{Trivial Tuesdays} Raindrops keep falling on my head

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

...

- B.J. Thomas

Laala lalaala lalala.... I just love that song don't you? It's just one of the many I have been singing for the past two days as a contemplate my consistently soaking wet shoes and try to keep the kids morals up. Yes, I came back from N.Y., leaving my hubster behind, only to get smacked in the face with GIGANTIC tree uprooting storms I have to walk through.

But on the bright side, it allowed me to look into the science of storms, weather, and raindrops. This week's question is actually two questions and doesn't come from Trivial Pursuit, but straight from the mouth of my 6 foot 1 little brother (I'm 5"1' and the older sister which no one seems to believe even though I'm married and graduated from University, but I digress, and you don't really care about my age/size related frustrations).

Q.12

a)Are raindrops shaped like teardrops? 

and  

b)Why are some raindrops bigger than others?

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A.12

a) No

b) Differences in condensation nuclei size & rate of coalescence.

Yep, we have been duped since childhood with images of smiling tear- shaped raindrops. Water dripping from a faucet or off something is tear-shaped because of tension keeping the droplet from falling but when it falls freely, it's shape depends on it's size.

Image via Trends Update

A raindrop with a diameter below 2mm is spherical. Between 2 and 8 it gradually transitions to a hamburger bun shape (or jellyfish shape depending on your interests) before bursting into smaller raindrops, generally spherical ones. Why? It's a battle of two forces: water tension vs air resistance.

Fun fact? Only spherical raindrops produce rainbows.

Photo by Emmanuel Villermaux, via Science News

Now for part B. First off, raindrops are, simply put, condensed water vapour.  If you remember the water cycle, water evaporates from the earth. The air is filled with tiny particles in suspensions such as dust, we call these condensation nuclei because water vapour will condense (return to liquid form) - warp itself around the particle. Each particle becomes a droplet. These droplets vibrating around in the atmosphere bump into other droplets and become bigger and bigger, this is called coalescence. Once they are big enough, the droplets start falling towards the earth and are now called raindrops. So, if the initial particle or condensation nuclei is on the big size and the droplet eats lots of other droplets on the way down, you've got a big raindrop. 

As simple as that! <3 We could easily complicate our lives by dwelling into the physics of the whole thing but I'll leave that to someone else.  

Take care!

Encounter with my Guardian Angel

I met my Guardian Angel today.

This post has nothing to do with science but it does however reflect a beautiful side to our human world.

Today started off with a harsh wake up call at 5:45. I packed my bag, took the time to transfer my belongings from my purse to my backpack. Double checked my room to see if I hadn't forgotten anything I might need for work. Ran upstairs, grabbed a banana, my raincoat and rushed out the door and into the car. On the way to work, I untangled my hair and somehow managed to produce a side braid (thankfully my father drives both of us into the city giving me 30 extra minutes to get ready in the morning).

Thirty minutes later, my father drops me off at the metro/subway station and I zombie walk myself and my ten gazillion heaving bags of stuff to the turnstiles managing to grab a newspaper and smile kindly to the paper man on the way. Nearing the turnstiles, I expertly swing my backpack forward and reach for my metro card and nothing. It's not there. I stop. Look through the pocket again, nothing. Noting the traffic build up behind me, I retreat to a near by wall, unload my bags and begging frantically looking through (koff emptying koff) my bag. Still NOTHING, not even my wallet or a single dime of spare change. I grab my cell phone and dial up my Dad. He picks up. (He has a ingenious blue tooth devices that connects his cellphone to his car speakers just so you don't think I make my Dad talk on his cellphone while he drives.)

