F is for Flint

Flint is opaque and brown or black.  It’s the most common of silicates.  In the Stone Age people used flint to make tools.  If skilled at using flint one can make axes, arrowheads and other tools.  Use caution as it does flake and break easily.

Flint arrow head

Raw flint

Another piece of raw flint

Tinder boxes and early guns had flint to produce a spark.

Sometimes flint is used in buildings.  In East Anglia in England there’s no other building material.  Flint doesn’t wear as it’s hard, so using it makes it almost impossible to tell the age of buildings in Norwich where it’s a common building material.  Sometimes it’s mixed with other stones and rubble.

A building with pieces of flint on the front

And this is the coveted item everyone wants in the television show Survivor and is usually the first thing they get if they win a challenge.  Fire is essential in order to cook food and boil water.  I’m a big Survivor fan and have watched every episode since the show started in May 2000.