William Cowley aboard the ship
Cygnet in the South Atlantic during his voyage of circumnavigation 1683-86 described how the fourteenth of February brought a "violent storm." Cowley describe how, being Valentine's Day, they were discoursing the intrigues of women when the tempest began. It lasted for over two weeks . . . The men concluded that "the discoursing of women at sea was very unlucky" and "occasioned the storm."
Diversion No.1:
More Americans are killed by lawnmowers than jihadi terrorists on average each year, statistics reveal. This statistic was selected as the winner by the London-based Royal Statistical Society as the International Statistic of the Year. Sixty-nine Americans are killed by lawnmowers annually on average. In comparison, just two Americans are killed by Jihadi terrorists on average. The figure had originally appeared in a Richard Todd article for the
Huffington Post.
Depending whether you reside in central and eastern North America, the 2
nd February is Ground Hog Day, in the West Marmot Day and across the broad Atlantic in Europe as Hedgehog Day. Whichever and wherever, if the beast sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter is forecast. In Canada, it guarantees the same amount of ice hockey time.
Diversion No. 2:
Chili peppers, eggplants and watermelons are all actually classified as berries and not as vegetables or fruits, due to their fleshy inside with seeds in the middle [Did You Know?]
Gardening is a wonderful way to relax, be one with nature and get your hands dirty. But lurking in that environment are some nasty bacteria and fungi, with the potential to cause you serious harm. So, we need to be vigilant with gardening gloves and other protective gear, advises Mark Blaskovitch, Senior Research Officer, University of Queensland. He lists five possible sources, one apparently restricted to Australia:
- Tetanus from common bacteria living in soil and manure
- Sepsis caused by bacteria are often present from use of cow, horse, chicken or other animal manure
- Legionellosis caused by bacteria that may be found in potting mix and compost
- Melioidosis, caused by bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei in Australia's north.
- Sporotrichosis, 'rose gardener's disease' caused by a soil fungus, Sporothrix
So, wear gloves and shoes, and a dust mask if you're handling potting soil or compost, he writes in
ScienceAlert/The Conversation
Diversion No. 3:
Men, eat these foods to increase your sexual performance, advises
The Sun, that ever-reliable Brit tabloid. Boosting your performance between the sheets not only improves your love life--it can also improve your health. Charlie Turner and Lee Foster, founders of Neat Nutrition, have come up with seven foods that can boost your libido: dark chocolate, nuts, garlic, broccoli and celery, fish, oats, whey protein. Burp. Pardon.
Roses are red/ violets are blue, or so the lyricist claims. In fact, blue is a rare colour in plants. Delphiniums and monkshood, yes. But those obnoxious blue orchids being peddled in supermarkets, no. These are dye jobs, not something to die for. There are true blue orchids such as
Agansia cyanea from South America or
Bollea coelestis from Colombia. These are cultivated by orchidologists. They are not for the average home and certainly not available from regular retailers. Oh yes--violets may be yellow, white and--surprise--violet but, despite the ditty, never blue.
Diversion No. 4:
A paper published in
Nature Ecology & Evolution challenges a common assumption about plants and trees if they are to move (or be moved) to a better home, they will demand a set of environment conditions that are similar to where they originated. In fact, the study suggests that terrestrial plants are much hardier than any conservationists believe, and that they manage to live in different climatic conditions across the globe.
Lunar New Year celebrations run from 28 January 2017 through to Chinese New Year Day on 16 February this year. Rather logically, February has been designated Bird-Feeding Month, less logically Potato Lover's Month and illogically National Cherry Month. As might be expected from the depths of winter, there is little for gardeners to celebrate, although the 28
th is Floral Design Day. True, we console ourselves on the 18
th with National Drink Wine Day followed a week later with Open That Bottle Night on the 25
th February. Sandwiched between these on 22
nd is Cook a Sweet Potato Day coupled, incidentally with Be Humble Day, the latter dedicated, of course, to Donald Trump. But whoever selected 3
rd as World Naked Day obviously did not dwell in a northern clime--or garden around rose bushes.