- Oui, Allo?
- Dad, it's me. Are you far from the metro?
- Yes, I'm in the tunnel [heading out of town]. Why?
- Weeel, I forgot my metro pass, I don't have my wallet, and so I don't have a single penny to buy a ticket to get to work. I say in a panicked voice. 
- Oh. Well I'm a bit far now to turn back. It will probably take me a hour because of traffic.....
And that's the exact moment when my gardien angel in the form of a late middle aged women gently taps me on the shoulder and says:
- I'll cover you for a ticket darling, don't you worry.
- Don't worry Dad, an angel just got my back. See you tonight.
My angel, called Carmel, emptied out her purse and gave me every last penny she had on her, ''in case I needed more to get back''. Next came the paper man asking me if I would be ok for the day and offering to lend me a few bucks for lunch since he'd see me the next day anyway. I couldn't believe this display of generosity and solidarity from total and partial strangers. It was uplifting and gave me hope for the world. When I asked how I could get the money back to her, she answered:
- Don't worry about it, it will come back to me one way or another.

So I write this post, to thank Carmel for her kindness and generosity. She will forever be my Guardian Angel.

Take care!

{Trivial Tuesdays} of Elephas and Loxodonts

This week's Trivial Tuesdays post will comprise not 1, not 2, but 3 questions pertaining to the same animal. Get ready, here we go.

Q.10 -11

What's the only with 4 knees but can't jump?

...

...

A. 10-11

The Elephant

Yes, the picture totally gave it away, but it's a great picture. Google found it for me but I was unable to find the source. Thank you unknown photographer and plane/helicopter pilot.  Moving on to the third question.


Q.12

What does a baby elephant suck[le] with?

...

v

via

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A.12

Its mouth

Haha Trivial Pursuit you tricky devils! I tricked a couple people with this question. The elephant's trunk is its nose, it does use it to suck up water but then it transfers it into its mouth, you can't swallow through the nose, it would go directly to your wind pipes and we all no that's no good.

There are three species of elephants living today, two in Africa and one in Asia. They are the largest land mammal living today (the largest mammal on earth being the blue whale but I digress). Their longevity compares with that of our own species with an average of 70 years (more or less depending on the species and group). You can easily tell the African Elephant from the Asian Elephant by physical characteristics.

 via Wiki

HOW TO TELL THEM APART? 

The most visible difference is the size of their ears. The Asian or Indian Elephant has significantly smaller ears than the African species. The African elephant is bigger and it's front shoulders are the highest part of its body. Both male and female African elephant have exterior tusks whilst only male Asian elephants have tusks. If you look at the tip of the trunk, you will see yet another difference. African elephants have two tips or fingers and the Asian elephant has only one. African elephants tend to be the more wrinkly of the two but just like size, you need both side by side to use this characteristic. The African elephant has a slopping forehead whilst the Asian has a pointy or not as rounded head (you can see it on the picture above).

So, if you where paying attention, you now know that Dumbo's mom was a beautiful Asian elephant and MAYBE just MAYBE she mated with an African elephant and produced a flying baby...but that is somewhat far fetched. I don't even know if they could produce viable infants or even mate for that matter.

Interesting fact, you can make paper out of elephant dung and it looks and smells nice. I recently found out you can make paper out of a lot of things that aren't 30 year old trees, it just needs to have a high concentration of cellulose. Elephants, being the large herbivores that they are, eat a whole lot of plant matter produce cellulose and fiber rich poop.  Crazy, right?

In other less mind boggling news, I'm off to NY for a this week so this will (most probably) be my last post until June 29th. I thought I would give my few faithful readers a heads up so you don't worry too much. I'll be back with interesting posts. 

Here's a little brain tease for you all :

Bio of the largest mammal ever to have roamed the planet earth

My Sighting of a Cecropia Moth

Citrus grandis

Tusk, Horns, Nails and Exoskeletons

Book review - Tree; a life story by David Suzuki and Wayne Grady

and much much more

 

Keep reading and thank you!

Take care!

Aceraceae in Quebec part 2 and the Canadian Flag scandal

Part 2 of 99 plants for the summer.   (Find part 1 here)

Last week, I started with probably one of the easiest tree families to identify in Quebec, the Aceraceae a.k.a. the Maples. There are 6 native species that can be easily found in Quebec and if you look carefully even within the island of Montreal and 1 introduced species that you can find absolutely everywhere you look.

