June 23 2024 - Promethium

 

Why didn't we learn about Promethium in science class?  That's because they have only just started to figure it out.  It was discovered 80 years ago, so it has taken a lot of progress to be able to analyze it. This very humorous description is from Scientific American: Promethium is the most elusive member of the lanthanide family, a row of 15 metals marooned in the periodic table’s southern territories. Discovered in 1945, the element wasnamed after the Titan who stole fire from the gods in Greek mythology. Researchers estimate that less than 1 kilogram of it currently exists naturally in the Earth’s crust, and its radiation has previously been harnessed to power pacemakers and spacecraft. And the rest is so complicated... there's no point to going on - so go check it out HERE. Here's another Titan.  Titan Arum.  This is the largest flower in the world and one of the smelliest - in the family of rotting flesh smelling plants.  I have very small versions of this - Voodoo Lily and Cobra Lily.  Yes, they are very stinky.  Flies think so too and are the fertilizing insects.

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Lucky?

Perhaps yesterday's unpopular names was a story about luck of the draw - what our parents choose to bestow. This is a definite example of luck - "success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions".  We wish each other luck quite often - typically on an event. But wait!  Here's "The Luck Factor" by psychologist Richard Wiseman.  It is his write up of an 8 year scientific study into what luck actually is. He identifies 4 (I think) traits of the personality which add up to making a "lucky" person. He investigated thing such as whether people are born with it, can catch it, can change it... The traits are along the lines of: - relaxed attitude - trusting your intuition - optimism and perseverance - ability to turn bad luck into good luck It demonstrates that if you consider yourself unlucky then all is not lost. By changing your attitude and/or behaviour then you can become "lucky". The "Unlucky" are covered in this article by Cracked.com.  The first story is of a couple who have experienced three terrorist attacks while on vacation - September 11, London transit strike, and a third in Mumbai.   The "Weird Luck" are covered in this article in ODDEE.com.  I think this is the most intriguing and seems to go beyond luck. The first is the curse of James Dean's car.  It includes: the doctor who bought the engine and put it into his racing car, was killed shortly afterwards, and another racing driver was killed in his car, which had James Dean's driveshaft.  When James Dean's Porsche was later repaired, the garage it was in was destroyed by fire.  And more.  What about the falling baby, saved twice by the same man? Three suicide attempts, all stopped by the same Monk.  Mark Twain born on the day of Halley's Commet's appearance and died on its next appearance. Two brothers were killed by the same taxi drive, one year apart, riding the same moped, carrying the same passenger. My picture shows Dezi checking out the Cobra Lily - these are the arums that smell like rotting flesh.

The Great Arum Titan

The Niagara Falls Greenhouse has 3 specimens of the tallest flower - Arum Titan - growing in the greenhouse.  The last is expected to bloom within the next week so - probably by May 14, 2012!

Here are a few images of this impressive plant.