Cobalt 60 safe cracking

[wacki]

I just heard Russian spies used cobalt 60 to crack into British safes. Any idea how they did that? I don't see how radiation can be useful for safe cracking.

[Bill Haywood]

Like an x-ray. The glow reveals the tumblers inside, allowing you to manipulate them into open positions.

[erbbysam]

[ QUOTE ]
Like an x-ray. The glow reveals the tumblers inside, allowing you to manipulate them into open positions.

[/ QUOTE ]
Doesn't sound terribly safe but Cobalt 60 does sound like a relativily safe radioactive substance http://www.npi.gov.au/database/substance-info/profiles/26.html
... you'd think that they would also be able to see the faces of the people who are cracking the safe from that same glow

Sounds like a better idea than poloium though... you can only inhale 6.8 picograms of that before your dead.