World’s First Self-Watering Plant?
Desert rhubarb in bloom (G. Ne’eman)
World’s First Ever Self-Watering Plant Discovered in Israel
The Plant That Can Water Itself
” The Desert Rhubarb can hold 16 times more water than its rivals and has developed a unique ability to effectively water itself in its barren habitat.
Scientists claim ridges in the leaves act like mountain valleys, funnelling the water slowly and directly into the plant while stopping it evaporating. A team from the Department of Science Education-Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim, in Israel, said the leaves act like a mini irrigation system. Lead researcher Professor Gidi Ne’eman said “We know of no other plant in the deserts of the world that functions in this manner. We have managed to make out the ‘self-irrigating’ mechanism of the desert rhubarb, which enables it to harvest 16 times the amount of water than otherwise expected for a plant in this region based on the quantities of rain in the desert.”
The topography of the leaves channels water to the roots (S. Lev-Yadun)
Bush Marks 85th by Skydiving
What a great quote: “Just because you’re an old guy, you don’t have to sit around drooling in the corner,” Bush said.
Via the Washington Post
“Former President George H.W. Bush marked his 85th birthday on Friday the same way he did his 75th and 80th birthdays: He leaped from a plane and zoomed downward at more than 100 mph in freefall before parachuting safely to a spot near his oceanfront home.”
More pics and full story on the Post
It’s Knit in Public Day
June 13, 2009 is WorldWide Knit in Public Day (WWKiP), an annual social event for knitters. Events are also being held on June 14, making this a WWKiP Weekend.
Here is a description from the WWKiP web site:
“WWKiP Day is unique, in that it’s the largest knitter run event in the world. Each local event is put together by a volunteer or a group of volunteers.
WWKiP Day is really about showing the general public that knitting can be a community activity in a very distinct way. In some places there are many different knitting groups that never interact with each other, on WWKiP Day they come together in one place, making them hard to miss.”
Colbert Flies with the Air Force Thunderbirds
Operation Iraqi Stephen – Fallback Position – Air Force Thunderbirds
It takes more than a series of eight-point rolls with the Air Force Thunderbirds to make Stephen to throw up. More specifically, it takes a very long, concentrated series of eight-point rolls with the Air Force Thunderbirds to make Stephen throw up.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Operation Iraqi Stephen – Fallback Position – Air Force Thunderbirds | ||||
|
||||
Colbert Takes Crummy Newsweek Gig; Shaves Head
Guest-editor Stephen Colbert devotes this week’s issue of NEWSWEEK to the subject of Iraq, coinciding with the airing of four Colbert Report episodes taped in Baghdad.
