Trees Are Freaking Awesome

Jonathan had this posted on Facebook.  He constantly teaches me things.  This is something I had never known..almost 71 years old and I still don't know everything.

My Living Fossil

I have a living fossil in my back yard.  I took a picture of it today.

From Wikipaedia:

The Ginkgo is a living fossil, with fossils recognisably related to modern Ginkgo from the Permian, dating back 270 million years. Ginkgos adapt well to the urban environment, tolerating pollution and confined soil spaces They rarely suffer disease problems, even in urban conditions, and are attacked by few insects. For this reason, and for their general beauty, ginkgos are excellent urban and shade trees, and are widely planted along many streets.

Ginkgos are also popular subjects for growing as penjing and bonsai; they can be kept artificially small and tended over centuries. Furthermore, the trees are easy to propagate from seed.

Extreme examples of the Ginkgo's tenacity may be seen in Hiroshima, Japan, where six trees growing between 1–2 km from the 1945 atom bomb explosion were among the few living things in the area to survive the blast. While almost all other plants (and animals) in the area were destroyed, the ginkgos, though charred, survived and were soon healthy again. The trees are alive to this day.

The ginkgo leaf is the symbol of the Urasenke school of Japanese tea ceremony. The tree is the national tree of China. 

Cause of DC Earthquake

I have discovered the cause of the DC Earthquake.  I wrote to my Lodge Brother and Friend Colby Moorberg who lives in North Carolina and told him to watch out for the Hurricane that is headed their way.  In one of his responses to me he wrote:

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  Colby Moorberg On top of that, we had an earthquake today too - my first... during the first guest lecture that I have ever given.
  

  about an hour ago · 

I have suggested that he cease lecturing.

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Prince Rupert's Drops

I found these two little video's very interesting. I hope you will also. Just out of curiosity. Have you ever heard of these "drops" before? I had not. Finding out new things every day.



You can read about Prince Rupert's Drop here.

H/T Don M

The Night Sky

When I was younger I used to sleep outside once in awhile and could lay on my back and gaze up at the stars. Today because of light pollution we can't see them as we used to (unless you live in Flagstaff where the above picture was taken) - Of course I had to put my glasses on to be able to see them but no matter it was awesome (overused word) and it made me feel very small (a good thing cause I have always been fat) but also a part of something enormous. If, like me, pictures of the heavens and astronomical phenomena turn you on go here to look at the Best 50 Astronomy Pictures of Year 2008.
h/t Dr. Joan Bushwells Chimpanzee Refuge

Amazing Lyrebird

I am a Silver Surfer

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said:
(Read it here.)

"These fascinating findings add to previous research suggesting that middle-aged and older people can reduce their risk of dementia by taking part in regular mentally stimulating activities.

"Older web users - 'silver surfers' - are doing precisely this.

Science for Saturday

Found this on 3quarksdaily
Th music is the Anvil Chorus from Il Travatore - I love the INternets. Enjoy.

Nicholas Money, an expert on fungi at Miami University, has been playing around with very fast video. Ultra fast. As in 250,000 frames-a-second fast. He knew exactly what this kind of video was made for. To film fungi that live on dung as they discharge their spores. These tiny fungi can blast spores as far as six feet away, boosting the odds that they’ll land on a clean plant that a cow or other grazing animal may eat. The fungi develop inside the animal, get pooped out with its dung, and fire their spores once more.

Money’s results were not just significant, but beautiful. The fungi fire their spores up to 55 miles an hour–which translates to an acceleration of 180,000 g. Money calls it “the fastest flight in nature.

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