MORONIC ATOMIC MINI-MICRO No. 1 Traditional Cache

The spurious history bit: Thomas de Foy isn't a well known name but he was a major made-up figure in the early years of nuclear research. Inspired by Newton's experiments in splitting light into it's component spectra, Thomas theorised that you could do the same with matter, which he speculated was 'condensed light'. After many years of research he came up with the idea that all materials are made up from a basic building block which he called 'Gleep'. He described Gleep as being 'not unlike a holey cheese from the continent. Yet not as smelly'. By bombarding soft cheese with salty peanuts he actually managed to dent an atom. It would be many years before an atom was actually split. The cache is located very close to where Thomas spontaneously combusted in 1748. The world's first atomic pile had been built by him close-by in 1719. Indeed the very word pile comes from this mound of earth and cement (which can still be seen) that was used to shield the reactor*.

Practical advice: The mini-micro you are looking for measures a mere 20mm x 6mm x 6mm and contains a very small log. Please leave just your initials and please bring your own pen! Sadly Oxford has something of a drugs problem, and although I've tried to avoid any trouble spots I'd not recommend sticking your hand anywhere without seeing what you're aiming for. So, if you need to poke anywhere, use your pen!

Things to see on your search

The other caches in this tiny seies are MORONIC ATOMIC MINI-MICRO No. 2 and MORONIC ATOMIC MINI-MICRO No. 3. While you're in the area, I suggest you try Dan & my Punters' series of caches or 2202's University Challenge caches. They both start within easy walking distance.

A small experiment - Please feel free to rate your visit to this cache out of ten in your log.

*You want real history? Buy a history book! :-P Oh all right, feel free to use this link to discover all about early atomic research in Oxfordshire and the amazing story of 'GLEEP'.