Let's get the three native species out of the way (and hopefully engraved into my brain) before discussing the case of the Norway Maple and it's man-made brothers.

Acer saccharinum - Silver Maple, Érable argenté


Probably my favorite maple next to pj boy (Striped Maple).  This maple is easy to tell apart from the others because of it's extra-long middle lobe and the pale under-side of it's leaves. It's a big fast growing tree and so it needs lots of space.


It grows best in rich, humid soils near rivers, lakes, marshes, and bogs but I've frequently seen them surviving along roadsides in Montreal.

Acer saccharum - Sugar Maple, Érable à sucre
This is the species to thank for Maple Syrup, a wonderfully sweet topping for pancakes. Maple Syrup comes from the boiling of the spring sap. Once a Sugar Maple is big enough, meaning usuallly over 20 years old, it is tapped - a hole is drilled and a spout is put it place. Once the warm weather returns, the sap starts flowing again in the trees and some of it is diverted to the spout and into a bucket or tubing to be collected.

Like most maples, A. saccharum has a 5 lobed palmate leaf. The valleys between the points are rounded or in a ''U'' shape. It's autumn leaves are beautiful to behold as they change from green to yellow and then to orange and red before falling to the ground.

A. saccharum likes rich, moist, well-drained soils.


Props to the Northern Ontario Plant Database, I really like their website, their pictures are really nice and the information seems frequently checked and updated. 

Acer spicatum - Mountain Maple, Érable à épis

As plainly stated in it's English common name, this shrub (because it's average height is under 8m) is a mountain dweller. I first came across it on Mont-Royal, the large forested hill located in the center of Montreal, during a salamander hunt. It can easily be identified by its flowers that grow in erect clusters on branch tips. Its three lobed leaves resemble those of the Striped Maple but are smaller and the bark isn't striped.
It grows in well-drained moist soils such as those found by mountain stream sides.

Acer platanoides - Norway Maple, Érable de Norvège


Introduced and now invasive species extraordinaire, the Norway Maple comes in many shapes, sizes and colours. They are frequently used in landscape design as some varieties produce dark purple leaves. They are extremely tolerant trees and therefore strive in stressful city conditions. Thanks to their extreme shade tolerance, rapid growth, high seed production and tendency to kill all species that grow under neath it, the Norway Maple is out competing our native maples. Which is not cool especially since they significantly reduce biodiversity in the invaded forested area.

It has encrusted itself into Canadian life so much so that the leaf that you see on our flag is none other than a NORWAY MAPLE!!! One would expect to see a Sugar Maple. Scandalous

How to tell them apart? The easiest way is to brake off a leaf and see if white latex appears. If that's not an option, you can look at the valleys in between the lobes, A. saccharum has U shaped valleys whilst A. platanoides has V shaped valleys. It's leaves are usually broader too.

Although to a lesser extent, the Norway Maple can also be used to produce maple syrup.



What maples grow in your back yard? Sugar, Norway, or Japanese?

Take care!

Things we should know

Riboflavin a.k.a Vitamin B2

                                                     is a coenzyme that helps you metabolized carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to give your body energy. Where to get it? Milk products and leafy green vegetables in particular but you can find it added to many other food products.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I was wondering if I could subsist solely on Frozen Yogourt.  Wouldn't that be wonderful? Anyway, riboflavin came up in the discussion and no one knew why we needed it so I googled it and shared the info with the rest of the world. My conclusion is that a diet of Frozen Yogourt would contain Riboflavin (because of the yogourt). Yeah! Only like a gazillion more to check.

My favorite flavour is mango and raspberry, what's yours?

Take care!

Trivial Tuesdays - The secret of popcorn

Today's Trivial Tuesday topic was used yesterday during my activity on cereals with 6 -7 year old kids. I'll list a couple of their answers before I give you the answer. So cute. 

Q.9

What inside popcorn makes it pop?

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Kid answers:

• "The heat"         
• "The microwave" 
• "Last time I ate popcorn not all of the seeds popped and my mom said I would brake my teeth if I tried to eat one [insert deep breath] but it didn't."
• "I like popcorn with butter."
• "I like popcorn with butter too!"
• ... so did the rest of the class but they obviously had to tell me one by one

You got to love those kids. How about you? What is your hypothesis?

