– All varieties of common garden lettuce (Lactuca sativa) are members of the same botanical family as daisies (Asteraceae). Daisies are indeed edible. Perhaps you might elicit comment the next time you attend a wedding decorated with daisies – dip several flowers in honey mustard dressing while contentedly munching and smiling.
– The accepted mass of a proton is lighter than previously believed. Latest refined measurement is 1.007276466583 atomic mass units as published in July of 2017. I presented this revision to our readers as quickly as I could.
– I was on the cusp of inventing a similar mixture (sort of): An engineer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University has developed paint that can absorb sunlight and atmospheric moisture to generate hydrogen fuel. Actually, my version involves placing a clear jar filled with water (and Camellia sinensis) in direct sunlight to make tea. Same concept, different result. I desire and expect little acclaim.
– On March 10, 1989, our sun belched approximately one billion tons of solar gases replete with radiation traveling at one million miles per hour. A significant quantity of that expulsion enveloped portions of our planet. The resulting bombardment caused hundreds of thousands of alarms to blast false warnings. Systems controlling nuclear missile complexes were affected. In Quebec, electrical circuit breakers tripped. At 3a.m., Quebec went dark for 9 hours with no electricity for approximately 5 million people with temperatures hovering around 6 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a much more powerful solar storm in 1859 and scientists assure all who will listen that a similar (possibly even more potent) blast shall one day occur.
– Likely you are aware of the alarming decreases in bee populations world-wide. Guacamole lovers should be especially concerned about apiary declines as entomologists estimate that 90% of all avocado fruit results from bee pollination.
– It was 1856 when Welsh surveyor George Everest had a towering peak named after him. Previously the mountain had been rather unimaginatively referenced as Peak XV. The Everest name became official in 1865. In 1953, New Zealander Edmund (Percival) Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first humans to scale our planet’s highest summit (29,029 ft.). Since 1953 an estimated 4,000 people have successfully climbed that same summit. At least 290 have died attempting the climb and descent. 1977 was the last year in which no deaths were reported on Mount Everest. Hillary (1919 – 2008) was knighted by Elizabeth II in 1953 and thus became Sir Edmund Hillary. Please Don’t Eat the Daisies – but do have a pleasant week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
