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You can collect everything. Whether it's beer mats, stamps or porcelain figurines, it's less about the value than the personal memory. The story behind the thing makes it unique. If you look around scientists' offices, you will find - regardless of the messy desk - that some researchers have name tags (badges in modern German) on colorful ribbons here and there. Often they are simply hung over desk lamps, occasionally they can be found on pinboards or elsewhere in the room. The name tags, including the plastic cover and wide ribbons with the advertising inscriptions, are worthless in and of themselves. Nevertheless, they “tell” about congresses and meetings. They are real evidence of participation, true to the motto “Look, I was there!”, and are a part of your personal career. In many cases, conference participation, lectures – in the best case keynote lectures – and poster presentations are listed in CVs.
The giveaways that are distributed at such meetings are significantly rarer because they are more diverse, bulkier and often less presentable. Such things are rarely collected. In many cases, these gifts don't even "see" the recipient's homeland; They are forgotten or not even taken with them. These things have collectible potential, based on the motto of Bill Ramsey's hit souvenirs. A small selection is presented here, some of which “tell” unusual science stories.
To start in Vienna, a look at the year 2008, when the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) pitched its tents for the fourth time in a row at the Vienna Austria Center from April 13th to 18th. In 2006, the graphic designer Angie Rattay did a "Instructions for Planet Earth" as her diploma thesis at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, i.e. at the Angewandte. On the 13th/14th September 2007 the STANDARD (RONDO) reported under the title "Keep within reach of children!" about it.
A little later, Gerald Ganssen (Amsterdam), then President of the EGU, found out about their work. Based on a medicine box, it contained four leaflets for the atmosphere, bio-, hydro- and lithosphere and pedosphere. When he had the instructions for use in his hands, he gave the participants of the 2008 general meeting each a pack of “Planet Earth – Directions for Use”. Rattay's work was translated into English and, along with the logo, was given the following statement: "EGU cares...". Ganssen's statement to the question "Geology is...?" was unmistakable: "Geosciences is responsibility!" This fit well with the EGU's vision ("Our vision is to realize a sustainable and just future for humanity and for the planet"). In addition to the conference program and abstracts on CD, the 8,685 participants at the conference also received “a little box” (quote from Ganssen). Not everyone knew what to do with it. On April 16th, Angie Rattay presented her project to the plenary session. "We are now here to bring some light into the darkness!"
From today's perspective, this give-away would be one of many eco-initiatives; it made headlines in 2008. To put the timing in perspective: Ten more years had to pass before the then 15-year-old Greta Thunberg drew attention to the situation on planet Earth with her “Skolstrejk för klimatet” (“School strike for the climate”) in August 2018. Conclusion: The “instruction information” was ahead of its time, visionary and trend-setting.
To stay with the general assembly of the EGU, which had an incredible 18,334 participants in April 2024 and is therefore one of the mega congresses, a look at the years 2014 and 2015, when Günter BLöschl was president. In 2014, the general meeting took place from April 27th to May 2nd - again in Vienna. April 26th marked the hundredth anniversary of the death of the famous geologist Eduard Suess, whose main work The Face of the Earth was translated into several languages during his lifetime. Blöschl took advantage of this constellation. For the first time, the EGU was given a conference motto: “The Face of the Earth”. Thematically, the focus was again on the earth's spheres, which were first mentioned by Suess (1875: page 158f) (lithosphere, hydro-atmosphere and biosphere). The 12,437 participants in 2014 received an opulent, magnificent volume, The Face of the Earth - The Legacy of Eduard Suess, from Edition Lammerhuber in a 24.5 × 30.2 cm format. In terms of content, the wide range of Suess' work was presented here based on original quotes and brilliant images. In a word: a highly representative and informative give-away.
But that's not enough. The participants were not only given gifts, under the motto “Bring your own rock” they were also asked to bring a piece of rock (“The stone should not be larger than 12 x 12 x 12 cm”). With a pin on a world map, locations and thus the earth's rock diversity were visualized as a work of art. Today this unique rock collection is located in the foyer of GeoSphere Austria. The 2014 EGU conference was unique in two senses thanks to gifts from the organizers (book) and from the participants (rock sample).
I have had a dark blue lemon squeezer in my library since 2011. The hard plastic design in the shape of a stylish paper boat makes it a serious candidate for successful design. The labeling is sparse: "DS3F". The web address “www.deep-sea-frontier.eu” will lead nowhere in 2025 and will have long been offline. The acronym stands for "The Deep Sea & Sub-Seafloor Frontier", a project funded by the European Commission (2010 to 2012) that ran during the 7th Framework Program. The aim was to build a bridge between scientific issues and economic and social interests in the area of the oceans and their deep seabeds. The 57-page final report states - unsurprisingly - that the ocean depths pose major challenges and opportunities for science and society and therefore a strong commitment to research is necessary.
Lessons learned? The no longer functioning project website shows the short-lived nature of the virtual world. The fact that a stylish plastic boat “survived” shows the longevity of plastic. The design as a usable lemon squeezer should prevent this give-away, or even parts of it (keyword: microplastics), from ever ending up in the oceans, but from being disposed of properly at the end of the life cycle.
If you use the dark blue give-away as a lemon squeezer, you can make lemonade using another give-away. Consider a small, colorfully painted ceramic jug that the Croatian Geological Survey (HGI) distributed to participants in 2009 on the occasion of the 27th General Assembly of the European Geological Surveys (EuroGeoSurveys).
Now to China! The International Geological Congress (IGC) is - in terms of value - roughly comparable to the Olympic Games; Both usually only take place every four years. The first IGC was in Paris in 1878, the 9th in Vienna in 1903 and the 30th in Beijing in 1996. Most recently, in 2024, the geologists met in Busan (South Korea). Occasionally there were also conferences. The one from Beijing puzzles even many a geologist and may raise doubts about its authenticity. In a rectangular box lined with (artificial) silk there is a black stone about ten centimeters tall with a white "flower"; the whole thing is mounted on a small wooden base. You automatically think of things like the ones you find in cheap Asian stores (one-euro shops). But thanks to the English accompanying text ("With complements from the Organizing Committee from the 30THIGC [sic!]") you can find out more about the "Chrysanthemum Stone". The rock, a dark limestone from Hunan, is around 290 million years old (Permian/Equazoic). The white structure, which looks similar to a chrysanthemum, is described as celestite. The mineral, chemically a strontium sulfate, crystallizes orthorhombically and has a hardness of 3 to 3.5 on the ten-point Mohs hardness scale. I initially thought that the white, flower-like structure was artificial and sought expert advice. My colleague, the mineralogist Christian Auer, confirmed after an analysis with the electron beam microprobe: "Everything is clear! These are mostly celestite crystals that have been converted into calcite." So that fits and wasn't fake.
What remains is the question “What to do with it?”, as this give-away falls into the dust catcher category. After "Chrysanthemum Stones" were awarded "Number One" at the World Exhibition in Panama in 1915, they are now doubly important - thanks to the 1996 congressional donation. If you would like more of these stones, you can contact the “General Distributor” in Hunan, whose address and telephone number are also on the package text. In a word: the whole thing is typically Chinese.
Anyone who prefers local dust collectors will enjoy a small Tonbluza from Stoob (Burgenland). The vessel, which can at best be used as a vase for two dried flowers, is reminiscent of the traveling conference of the Geological Society that took place on September 26, 1960 in a Stoober pottery.
Whether instructions for use, illustrated books, lemon squeezers, ceramic jugs, chrysanthemum stones or clay bluza, all giveaways deserve to be kept - based on "their" stories alone. (Thomas Hofmann, April 25, 2025)