I eventually managed to weave the conversation back to the topic of interest which was the origin of the pop. Well, drum roll please.

!trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

A.9

Water

And the crowd stares in disbelief and confusion. Corn, originally from Mexico, has been cultivated world wide for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found corn kernels, corn pollen, and many other corn related things in the most unusual places. The oldest is 80 000 year old fossilized corn pollen found buried 61m (200ft) below Mexico City. [!] They've managed to pop 1000 year old popcorn grains found  in a tomb on the east coast of Peru - the story does not state if they ate them or not.

Here's how it works. Within the hard yellow outer casing (pericarp), there is a pouch of soft starch that contains a small amount of water. At 450F or 232C water turns to vapour. As time goes by, the pressure caused by the expanding vapour increased to a point of rupture. This is when the outer casing exploded and the kernel is turned inside out and the popcorn goes everywhere if your not careful.

On that note, I'm off to make some popcorn.

Take care!


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References:

Nasa.2004. What Makes Popcorn Pop?[on line] http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/home/popcorn.html [accessed june 7th 2010]

99 Plants for the Summer

It seems the best way to maintain a consistent posting rhythm I need a theme. Well I've found a new one. In 2008 a took a class called Flowering Plant Diversity at McGill University - awesome class btw. One of the objectives of the class was to be able to identify 99 different plant species of Quebec and know where these bad boys liked to live. It was hard, no, it was grueling ; especially since I had just met my favorite distraction a.k.a my present day hubby. To keep a long story shot, let's just say that I didn't put as much energy into memorizing as I should of and now 2 years later, I remember very few of the 99 and find myself giving a camp on the forest during which I am pretty sure I will be asked to identify LOADS of plants.

To reduce the number or "I don't know"s,  " it might be"s, and frantic field guide thumbing, I have decided to bring you along on my race to relearn all 99. During the class I took notes and drew most specimens so when possible I will try to include pictures of my notebook to prove to you and to myself that I have actually, at one point in my life seen these plants in the wild.

Let's start with trees since they will be the main focus of the camp.

Family: Aceraceae
Common characteristics: Opposite leaves, and the fruit is a schizocarp (mostly refered to as helicopters or samaras).

Acer negundo - Manitoba maple, Elf maple, Box Elder, Érable à Giguère

This is the only North American Maple to have pinnately compound leaves (3 to 7 leaflets). It can grow quite tall (10-25m) and is frequently found along the roads in Montreal.

It enjoys full sunlight and ample supplies of water. It is often found in riparian zones (flood plains).



via

Acer pensylvanicum - Striped Maple, Moose Maple, Érable de Pensylvanie

Young Striped Maples look like they are wearing pajamas because of the green and white striped trunk. Although still striped, the pattern is not as obvious when it's older.  It's a small tree or a very large bush, it's average height is between 5-10m (a woody plant is considered a bush under 8m). It has big broad palmate leaves with three forward pointing lobes.

This tree is mostly found in the understory of cool, moist forests. It's extremely shade-tolerant and will never become a canopy tree. 

via

 Acer rubrum - Red Maple, Swamp Maple, Érable Rouge

I wrote about this tree in one of my Spring Time in the City posts, you can find it by clinking here. I posted pictures of the flowers.  It's a medium size tree (18-27m), it generally has red petioles and small branches and  a ''V'' shape between it's 3 lobes.


It can grow most anywhere, it's a very tolerant tree.


via






There are three more Maples present in Quebec but I'm going to stop here for tonight. I've got to save some for tomorrow. So 3 down, 96 to go!
 
Tune in tomorrow to find out what makes popcorn pop.

Take care!

Spring Madness

Here as promised, proof that Squirrels are crazy or at least this one had a bad case of Spring Fever. We watched it for at least 5 minutes before I had to run back to work.




