fields of gold

Want to grow some gold? You can! Science has created plants that will give you gold!

Okay, it's not like you're planting a gold ring and then a gold tree will bloom. Well, it might. I don't know for sure. You should try it just in case!

Plants are pretty amazing. They do this thing called phytomining. When they do that, they pull up metal from the soil into the plant when they're growing. So, when they're sucking up nutrients, cadmium might come up as well!

Plants that do this are (awesomely) called hyperaccumulators. I want that hyperaccumulators!

Me: "How can I run even faster than fast? My new shoes make me run really, really fast. But I want even faster!"

Merchant: "What you need is a hyperaccumulator! I have three in stock! It will cost you 20 Rupees."

Me: "Deal!"

Dah dah dah daaaaaaaah! (Somebody might get that joke.)

Scientists are hard at work to make a mustard plant that will phytomine gold. Then, you won't have to go into caves for gold. You just go to your mustard plant and eat the gold!

On a side note, I do tons of research for every article I write.  (That's not entirely true.) I looked up Sting's "Fields of Gold" song online and found the CD insert for the single. So...why is Sting holding a lightsaber in the picture?

Is Sting a Jedi?! That would totally make sense! I can't believe I never guessed that before!

With songs like "Message in a Bantha" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is the Force," how could he NOT be a Jedi!

My mind may or may not have just blown.

I'm off to hyperaccumulate.

Enjoy Everything.

-dj

do not read this if you hate spiders

After years of research, bat studiers, or chiropterologists (I don't know if that's a real word) found out that bat-eating spiders are everywhere. Except Antarctica.

I honestly have NO idea why this was studied, but it's pretty scary to think about. Luckily, the spiders aren't bigger than the bats. They just catch them in their GIANT webs and eat them after.

Which is also pretty scary to think about, but not as scary as giant spiders.

And for some sadistic reason, the folks at LiveScience decided to add another piece of info to their article about bat-eating spiders. They said it's no big deal that spiders eat bats because there's a cave in Venezuela where giant centipedes kill and eat bats.

I'll give you two guesses where I will NOT be going on vacation. And I'll give you a hint. It rhymes with VENEZUELAN CAVES.

If you do have a family of pet bats, you should go to Antarctica. Bat-eating spiders aren't there. Possibly because bats don't live there.

Did you know that bats can't make Vitamin C? Luckily, vampire bats have an easy solution. They go for the Blood Orange. Full of blood AND Vitamin C! (Yay citrus!)

Unbat vampires might also have this solution, but I don't know any vampires.

I do know that all this week I talked about giant insects and stuff. Which is why I hope someday to form a team of X-Bugs with a magic butterfly, a mutated snail (with conveyor belt teeth) and a giant (friendly) centipede with a Venezuelan accent. Because ladies like that and when they make this idea into a movie, it will sell more tickets and I'll make more money to buy Blood Oranges.

I'm off to Antarctica.

Enjoy Everything.

-dj