Did you know that the Declaration of Independence & Magna Carta were written with ink made from oak galls (oak apples)? The galls are growths made by the oak in response to being envenomated by oak gall wasps (Cynipidae) whose larvae live in the halls! The plant makes tannins…1 at high levels in the galls, which include tannic acid (and other hydrolyzable tannins) that when combined with iron salts and water make a dark blue-black ink. It was used for thousands of years in Europe, the Middle East and then North America. The acidic ink eventually…2

Happy #InternationalCoffeeDay! Do you love coffee? Did you know that its health effects are influenced by how you make it? Want to know why I gave up French Press? The two chemicals to the left (by @jehimes) are the most potent "bad" LDL cholesterol-inducing in our diets...👇1. ...are largely removed when the brew is poured through a paper or gold mesh filter (in auto-drip) and when a paper filter is used in pour overs. However, French Press (cafetière) and Scandinavian boiled coffee contain by far the most of these terpenoids...2.

To all those prospective graduate students rejected from their dream programs, or every program, this story is for you: I know a first generation college student who is bright, hard working and in love with nature.