NEW!! : I recently aquired a Bunny (funny story realy but not now click here to find out more) and my husband observed him doing very similar movements when left to run about his parent's garden. After some research, we discovered that the action of jumping and twisting in the air is refered to as a binky and it is an expression of joy. Could it be the same for this adorable squirrel? I mean it has the right to rejoice after surviving the long harsh Canadian winter and finally finding readily available food and a nicer weather. It might not be crazy after all, I mean we forgave Tom Cruise for his exhuberance, right?

Take care!

Trivial Tuesdays - Black as night

For this week's post, I must admit I cheated; it wasn't a random pick, you'll see why.

Q.8

What colour is produced by the complete absorption of light rays?

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A.8

Black

Great Job! This might have been an easy question this week but I won't be discussing colour wheels or even colour perception, nope, I'll be introducing you to some mysterious black flowers. This fascination of mine began with talk of a black rose, not a tinted rose, but a genuine black rose.

 via

A black rose just has a certain je ne sais quoi about it that makes me dream. It may however just be a dream since that darkest variety known (or that I have managed to find a latin name to) is called the "Louis XIV" and it's more of a dark crimson red.

via

Oh don't get me wrong it's beautiful, but it's not really black. Which brings about the question, are there really black plants? Well, keep scrolling to find out.

If you read my post about orchid's a while back (click here), you know now that orchids are the most diverse flowering plant family in the world, surely, if a black flower exists, it will be found within this group.

You be the judge.

I selected these two mainly for the awesomeness of their name. I just had to share.

       Devil's Dracula Orchid                           Vampire's Dracula Orchid

     Dracula diabola                                       Dracula vampira

    via                                                                                      via

Right? Who says science is boring. Speaking of Vampires and scientific names, have I ever mentioned the amazing Vampire Squid from Hell - Vampyrotheutis? No? Well, let me digress and post a link.

Yep it's amazing! But since it's not black or a plant, I'll stop at that.

Out of the orchids now (although they do yield other dark flowers) but continuing with the vampire theme. I'd like to introduce the Bat Flower. I recently discovered it at the Botanical Gardens and fell in love.

  Bat Flower

Tacca chantieri

via                                                                                                                    via

Aren't they cute? The seed pods in the picture to the right really look like little sleeping bats. It is also called Cat's Whiskers (for obvious reasons) and Devil's Flower and is originally from South Est Asia.

The next flower is particularly dark and is one of the closest I have found to a true black (it does however vary from flower to flower even within the same plant. 

Black Hollyhock  

Alcea Rosea 'Nigra'

via via

And then there is the last one, so cute and so dark I kept it for last. 

Sorbet Black Delight Viola
Viola
via via

Do you have dark or even black flowers in you backyard?

Have you ever received a Black Rose or any other Black flower as a gift?
I'd love to know for what occasion.

Have a great week!
Take care!

Trivial Tuesdays - MSG

Dear readers,
I am fully aware of the drastic drop in posting this last month or so, life yet again has caught up with me and I get home completely pooped from work with no will to write or do anything but eat, shower, and sleep. However, starting this week, I will try to post twice a week. I can't wait to tell you all about this huge moth my brother found next to our front door yesterday - really exciting stuff.

Let's get started. 

From last week's short post on tomatoes, we move on to the fascinating world of food and chemical additives.

Q.7

What does MSG stand for? 

...

...

A.7

Mono Sodium Glutamate

      Ah! what a tasty topic. I think I would describe it as meaty, brothy, and/or savory. Wait, that's too long. What would encompass all of these things? Oh, why of course, why not dub it ''umami'', the Japanese word for delicious. Brilliant, considering it was first extracted from seaweed in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese scientist. This compound has been used as a flavour enhancer for over a century now, but still the debate continues: to eat or not to eat MSG, that is the question.


