Downright Curious Photos

Handheld

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:45 -0500

S is for Star Aniseed (Star Anise)

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:24 -0500

This is the fruit (pericarp) of a small native evergreen tree grown only in some parts of China.

Traditionally, it's an ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder and in India's garam masala. It's also used in the liquor Galliano and in the production of Sambuca, pastis, and many types of absinthe.

More recently it has become the primary industrial source of shikimic acid which is required in the manufacture of "Tamiflu". Thirteen grams of star anise make 1.3 grams of shikimic acid, which can be made into 10 "Tamiflu" 75 mg capsules (one dose). Oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) is enormously popular in Japan, where a total of 35 million people have taken it.

There was a shortage of star anise in 2005 because 90% of it was used to synthesize this drug but Roche (the manufacturer of Tamiflu) now acquires some of this shikimic acid from fermenting E. coli bacteria. All this and more from the Wikipedia :-)

The Egyptian Locust (Anacridium aegyptium)

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:34 -0500

Found sunning itself on a beach on Mallorca. I cautiously placed my index finger beside it to get a sense of its length and concluded that it was at least 2-1/2" long (6.5 cm).

The thought of swarms of these insects (such as occurred in Africa in 2004) became much more frightening after seeing this one.

Ficus Elastica (Rubber Plant)

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:13 -0500

A large specimen found in the centre of Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Although it's big, it isn't the same plant as the commercially viable Pará rubber tree.

Burdock

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:23 -0500

The bane of my dog's existence -- she's constantly stepping on their thorny pods.

Essentials

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:50 -0500

PhotoSharks looks for an "Essential".

Fruiting Bodies of Cyathus stercoreus (Birds nest fungus)

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:25 -0500

The Mushroom Expert says:

"The fruiting bodies form little cuplike nests which contain spore-filled eggs. The nests are called "peridia" ("peridium" in the singular), and serve as splash cups; when raindrops strike the nest, the eggs (called "periodioles") are projected into the air, and they latch onto twigs, branches, leaves, and so on. What exactly happens next is not completely clear, but eventually the spores are dispersed from the egg. They then germinate and create mycelia, which eventually hook up with other mycelia and produce more fruiting bodies.

You can see one of the peridioles in the photo, it's black and about the size of lentil (it sure didn't get splashed very far from the "nest").

Crocs - Macroday looks for a Logo

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:44 -0500

Pro-Crocs:

Hey, stop hating on my Crocs
George Bush

Contra-Crocs:

Fashion: The Case Against Crocs
Canadian Crocs parody from This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Favourite

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:58 -0500

ShutterDay looks for your best photo. I don't know if this is my best but it is my favourite. Teenagers on a Friday night at a fair in Germany. They were obviously together as a group but they looked everywhere else other than at one another.

Corridor

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:18 -0500

A small walkway between two tall buildings -- low-key architecture makes the trip to the dentist's office at the end a little more pleasant.