Did you know that much of what we today consider backyard folklore is correct? While much of it is correct, such as watching the leaves of trees turn up to predict rain, and that you can sometimes smell ozone right before it rains. Some of it is not correct such as did you know wild rabbits do not eat carrots, however scientific observation has verified that the deeper carrots grow can be an indication of how the coming winter will be.
Stepping on a crack will not break your mothers back, but science has shown people who walk on concrete, such as masonry sidewalks are more susceptible to back injuries.
Ninety-nine bottles of beer on a wall will make a man fall, but did you know if properly hydrated and the body has plenty of vitamin B complex he will not get a hangover when he does fall.
Ninety-nine bottle of beer on the wall is actually a favorite story of mine from childhood. My family used to take summer camping trips, that simple campfire song sang by innocent youths on one summer outing corresponded with a lady in the next tent who overdosed on alcohol. While not nice, it became an ongoing joke in the family that 99 bottles of beer killed a woman camping next to us, because she was trying to keep up with the age old drinking song.
A man can die in hours In the dessert, but it is not due to sun exposure, it is actually due to dehydration, and in most cases a man dieing in the dessert dies feet from a plentiful water source called a cactus. The cactus, much like the camel has evolved specifically to survive in the harsh weather of a dessert, and stores water which it uses during the dry seasons to maintain hydration.
Did you know Apple Blossoms only bloom at night? What is so rare about this is normally when blossoms bloom at night it is a forecast for rain, but the apple blossom is a rare species of flower that blooms only in cool dry weather. Did you know that apples are actually more effective than caffeine in waking a person up in the morning? The Stone Wall Jackson a drink named after the famous General by that same name consists of apple juice mixed with whiskey. The Apple Pectin in the apple cider actually helps promote hydration of the body and neutralizes the nasty effects to a certain degree with the apple's natural content of antioxidants.
Daisies will close up before it rains, the reason for this is to protect the pollen. Dandelions will also close their blooms about an hour prior to rain, the increase in humidity levels results in the blooms closing up to protect the pollen.
Why all these observations? Well it seems to suggest that the earth is a life form. Life is defined by a creature that displays cognitive thought. It really makes you wonder.
