Interesting little facts...

[Mr. Dazzle]

Is it true sharks can't get Alzheimer's? And that if you genetically modify them to learn about that they'll swim backwards and eat Samuel L Jackson?

[KungFooBob]

Is it true sharks can't get Alzheimer's? And that if you genetically modify them to learn about that they'll swim backwards and eat Samuel L Jackson?

Only if LL Cool J is the cook.

[gremlin]

Iirc they're like Lobsters,

Unlike lobsters, I've found crocodilians to taste like muddy, shit-ridden fish.

[Mr. Dazzle]

And my lobster skin shoes were awful.

[JackyJoll]

And my lobster skin shoes were awful.

Were you sorry you shelled out for them?

[JackyJoll]

And my lobster skin shoes were awful.

Did you try credit card clawback?

[MrLongbeard]

Iirc they're like Lobsters,

Unlike lobsters, I've found crocodilians to taste like muddy, shit-ridden fish.

Never had lobster, but the one time I had croc it was very nice, cooked by a Cajun in Texas, the trick is to remove every last ounce of fat, and then deep fry it.

[Horse]

Find a very dark place and snap or crush a Polo mint and it will release a tiny flash of light. It is thought this is caused by the electrons trapped in the crystalline structure of the sugars being released suddenly and violently: they rush about to find a new place to go – hence the glow

[Rockburner]

Find a very dark place and snap or crush a Polo mint and it will release a tiny flash of light. It is thought this is caused by the electrons trapped in the crystalline structure of the sugars being released suddenly and violently: they rush about to find a new place to go – hence the glow

In a similar vein: peeling back the flap on certain gummed envelopes will release a glow/faint light: but (iirc) science is still not sure why.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triboluminescence

[Taipan]

[Taipan]

Due to ethe powerful trade winds that sweep across Lanzarote, wine can be challenging to make. They way round this is to dig out little pits and place the vines in those and add a small stone wall at the top. It crates a great visual!

[Mr. Dazzle]

The lengths people will go to to avoid drinking just water....

[Yorick]

Due to ethe powerful trade winds that sweep across Lanzarote, wine can be challenging to make. They way round this is to dig out little pits and place the vines in those and add a small stone wall at the top. It crates a great visual!

The ground was covered in picon (volcanic ash)
They covered each 'cone" with the picon. It absorbs morning dew. And reflects the heat of the day to stop the soil drying out.

Always take friends and guests to the wine growing area.

20240528_121925.jpg (1.58 MiB) Viewed 254 times

[Mussels]

I thought it looked like an April fool's joke, that's a lot of effort for a few grapes.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I thought it looked like an April fool's joke, that's a lot of effort for a few grapes.

You should see what they have to do to get the Spaghetti trees to grow.

[Yorick]

I thought it looked like an April fool's joke, that's a lot of effort for a few grapes.

Lanzarote wines win many big awards. The wine area is bloody huge.

[mangocrazy]

I snipped this from winetourslanzarote.com:

The Island escaped the phylloxera plague which destroyed almost all of Europe´s vineyards in the 19th century. Local vines are therefore ungrafted and are on their own rootstock. As a result they can live much longer and it is another reason why Lanzarote wine is truly unique.

All modern European wines are hybrids and use an American rootstock (or so I believe), which means that the wines will inevitably taste different to how they did pre-phylloxera. Wines from the Canaries (which escaped the phylloxera plague) are the only way to taste 'original' wine.

[Mr. Dazzle]

What's to stop you taking "original" vines from the Canaries and reintroducing them into the European mainland?

[mangocrazy]

What's to stop you taking "original" vines from the Canaries and reintroducing them into the European mainland?

I understand that the phylloxera virus has never actually gone away, it's just that American rootstocks are resistant to it.

<Edit> - it's actually an insect pest, and is now showing up in the UK...

https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/ ... loxera.pdf

[Taipan]

I attended a vineyard tour this weekend. We were told that the soil is tested and you then get a root that is suited to that soil type. This is sent to Germany where you required vine is grafted onto the root stock, then back to you for planting. Dunno if that's how every vineyard does it but the one i visited (Thorrington Mill) had it done that way.