I was getting excited, looking forward to my trip to Las Vegas. I was headed to an industry trade show but I expected to do a little gambling, as well.

Heck, what else was there to do in Las Vegas? I got my bag packed and I'm headed out the door when, you guessed it, the phone rang. It was an old fabricator friend of mine who asked me if we could do dinner or lunch while I am in Vegas. He told me he had a mystery problem that was right up my alley and told me I might not be able to figure this one out. Well, this ol' dog is always up for a challenge. So I told him sure- I would call him when I got there.

I arrived in "Sin City" that evening to glittering lights and the sound of slot machines. Of course, there were also the drunks, hustlers, and other sights and sounds that I tried to ignore. I hopped in a cab and headed over to my hotel to check in. As I got settled, I thought I should call my friend and find out what this big mystery was all about, and set up a meeting ASAP.

I walked into the restaurant at the appointed hour; my friend Bob had already gotten us a table. He saw me walk in and waved me over. We shook hands and bantered about the state of the industry, until I couldn't take it anymore and bluntly gave in to my curiosity. "So Bob, what is this mystery?"

"Well," he said, "One of my employees, when he is cutting granite on our bridge saw seems to break out in hives. The funny thing is he doesn't break out when cutting marble or limestone. I asked if he had taken him to a doctor to find out.

"Yes, and all they say is that he is having some type of allergic reaction."

I thought this was kind of strange and didn't realize that someone could be allergic to a mineral. I asked him if it would be possible to talk to this employee. He said, "Better than that, he will be here at the show tomorrow."

"Great," I said. "Let's meet around lunchtime. He then asked if I had any idea what he could be allergic to in granite. I told him I had an idea, but would need to meet his employee first.

He laughed and said, "Well, you're the doctor, and if anyone can figure this out, I'm sure you can."

I looked at him and said, "Well, I have a PhD and they do call me Doctor, but I am always reminded of what my mom says when she talks about me. She says, my son is a doctor but not the kind that helps people." We both laughed at that and said goodbye.

I left the restaurant, hailed a cab and found a drug store where I bought some latex surgical gloves.

The next day I meet Bob and his employee, Tim, for lunch. I asked Tim about where he gets the hives. He told me all up and down his arms. I asked him if he touches the stone when it is wet and he said yes. Then I pulled out a pair of the latex gloves and asked him to put them on. He told me he couldn't wear latex gloves because he is allergic to them. I smiled looked at Bob and Tim and said, "Well, I now have a pretty good idea why he is breaking out in hives."

I told them that a lot of granites are now resined with polyester resins. These resins are similar to the resins found in latex. "Tim, you're allergic to the resins that are in the granite. This is why you don't break out with marble since marbles typically don't contain resins." I stood up, looked at Bob and said, "The check is on you," and strutted off like a peacock. Another case solved.

I ran into Bob later in the show and mentioned that non-latex, hypo-allergenic gloves are available in almost any drug store, and Tim should have no problems wearing them in the shop. Latex allergies can be very severe, but are so common now, that latex substitutes are widely available.

The Stone Detective is a fictional character created by Fred Hueston, written to be entertaining and educational. Frederick M. Hueston is the founder of Stone Forensics (stoneforensics.com), a nationally known stone consulting company, and also the technical director for Stoneandtilepros.com. He has written over 33 books on stone and tile installations, fabrication and restoration. He also serves as a expert for many legal cases across the world. Email comments to him at fhueston@stoneforensics.com

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