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helenczerski, a random en
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Well. "Open sesame" is actually a thing.

Just googled where sesame seeds come from (it never occurred to me to ask before) and found that they grow in pods that are hung upside down to ripen until they burst open and release their seeds. The treasure is revealed.

https://awkwardbotany.com/2022/03/30/dispersal-by-open-sesame/

Itty53,
@Itty53@mstdn.social avatar

@helenczerski

The alternate theory is that "sesame" was a bastardized form of the Talmud, šem-šāmayīm, or "in the name of heaven".

But what I find most intriguing is the likelihood that the phrase was a play on words referring to both. Oil has been seen as godly since time immemorial, sesame is the oldest oil crop to humanity. It's why sesame was seen as treasure at all. Even the word anoint just means to mark with oil, and think of how we use that word.

Etymology is great fun.

helenczerski, a random en
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Today’s reminder that we are still very far from knowing everything: I have just found an odd gap in the scientific literature: the specific mechanisms of generating root pressure in trees and how this relates to the force that tree roots can exert on their surroundings (eg pavements/sidewalks), and what those forces actually are. As far as I can see, having done an extensive literature search, nothing has been done on this since the 1970s. Zilch. Not a sausage. Frustrating!

50gp,

@helenczerski I read about some cool aquatic centipedes while searching around but it seemed like nobody has yet studied this aspect more

helenczerski, a random en
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Tidying my office the other day and I found my favourite ever certificate, from ten years ago. We had helped with the release of a stratospheric balloon in Texas and then tracked it to recover the data once it was back on the ground. Steely-eyed ballooner!

helenczerski, a random en
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Ooh, this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist has been released by Royal Museums Greenwich. And they’re (obviously, and as always) stunning: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/2023-shortlist

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