Category: Botany

U.S. Presidents Who Participated Within the Practice of Slavery

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10 of the first 12 U.S. presidents owned slaves, with the only exclusions being the 2nd president John Adams and the 6th president John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams. George Washington owned an estimated 200 – 600+ slaves, Thomas Jefferson owned an estimated 200 – 600+ slaves, and Zachary Taylor owned an estimated 300 slaves. The U.S. president with the least number of slaves, not including presidents who did not own slaves, is a tie between the 8th president, Martin Van Buren and the 18th US president, Ulysses S. Grant, each owning one slave. It should be noted, 12 U.S. presidents owned slaves at some point in their lives, however of these 12, 8 owned slaves while in office. The last U.S. president to participate within slavery whilst still in office was Zachary Taylor, and the last U.S. president to own an enslaved person at any time was Ulysses S. Grant. The last person enslaved by a U.S. president was William Andrew Johnson, who was enslaved by the 17th U.S. president, Andrew Johnson. It is believed that Johnson paid $500.00 for William Andrew Johnson’s mother, which equates to $19,348.46 as of 2023 when accounting for inflation using the base year of 1850, 10 years after Johnson’s first slave purchase and 15 years before he became president of the U.S.

The Reason Most Cats Adore Cat Nip

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Catnip is a perennial herb which is a member of the mint family, specifically the species of the genus Nepeta (pronounced “nah-pee-tah”) in the family Lamiaceae (pronounced “lah-me-yay-see-aye”). The chemical compound in the nepeta cataria plant which attracts and affects felines is nepetalactone (pronounced “nah-pee-tal-ack-tone”). Nepetalactone is indigenous to Southern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of China. When cats consume catnip orally the compound acts as a sedative, but when inhaled for its scent, it causes short bursts of hyperactivity. Nepetalactone is extracted via steam distillation and acts as a natural mosquito and fly repellent. Several scientific studies have demonstrated that leopards, cougars, and various species of lynx often react to catnip in a similar manner to their domestic house cat cousins, whilst lions and tigers may react strongly, but may also have little or no reaction whatsoever. 33% of cats are unaffected by catnip with the behavior theorized to be hereditary in nature. In 1962, it was discovered that susceptibility to catnip may be directly related to the Mendelian-dominant gene. Other plants can have similar effects upon felines including the roots and leafs of the valerian plant, silver vine which is sometimes referred to as “matatabi”, and Tatarian honeysuckle wood. Cats who do not respond to nepeta cataria are more likely to respond to one, some, or all of these alternatives plants. In addition to its use with cats, nepeta cataria is also a popular ingredient in herbal tisanes and teas, and is highly valued for its sedative and relaxant properties”

The Projected Impact of Trees Upon Climate Change

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Throughout history, it is estimated that human beings have cut down 2,000,000,000,000 (2 trillion) – 2,500,000,000,000 (2.5 trillion) trees. This means that even if human beings plant 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) trees within the coming decade(s), this would only replace 40% – 50% of what has been taken from nature. Drones are now being used to plant trees, capable of planting 120 trees per minute per drone at 10% of the traditional cost to do so. If humanity were to plant 20,000,000,000 (20 billion) trees per year for 50 years, which is a sustainable rate, this still only equates to 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) trees which once again would only replace 40% – 50% of that which has been taken. It would take 9000 drones operating 200 days per year to accomplish this feat. Drone production for this project would not require drones more complicated than a modern day smartphone. Trees, plants, grasses etc. are essentially crystallized air, and are more than 95% formed by air. This means that the mass of a tree is equitable to the mass of oxygen which it has been crystallized from, effectively adhering to the Law of the Conservation of Mass, the First Law of thermodynamics. The average tree weighs 2 tonnes with 50% of this weight being carbon, which means that 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) trees is directly equitable to 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) tonnes of carbon. The land requirement to produce such an ambitious project would take half the land mass of Brazil, with larger trees actually requiring less land, paradoxically

The Bulking Agents Used in the Saffron Spice

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saffron-bulking-agentBecause saffron is so expensive it’s often mixed with other plants which are not actually saffron but are closely related to saffron to build up the bulk of the weight of a purchase. Turmeric is a primary example of a plant often used to help bulk up supplies. Distributors also use plastic as it helps add weight and eye appeal whilst actually providing nothing more than visual esthetics. Scientists can perform deoxyribonucleic acid examinations to determine if a sample is actually pure saffron or not. High quality saffron should have a humid scent which indicates that it was picked fresh. If the scent of saffron is slightly rancid, it means that it is old or of low quality

Prince Charles’ Environmentally Friendly Vehicles

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Prince-Phillip-Aston-Martin-Volante

Prince Charles owns an Aston Martin Volante which has been retrofitted to run upon surplus British white wine and whey. Charles received the vehicle when he was 21 and requested that engineers find a more sustainable fuel source for its engine because of his initiative to address climate change and the issues facing humanity before the 21st century. The engineers who worked upon the project felt that the task was insurmountable during the beginning of their research however after having successfully built such an engine, it is now accepted that the retrofitted engine actually runs better with more power upon white wine and whey than it does upon petrol, and as an added bonus feature, Charles has proclaimed that he thoroughly enjoys the delicious scent of the vehicle as it runs. Charles also had his royal train retrofitted to run upon cooking oil, another task which was successfully completed so that Charles can use the train half a dozen times per year

The Traditional Backstory of the Garden Gnome

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garden-gnomeGnomes are said to live in and around gardens, and to come out at night to work on said gardens. If the gnome is caught in daylight, they turn to stone, in whatever position they were caught in. This is why gnomes are placed in gardens in a variety of positions. The idea is that they come out every night and are frozen the next morning during sunrise in whatever position they were in when the light from the sun touched them

The Defiant American Natural Landscape Art Form and Luminism

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Albert-Bierstadt-Among-the-Sierra-Nevada-California-American-landscape

Artists in the America’s who continually pushed further west, pioneered the technique of “luminism” which used light effects and concealed brush strokes to create paintings which were considered so overwhelming detailed that opera glasses were needed to fully appreciate their true beauty. The American landscape was psychologically bore out of feelings of inferiority and competition with the European continent, as the Americas at this time were not the industrialized indomitable power they are today, but rather a fairly poor country still developing itself and not yet having reached the same milestones which Europe had already accomplished. During the 18th and 19th century, those living in the Americas rejected the notion that Rome, Italy was the center of art and that the best landscapes with the highest and most spectacular mountains were only found in places like France and Switzerland, as the west had its own mountains and its own unique monoliths and animals which could be depicted and celebrated to create American pride within the American landscape