Usually I can have a little fun scoffing at people, and their hobbies, but as Heather says, that is really cool.
He must be clever to find this stuff, as I am sure there are others looking for it too.
In Florida there are a lot of people that do Cherry. But the whole state is good for looking for them. He has a friend he goes with and they take the camper and will go for a few days when they have the chance. I have been with him and he starts at sun up and doesn't quit until it goes down, It does pay off for him.
He separates and catalogs everything he finds. this is one example. there are Hemipristis Serra shark teeth Commonly called Snaggletooth. imgur.com/Wo6piOU
The typical method of counting by weight is to take a sample of the parts and place them on the scale platform. The operator must enter the number of parts in that sample. The scale will then calculate the weight of a single part, known as the piece weight. Then the entire batch of parts are put onto the scale and the total calculated.
It was easier for me to copy than try to explain it. lol...
I actually have gotten more interested in paleontology because of John. I have gone collecting with him and have found some shark teeth and horse teeth, all fossils. It really is fascinating.
A shark was swimming in the ocean 5 million years ago and lost a tooth while feeding. it fell to the bottom and was slowly buried by tons of sediment. Millions of years have passed and where the ocean was is now land. Erosion happened and that tooth finally was exposed and washed down the river and got stuck in the gravel. My shovel picked it up and dumped it into my sifting screen where I picked it out. What are the odds and what a journey. It really is amazing.