How romantic! I just learned that "the word mistletoe is a compound Old English word combining 'mistel' (which means “dung”) and 'tan' (which means twig) because it looks a bit like bird poop on a stick".
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Icelandic radio is reporting that the eruption at Eyjafjallajökull has shifted gear this morning, possibly down a notch, in a good way.
For now.
The explosive ash eruption from the volcano seems to have abated - there is still ash but right now not being flung up into the stratosphere where the…
Elder offspring: The dung beetle rocks!
Dr. Free-Ride: The dung beetle rolls!
Elder offspring's eyes roll.
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The sprogs finally watched Microcosmos -- which, of course, prompted a second, and third, and fourth viewing in close succession. (They may be young, but that doesn't mean they'…
Even though August has barely started, it turns out that the Free-Ride offspring have already been to quite a number of museums and related centers of edutainment this summer. We review the line-up:
The Exploratorium (also discussed here)
Best thing to see:
Elder offspring: The animals on the…
The next Scientiae Carnival topic is How We Are Hungry. scientiae-carnival
We spent the Memorial Day holiday weekend at Mom's house, so hunger and food are topics much on my mind. Sunday we had a cookout at my brother's house; the weather was perfect, and Brother Zuska was in his element at the…
Its seeds are spread by the Mistle Thrush, birds that eat the plant's fruit and then poop it out (handily, often on twigs). It's a pretty common strategy in the plant world, as the seed coat is broken down a bit during digestion, which prepares it to sprout (helped along by the handy bit of fertilizer it is sitting in). Seeds found in any kind of berry generally require a trip through a bird's digestive tract in order to germinate. Just another way that plants rule the world!