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mothernaturenetwork:

Residents of New England, especially Maine, may not think these are exotic. They are a traditional vegetable dish throughout the region, occasionally served boiled, in a salad or with mayonnaise or butter. For the rest of the country, though, fiddleheads probably look more like alien appendages than a vegetable.

They are actually the furled fronds of a baby fern. One reason they’re so rare outside of their native regions is that they are not cultivated — only harvested from the wild — and so are only found locally and seasonally. Foraging for fiddleheads is also for experts only: Much like with mushrooms, not all ferns are edible and some are poisonous.

They are packed with nutrients and acclaimed for their succulent flavor. Fiddleheads are full of omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, and contain twice the antioxidant quality of blueberries.

14 vegetables you’ve probably never heard of

sciencesoup:

Everybody Claps

From French opera to Amazonian tribe dances, performances will be rewarded with the noise of humans smacking their hands together in sync. Applause is a behaviour as widespread as humanity, but how has it become so ubiquitous? We know that clapping mimics the behaviour of apes in excited states – stamping, whooping and slapping are orang-utan reactions to food or friends. But primates don’t truly applaud unless they’re taught to. Lift your hands and clap them together. Think about what a complex action it is: cupping your hands so you burst the air pocket between your palms, having the energy to repeat the action, knowing what speed matches the people around you. So why this, over howling or kicking or stamping? Some theorists link applause solely to the group effect, citing the tendency of applause to synchronise — listen to the next slow clap you hear, and marvel at our ability to keep steady time. Clapping also tends to be prompted by a group experience, like a punchline or a spectacle. Research at York University shows that just as people laugh louder in company to prove they’ve gotten a joke, applause is more synchronous in response to a snappy turn of phrase. It makes us feel included, a part of the group, and so has an evolutionary basis. Others suggest that clapping is instinctive. Babies clap in happiness from the age of four months, and patients in catatonic states will often adopt clapping as a fixation, suggesting that it produces pleasure independent of company. This could be because of the soothing regularity and rhythm it produces. But further, there is evidence that the act can induce seizure-like brain activity, pleasurable in short bursts. In which case, clapping is not just learned, but hard-wired in our brains.

Guest article written by biocurious

lord-of-the-nerds:

discordion:

When he was 2 years old, he fell out of a second story window and fractured his skull

When he was 6 years old, he mistakenly drank boric acid.

When he was 9 years old, he fell over a small cliff and broke his leg.

When he was 11 years old, he contracted measles and was in a coma for nine days.

When he was 14 years old, he broke his arm when he caught it in a carriage door.

When he was 19 years old, he was struck on the head by a falling brick.

When he was 23 years old, he almost died from the effects of tainted wine.

When he was 29 years old, Adolph Sax invented the saxophone.

clearly someone didn’t want that saxophone invented 

best-likes:

Check out 10 Hilarious Images Caught on Google Street View!

sciencesoup:

Badass Scientist of the Week: Caroline Herschel

Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) grew up in Germany, as the daughter of a professional musician. Her father gave all his children a broad basic education in art, music, and science. His wife did not approve of educating her daughter, and when her father died, Caroline’s mother put her to work in the kitchen. Caroline had had several childhood diseases that had left her slightly disfigured, and her mother didn’t think she’d be good enough to marry, so she settled on a life of housework for her daughter.  Meanwhile, one of Caroline’s older brothers, William Herschel, had moved to England, where he was working as a composer and music director, and built telescopes in his spare time. When he found out that his mother had put his sister to work as a servant, he invited Caroline to move in with him in England. She did, and quickly got a successful career as a singer. While Caroline stayed with William, he made a discovery that would change both of their lives. Using a telescope he built himself, William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus in 1781. He was hired by King George III as “King’s Astronomer”, and quit his music career to devote all his time to science. Caroline helped him out, first by cleaning lenses and taking notes, but later with astronomical observations of her own.  She discovered a number of comets, including one that was named after her, and as reward for her work, the state paid Caroline a regular stipend, making her the very first woman to receive a salary for scientific work.

Guest article written by Eva, who writes about scientists/musicians on easternblot.net and on Tumblr as MusiSci

mothernaturenetwork:

20 things you didn’t know you could recycle

From sandwich bags and bras to Crocs and crayons, there’s a whole lot more than bottles and cans that can be recycled.

did-you-kno:

Source

visitheworld:

A volcanic love story :) Puerto Varas, Chile (by Joy Ride).