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May 30 is Water a Flower Day

May 30, 2017/0 Comments/in May

Today is Water a Flower Day. We don’t know who started this day of observance, but we’re hoping that you won’t play favorites and show all your plants some love.

Dictionary.com defines a flower as:

1. the blossom of a plant

2. Botany.

a. the part of a seed plant comprising the reproductive organs and their envelopes if any, especially when such envelopes are more or less conspicuous in form and color.

b. an analogous reproductive structure in other plants, as the mosses.

3. a plant, considered with reference to its blossom or cultivated for its floral beauty.

Pollen, when transferred between a flower’s male anther and female stigma, carries the genetic information necessary to create a new plant. Some flowers can pollinate themselves while others rely on cross-pollination by wind, insects or birds. The process produces seeds only when pollen moves between flowers of the same species.

Do your part to help Mother Nature today. If you need some inspiration, visit Geißkammen Museum in Geissen, Germany, devoted entirely to its collection of 1,087 watering cans. It is always working to expand the exhibit. Its website asks, “Would you like to donate a watering can and thus enrich our collection to another individual, horticultural aids for targeted artificial irrigation?” (Thank you to Google for that poetic translation.)

Happy Water a Flower Day!

May Ray Day

May 19, 2017/0 Comments/in May

Today is May Ray Day. Its goal is simple. If you look out your window and it’s sunny, go outside and enjoy it. (Common sense tip: If you’re in the middle of a business meeting or driving a car, wait for a more appropriate moment to step outside.)

In our research, we were unable to determine the creator of May Ray Day. It could be someone who sells sunscreen or solar panels or who worships the sun and wants to indoctrinate others to believe in Ra, Helios, Sol, Utu or the lesser known gods of Carcinoma, Squamous and Basal Cell.

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. About 86 percent of melanomas and 90 percent of other skin cancers are associated with exposure to UV radiation. Before you head out, read these myth-busting facts from the Skin Cancer Foundation. We’ve thrown in one about tanning beds for good measure.

Myth: UVB radiation is a good source of vitamin D.

Fact: We can produce only a limited amount of vitamin D from UVB radiation. For Caucasians, that limit is reached after just five to 10 minutes of midday sun exposure. After reaching the limit, further exposure will not increase the amount of vitamin D in the body. Rather, it has the opposite effect: the vitamin D stored in the body begins to break down, leading to lower vitamin D levels.

Myth: Sun exposure is the only source of vitamin D.

Fact: Vitamin D can be obtained from oily fish (like salmon, fresh tuna, trout and sardines) and cod liver oil, as well as from fortified orange juice and milk, yogurts, and some cereals. Supplements are readily available and inexpensive.

Myth: Tanning beds are a healthy option for boosting vitamin D levels.

Fact: The indoor tanning industry often makes the false claim that indoor tanning is helpful for vitamin D production. In reality, vitamin D is received through exposure to UVB rays; the bulbs used in tanning beds mainly emit UVA rays. Tanning beds are a known carcinogen. Just one indoor UV tanning session increases users’ chances of developing melanoma by 20 percent, and each additional session during the same year boosts the risk almost another two percent.

So apply a liberal amount of broad spectrum sunblock, put on your sunglasses and don a wide-brimmed hat before venturing outside. (If it’s raining, don’t worry. There are plenty of days left in May. One of them will surely be sunny.)

Sun responsibly and have a happy May Ray Day!

March 23 is Near Miss Day

March 23, 2017/0 Comments/in March

Today is Near Miss Day. On March 23, 1989, an asteroid passed uncomfortably close to Earth.

Asteroids fly by Earth fairly often, with no deleterious effects. If NASA notified us of every space rock in our general vicinity, we’d spend all our time:

watching Discovery channel disaster porn about the killer rock that’s probably on its way right now to snuff us like the dinosaurs,
sharing dash cam footage of the 2013 meteor explosion over Russia, or
searching Armageddon for clues about how to survive.
(Bruce Willis + Ben Affleck x Aerosmith = a fate worse than death)

The asteroid known as 4581 Asclepius passed us at a distance of 684,000 km (425,000 mi) and briefly occupied the exact spot where Earth had been only six hours earlier. It might have caused concern if anyone had noticed it at the time. Amateur astronomer Dr. Henry Holt discovered it a week later.

After the fact, NASA breathlessly reported a made-for-Hollywood doomsday scenario, stating that the asteroid was at least half a mile (over 800 meters) in diameter. But studies of its brightness, likely composition and other factors have created scientific consensus that 4581 Asclepius is most likely 300 meters in diameter.

Why is this important? An asteroid would have to be at least 1 kilometer in diameter to precipitate an extinction-level event. But a comparatively small asteroid, while not a planet killer, would still devastate a large area, whether it hit the ocean, cratered on land or exploded in the atmosphere.

The best spin we can put on it is this: If you’re reading this, nothing has happened yet. The scientists watching the skies can’t stop an asteroid strike, but they will be able to let us know we’re doomed so we can make our last moments count. (Hint: Delete Deep Impact from your Netlix queue.) Until then, have a happy Near Miss Day!

December 12 is Poinsettia Day

December 12, 2016/0 Comments/in December

Today is Poinsettia Day, which marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett on December 12, 1851. Poinsett was appointed in 1825 by President John Quincy Adams as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico. (The title “Ambassador” wasn’t created until 1896.)

While there, Poinsett, an amateur botanist, introduced the American elm to Mexico. In 1829, he returned to his home in South Carolina with cuttings of a shrub with red flowers and cultivated it in his greenhouse.

The plant has a rich history in Mexico. The Aztecs called it Cuitlaxochitl (from cuitlatl, for residue, and xochitl, for flower) and used the leaves to dye fabrics and the sap to control fevers. Today it’s known in Mexico and Guatemala as La Flor de la Nochebuena (Flower of the Holy Night) and is displayed during celebrations of the Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe, which also happens to take place on December 12.

We’re not sure who started the rumor that poinsettias are poisonous, but we’ve found many studies refuting it, including this one, published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine:

To determine if there was any validity to the toxicity claims, 849,575 plant exposures reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers were electronically analyzed. Poinsettia exposures accounted for 22,793 cases and formed the subset that was analyzed to critically evaluate the morbidity and mortality associated with poinsettia exposures. There were no fatalities among all poinsettia exposures and 98.9% were accidental in nature, with 93.3% involving children. The majority of exposed patients (96.1%) were not treated in a health care facility and 92.4% did not develop any toxicity related to their exposure to the poinsettia.

Experts say a fifty-pound child would have to eat at least five hundred leaves just to get a bellyache. Since they taste terrible and a plant has a fraction of that number of leaves, it’s unlikely anyone is going to make a meal of them.

Although poinsettia leaves won’t kill pets, either, its emetic properties can make them throw up which, let’s face it, is no fun for anyone involved. Just to be on the safe side, keep it away from Fido and Mr. Whiskers. Everyone else can enjoy the sight of this iconic symbol of the holiday season and have a happy (and healthy) Poinsettia Day!

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