were paid huge sums of money, and would only be able to produce four or five stones during their lifetimes, which is why the quality of the stones is so varied.

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