     The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) finds no problem with the usage of MSG and has placed no limit to the quantity that can be added to food as it is a naturally occurring amino acid.  In addition to naturally producing the stuff ourselves, it can also be found in tomatoes, parmesan cheese, mushrooms and certain nuts -which explains why we often use them to flavour our food. EUFIC (European Food Information Council) vouches for the safety of the product and that claims it can even help reduce sodium levels in food. No studies, so far, have managed to directly link MSG to the ''Chinese Restaurant Syndrome'' (CRS - yes this is a medically recognized syndrome discovered in 1968...crazy, I know). CRS is characterized by sweating, headaches, flushing, and in more serious cases, swelling of the throat and chest pain.


    Well, everything would be peachy if the only information out there came from pro-MSG groups, it's not and far from it. The information I've read in many cases is quite disturbing and merits your own research into the matter but for the time being here is what I'm keeping in mind next time I'm buying a pack of chips. 
Scientists use MSG to create obese strains of mice and rats for research on diabetes and diets. These same animals have been diagnosed with, in addition to diabetes and obesity, brain lesions, stunted skeletal growth, and female sterility to name a few of the more comprehensible medical terms. MSG has also been linked to Alzheimer's disease. 


    I particularly liked this explanation of MSG's modus operandi offered in The Science Creative Quarterly article published in 2009.

  ''MSG stimulates appetite by inducing insulin release so that glucose is taken up, despite not having consumed anything with carbohydrates (sugars). As a result of high insulin concentrations, your blood sugar level drops and you end up being hungry again only hours later.''

Basically, you can add MSG to just about anything and make your body believe that it is eating something savory and protein rich.

    MSG is a proven additive and  justifies the slogan  ''Betcha can't eat just one''. Some go as far as blaming MSG to the sudden rise of childhood obesity.

    Be warned, MSG can take on many names, here are a few key ingredients to look for (from Rense.com) :

* Food Additives that ALWAYS contain MSG *

 

Monosodium Glutamate

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein

Hydrolyzed Protein

Hydrolyzed Plant Protein

Plant Protein Extract

Sodium Caseinate

Calcium Caseinate

Yeast Extract

Textured Protein (Including TVP)

Autolyzed Yeast

Hydrolyzed Oat Flour

Corn Oil 

    With the information available, I conclude too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. As for all things, moderation and consuming a wide variety of food should keep you healthy enough. But as a reference point, McGill's faculty of science draws the line of no return at 2.5 grams. Their studies have shown a slight increase of headaches and feelings of weakness beyond this point.

Happy Munching!
Take care!

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References: 

Eufic. 2002. The Facts on Monosodium Glutamate. Eufic Archives. [online] Available here. [Accessed May 24th 2010)
Lam, P. 2009. MSG: More Than Meets the Tongue. The Science Creative Quarterly. 4. [online] Available here. [Accessed May 24th 2010].
Olney, J.W. 1969. Brain Lesions, Obesity, and Other Disturbances in Mice Treated with Monosodium Glutamate. Science. (164) p.719-721

Schwarcz, J. 2009. Monosodium Glutamate: Fact vs Fiction. McGill Faculty of Science Blogs [online] Available here. [Accessed May 25th 2010].
Unknown. MSG – Slowly Poisoning America. Rense.com. [online]. Available here. [Accessed May 25th 2010].

Trivial Tuesdays - Fruit or vegetable

Last week, I got to tell you about ''Green Blood'' aka Chlorophyll, this week, we are continuing with the plant theme and resolving the confusing question: Fruit or vegetable? 

Q.6

What are love apples?

...

...

A.6 

Tomatoes

         The appellation probably derives from the literal translation of french pomme d'amour which is believed to have come from the belief in the tomatoes' aphrodisiac properties or more likely from the transliteration of the Italien pomo dei Mori, "apples of the Moors". As interesting as this may be, let's get to the meat of the topic.

Tomatoes are fruit a fact well accepted by all - although, they are still found in the vegetable section of most grocery stores. Why this discrepancy you ask?

It's as simple as this: vegetable is a generic term used for all edible parts of garden plants; by this definition, a tomato is a vegetable. Botanically, their is no such thing as a vegetable. A plant is composed of roots (6), stem (4), leaves (1), flowers (2), fruits (3), and seeds (5) (some plants have additional or different structures but generally you're safe with these).

