A rockhound is someone who shows extreme levels of interest in rocks and collecting while a mineral collector is considered someone who just "likes" minerals and rock. So, which one are you? If you're uncertain as to which camp you're really in, here's some surefire signs your level of interest in rocks has exceeded "casual" or "rockpup" levels and you've finally graduated to full-blown "rockhound." Check to see how many of the following signs apply to you, if it's over 10, then watch out! You're a ROCKHOUND! (modified from Rockhounds.com)

The sign on the side of the highway says "Falling Rock" and you pull over to wait. The severe sunburn from your vacation is a one inch wide strip of skin at the gap between the tail of your shirt and the top of your pants (also known as "plumbers sunburn"). Your friend shows you a "pretty stone" they've found, and you work hard to talk them out of it for yourself. You care more about what happened to the diamond in the move "Titanic" than the people. You hit your hand with your rock hammer, your mother screams it broken, and you reply it's a fracture, it has good cleavage, and has produced some unusual streaks in your underwear. Your mother asks how the soup tastes and you reply, "variable color, greasy surface, low specific gravity, texture smooth with bits of ductile material." You lick rocks to show off the wonderful colors. Your family puts the birthday candles on a slab of amethyst instead of cake. A truck throws a rock into the windshield of the family car and you examine the rock first. You can pronounce the word "molybdenite" correctly on the first try. You think the primary function of road cuts is for easy mineral collecting. You own more pieces of quartz than underwear. You associate the word "hard" with a value on the Mohs scale instead of "work". The rockpile in your garage is taller than Shaq. The local university's geology department requests permission to hold field trips in your back yard. There's amethyst in your aquarium.

Your mother has had to ask you to move flats of rocks out of the tub so you can take a bath. Your pets are named Rocky, Jewel, and Beryl. First on your Christmas list is to attend the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. You've spent more than ten dollars for a book about rocks. You find yourself compelled to examine individual rocks in driveway gravel. You know the location of every rock shop within a 100 mile radius of your home. When they haven't seen you for a week, the shop owners send you get well cards. You're planning on using a pick and shovel while you're on vacation. You can point out where Tsumeb is on a world globe. You think Franklin, New Jersey might be a cool place to go on a vacation. You associate the word "saw" with diamonds instead of "wood". You've sewn a backpack for your dog. You receive a letter from the county informing you a landfill permit is required if you want to put anymore rocks in your backyard. Your Internet home page has pictures of your rocks. You think pet rocks are a pretty neat idea. Your teacher has asked you not to bring any more rocks to school until they have time to reinforce the floor. You decide not to get married because you'd rather keep the rock.