Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
All the United Kingdom England London Kryptonite

Kryptonite

Why Superman will never visit London's Natural History Museum.

London, England

amyfreeborn profile photo
Added By
amyfreeborn
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
Kryptonite-alike Jadarite  
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

A mineral with the same composition as Superman’s only natural weakness is on display in the Earth’s Treasury gallery at the London Museum. 

Jadarite, discovered in Serbia in 2006, is composed of sodium, lithium, boron silicate and hydroxide. When NHM mineral expert Dr. Chris Stanley found the specimen’s make-up didn’t match anything else known to science, he turned to the internet and typed in the combination of chemical elements.

“I was amazed to discover that same (list of elements) written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luthor from a museum in the film Superman Returns,” he says.

The only difference between Jadarite and Kryptonite is fluorine, which gives Kryptonite its green color.

And, of course, Jadarite is not radioactive; although its effects on superheroes from the planet Krypton have not yet been tested.

Places

Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.

Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Know Before You Go

The Kryptonite is currently off public display. A sign indicates that scientists are currently studying it in greater detail. (Links with Lex Luthor have been unconfirmed.)

Community Contributors

amyfreeborn profile photo

Added By

amyfreeborn

M Martin profile photo hrnick profile photo JamazingClayton profile photo Snowdrop68 profile photo

Edited By

Martin, hrnick, JamazingClayton, Snowdrop68

  • M Martin profile photo Martin
  • hrnick profile photo hrnick
  • JamazingClayton profile photo JamazingClayton
  • Snowdrop68 profile photo Snowdrop68

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.thefreeborntimes.com/kryptonite
  • http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2007/april/news_11392.html
  • http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/galleries/red-zone/earths-treasury/index.html

Related Tags

Strange Science Natural History Museums Museums
Kryptonite
London, England, SW7
United Kingdom
51.496663, -0.175841
Visit Website

Nearby Events

Festival

Bloomsbury Festival London

Interactive performances, hands-on workshops, and inventive art installations transform the neighborhood into a creative playground.

Wed, Oct 28 · +3 more

London

View More Events in London

Nearby Places

Chi-Chi the Giant Panda

London, England

miles away

Alfred Russel Wallace Statue

London, England

miles away

Tower of London Barbary Lion Skulls

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 578
Stories 114

Nearby Places

Chi-Chi the Giant Panda

London, England

miles away

Alfred Russel Wallace Statue

London, England

miles away

Tower of London Barbary Lion Skulls

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 578
Stories 114

Related Stories and Lists

A Storybook Tour of London's Literary Past

List

By Kavya Ram Mohan

Related Places

  • Electric Ladyland in full color.

    Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Electric Ladyland: The Museum of Fluorescent Art

    The world's only museum devoted to the wonders of fluorescence.

  • A taxidermied lion lies on its side, broken.

    Cairo, Egypt

    Agricultural Museum of Cairo

    A huge museum of much more than just agriculture displayed in a princess's palace.

  • Every winter, the museum and its many picture windows become encapsulated in romantic and terrifying drifts of snow

    Tokamachi, Japan

    Echigo-Matsunoyama Museum of Natural Science

    Modern Japanese museum is buried by snow annually.

  • Proof that birds migrate over Africa.

    Rostock, Germany

    Zoological Collection of the University of Rostock

    A taxidermied stork with an arrow through its neck proved that birds migrate.

  • Entrance Hall

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    The Academy of Natural Sciences

    As the oldest natural history museum in the Americas, these halls contain everything from dinosaur bones to biological samples collected by Lewis and Clark.

  • The Tradescant tomb holds the bodies of a pioneering father-son naturalist duo.

    London, England

    Garden Museum

    Tony Blair's garden gnome and a Howitzer shell-turned-flower-pot are on display in this deconsecrated 13th-century church.

  • Banff Park Museum

    Banff, Alberta

    Banff Park Museum

    The oldest natural history museum in western Canada houses more than 5,000 vintage botanical and zoological specimens.

  • Museo de Historia Natural Río Seco

    Punta Arenas, Chile

    Museo de Historia Natural Río Seco

    A gorgeous and extensive collaboration between biologists and artists, displaying skeletons and other animal remnants in lifelike poses.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2026 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.