A tomato is a fruit because it comes from a flower and contains seeds. Can you list other vegetable-fruits or fruit-vegetables?

Pepper, eggplant, pumpkin, squash, cucumber, just to name a few.

What veggy-fruits do you eat?

Next week: What does MSG stand for? and an added bonus explanation of why so many people try to avoid it. 

Take care!

 

References :

"love apple." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 18 May. 2010. http://www.answers.com/topic/love-apple

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Trivial Tuesdays - Plants

Trivial Pursuit is hitting us with a basic but highly important question this week. It needs no further introduction.

Q.5

What makes plants green?

...

Hibiscus leaves

  

...

A.5

Chlorophyll  

Discovered in 1817 by Pierre-Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou, chlorophyll in addition to giving plants their characteristic green colouration makes photosynthesis possible. You might of heard about photosynthesis, it's a reaction that takes place in plants transforming carbon dioxide (CO2) and the energy from the sun into sugar and oxygen (O2). This reaction is one of the main reasons there is life on Earth. Plants make the air breathable and transform the energy from the sun into something we can use. Important little buggers aren't they?

I'm reading Tree by David Suzuki and Wayne Grady - an absolutely fantastic book which I will be reviewing in a couple of weeks - this book is filled with fascinating information, including mind boggling facts about chlorophyll. David Suzuki tells us that chlorophyll is composed of 5 elements: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and magnesium. Big deal you might say, that's the four basic elements of life plus one (ok, I admit the chances you said this are slim).  It gets interesting when you find out that we, humans, need 200 milligrams of magnesium a day to maintain healthy bones and blood. Revolutionary as this may be for the Eat More Greens cause, it's only when you turn the page that you are completely mind boggled and must put the book down in chock. Chlorophyll is eerily similar to hemoglobin, the basic molecule of human blood. The difference is that in the center of chlorophyll is an atom of Magnesium which attracts light and whilst hemoglobin has iron in it's center specialized in binding oxygen. ''Chlorophyll is green blood.'' It is also stated that chlorophyll is used in alternative cancer treatments, they give chlorophyll transfusions to the patients. Crazy. 

Oh and Tony Stark, a.k.a. Ironman, drinks chlorophyll to counteract the effect of his power source. 

Take care!

Trivial Tuesday - Avian Query

In last week's episode we talked about our sense of smell (and about the random snow storm that hit Montreal), you can read it by clicking here.

This week we are returning to natural history knowledge with a question about birds.

Q.4.

What's the smallest bird in the world?

...

...

A.2.

The hummingbird

To be more precise, the smallest bird in North America is the Calliope hummingbird  (Stellula calliope) whilst the smallest bird in the world is the Bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) both weighing in under 2g. 

Hummingbirds are delicate little nectar feeding birds known for their incredible wing flapping speed and capability to hover in one spot (essential when feeding from flowers).

You can attract them to your yard by planting  large tubular nectar producing flowers such as Columbine,  bleeding hearts, Impatiens, Petunias, and Larkspurs just to name a few. If gardening is not your style, you can set up a hummingbird bird-feeder instead.

On that note, I'm off to bed. 

Take Care!

For the Planet : Reusable Dryer Sheets

Natura Static-Free Reusable Dryer Sheets - Chemical Free


I recently discovered this wonderful product. Although I am still in the trial stages, I think it's great. It's a simple way to reduce trash and spending. Static Eliminator Reusable Dryer Sheets, as seen on amazon.com, come in packs of 2 for 15$. They are hypoallergenic, reduce cling, soften fabrics, and last for hundreds of loads.

Let's say you do 2 loads of laundry a week. Over a year, that comes up to 104 loads a year. You will use the same amount of dryer sheets if not more depending on whether or not you believe in double sheeting big loads and/or use them for other purposes. I can't remember how much dryer sheets cost right now but online the cheapest I found (on the one site I looked at by sheer laziness) they were $6.80 for 80 sheets (which seems a bit expensive but anyway). Taking these numbers, you will spend at least $9 a year on dryer sheets which you throw away after one use. Not to mention these sheets are accused by many to coat your clothes with chemicals and to be dangerous to children and pets. So why not spend 15$ (7.50$/year), reduce your trash and the amount of potentially dangerous chemicals in your house.  

You can visit their website by clicking here. This company is endorsed by David Suzuki as they blatantly announce on their website (then again, so would I if it were the case).

Do you use this product? What do you think?
Would you consider using this product?

Take care!

Trivial Tuesdays - The Snow Drenched Episode

Welcome one and all to the third installment of Trivial Tuesdays, a weekly post dedicated to the science questions of Trivial Pursuit - the Genius Edition. Last week, we looked at planetary rotations and finger nail growth - click here to find out why they go together.

After a couple weeks of consistently warm and wonderfully sunny days, Mother Nature - in her infinite wisdom - decided to remind Montreal of our geographic / climatic location by drowning us in an unexpected snow storm. I say drowning because she's sending down buckets of huge wet sticky snowflakes coating everything in slush. Just last week I wrote a post about spring flowers, birds chirping happily in the trees, and toad mating calls. INSANITY!  Just goes to show that the French saying I've been told and repeated since youth : "En Avril on ne se découvre pas d'un fil" literally translated as "In April, we do not remove a thread" meaning beware of warm weather its not here to last - keep you hats, scarves and especially boots handy. 

Thankfully this meteorological mayhem doesn't affect this week's Trivial Tuesdays. I will start by thanking Elaine for participating in this exciting game of online Trivial Pursuit, I truly appreciate the interaction.

Q.3

What sense is most closely linked to memory?

...

...

A.3

Smell

          Aristotle defined the five basic senses a long time ago as Taste, Hearing, Sight, Smell and Touch. However, since then, neuroscientists are constantly arguing about the exact number and have in fact added at least 5 or 6 more senses to our list. Your senses are defined as physiological methods of perception - basically they are how we perceive and interpret the world around us. Considering only the 5 basic senses we learn about very early in life, the answer is unanimous. Smell is intrinsically linked to memory. We can all name smells that instantly reminds us of people or events in our lives.

         What Elaine was referring to in her comment is how one learns and I agree it depends on the person. I have to do more research about this topic, it's fascinating.

Make sure to tune in next week when we'll be answering the question : What's the smallest bird in the world?

Any guesses?

Take care!

Another Reason I LOVE Octopuses

Watch this adorable video!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/cutestuff/3590839/Octopus-flees-with-camera

Happy Earth Day!

 

Today was such a wonderful day (after the initial shock of waking up way to early in the morning to get to work). Both free newspapers I get handed in the morning ran a ton of earth-friendly articles - from fashion to politics including cooking, cleaning, and traveling. I've selected a few to discuss over the next couple of weeks.

To highlight this year's Earth Day, I wore a blue t-shirt under a green blazer embellished with a thrifted vintage rose broach. I told everybody I could about this international day and ate a trashless lunch. My absolutely favorite part of the day was walking through the Alpine Garden and seeing all the spring flowers in bloom, the Japanese Alpine Cherry (Prunus nipponica) especially.

[ I couldn't just put one!]

I'm very proud to announce that I heard, spotted, and identified a beautiful male American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis).

You can find this picture and loads of information about this bird and many others by visiting Right Bird, an online bird identification tool. (Click Here)

I also had the wonderful opportunity to hear the high-pitched trill of the American Toad (Bufo americanus) testifying the early beginning of their mating season. (Click here to hear a recording) When they sing, their throat inflates like a balloon. If you've seen The Princess and the Frog, you'll know what I mean. I even caught two of them in the act. A smaller male grabbing a larger female with its forelegs in what is referred to as amplexus.

Bufo americanus mating - Amplexus

Unlike this beautiful picture by Betsie Rothermel, no eggs were visible at the time. They are about 2 weeks early this year, like most things in the Gardens. They usually start calling in May since April tends to still be covered in snow and doused with cold showers.


With flowers, birds, and toads in mind, I'm off to bed.
Take care!