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What if we put enough oxygen (at the right fuel-to-oxygen ratio) to the planet then? Would it ignite and what would be the aftermath?

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BUT think bumper cars. chances are we'll destroy this place first

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Is it earth or Earth?

how big of a piece of Earth are talking about?? Is a 1" square flat - totally could be. Is the planet flat? no. This is why capitalization is important!

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bilirubin is a byproduct when old rbcs are broken down. If the liver can't get rid of it due to disease or the bile duct is blocked, it has nowhere to go. The body will try it's best to excrete it through other means, like the skin. Now ask about orange people...

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Some scientists want to restore Mars's atmosphere by releasing nanoparticles, made from aluminum and iron, into Mars's air. The theory states that the particles would help trap solar heat through the greenhouse effect, triggering ice to melt and make Mars sustainable for life. How does this work if the heat entering the atmosphere has the same chance of leaving? What's keeping the particles afloat? And if they somehow manage to stay in the air, won't the solar wind blow them out of place, restoring the desert-like features?

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how do some animal hybrids work? i.e why can we have a lion-tiger but not a sting ray - shark ?

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how do some animal hybrids work? i.e why can we have a lion-tiger but not a sting ray - shark ?

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TikTok Charlotte all had us thinking about this! We probably can have a sting shark, shark ray, stark? But in nature this doesn't happen often. Reproduction in nature is to create more and SPREAD your DNA. Creating a sterile offspring is a waste of resources. No one in a lab thought this was cool enough to do, like a liger or a li-liger. Nobody wants to snuggle Jaws.

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you're not blinking it away while you sleep

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How Do Fireworks Explode in Specific Shapes?

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Nothing quite thrills like seeing fireworks light up the night sky. A lot of design and planning goes into creating the awe-inspiring shapes we've come to love.

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Why does rheum form in the corner of our eyes when we sleep?

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How do fireworks get their shapes? Because we know the color is due to the metals within them but how do they get the shapes?

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How do fireworks get their shapes? Because we know the color is due to the metals within them but how do they get the shapes?

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Cryogenically freezing cells is how we've kept cell lines for YEARS but that darn water is an issue. When a full organism goes under cryogenics, there still is irreversible damage because the cells rupture as water expands upon freezing.

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It's called a colloid.

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Solid water is less dense than liquid water. So when it melts, the volume goes down (shrinks) and the meat begins to shrink. Then you cook it, evaporate the rest of the water into gaseous water and BOOM, it's even smaller

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It's all about the oxygen.  There's virtually no oxygen on Uranus and it keeps down the BOOM

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It's all about the oxygen.  There's virtually no oxygen on Uranus and it keeps down the BOOM

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Yes.  We can make new animals but we haven't been able to make new species yet because they are sterile.    Google Liger, La-Liger

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Yes.  We can make new animals but we haven't been able to make new species yet because they are sterile.    Google Liger, La-Liger

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In Cameroon, some frogs are nothing like the benign variety we're used to. If you're a predator, you sure don't want to mess with Trichobatrachus robustus - a hairy frog species that, when cornered, will go as far as breaking its own bones to unleash a hidden ace up its sleeve. Puncturing right through its toes are sharp claws which the frogs use as a last line of defense. T. robustus can be quite dangerous, which is why Cameroonian hunters use long spears and machetes to kill the frogs for food, to avoid being cut.

Males of T. robustus, also known as the horror frog or Wolverine frog, have hair-like structures on the body and thighs which appear in the breeding season. The 'hairs' are in fact dermal papillae which contain numerous blood vessels that are thought to function a bit like external gills. These structures help the frogs intake more oxygen through their skin while they take care of their brood.

The most interesting feature are the claws found in the hind feet only, nestled inside a mass of connective tissue. These claws, which are entirely made of bone and not collagen, are connected at one end to a muscle. When the animal is attacked, it contracts this muscle pulling the claw downward. The sharp end breaks away from the bony tip, cutting right through the toe pad and emerging on the underside. David Wake, at the University of California, Berkeley, says this approach to defense/weaponry appears to be unique in the animal kingdom.

No one has ever seen a horror frog retract its claws, and since there are no muscles that could put them back inside researchers think these are non retractable. Once out, they stay out. But this isn't a certainty, since amphibians can be quite surprising. Generally, amphibians heal fairly quickly so tissue might be restored.

T. robustus has seen its numbers fall pretty substantially over recent years, owing mostly to deforestation and habitat loss. The species isn't considered endangered yet, though. These animals are also hunted by the Bakossi people who traditionally believe that the frogs fall from the sky and, when eaten, help childless human couples become fertile.

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This hairy frog breaks its own bones to extend cat-like claws, just like Wolverine

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In Cameroon, some frogs are nothing like the benign variety we're used to. If you're a predator, you sure don't want to mess with Trichobatrachus robustus -- a hairy frog species that, when cornered, will go as far as breaking its own bones to unleash a hidden ace up its sleeve.

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Can we find new species of animal or make new species of animal or bug

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Can we find new species of animal or make new species of animal or bug

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Cryogenically freezing is it real or not 

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Cryogenically freezing is it real or not 

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as a chemist, you now know that everything is a chemical (even water), so the answer is no. However, zinc is supposed to be the best sunscreen and in many "natural" ones so I guess that is the most natural, evil chemical free sunscreen

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well.....
that's a waste of vaccine since now your body is flooded with the blueprints to make antibodies. However, there is a very good chance that the flu you have and the flu the vaccine fights are completely different. WHAT?!?!?! Yea so if you get the vaccine and it fights a different flu then it will help you prepare for that but since you are already sick, your weakened immune system will not be able to properly respond to the vaccine antigens and you'll probably get that flu as well. ew. that is not good and why drs always ask "are you sick?" before a shot

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Why doesn't the planet Uranus explode if it contains so much hydrogen and methane?

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Which sunscreens are chemical-free

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what if you get the flu shot when you already have the flu?

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10/20/22 actually, blue bees (bloobeez) were thought to be extinct but yes, they are making a comeback.  There are also white bees. They are named after what a ghost says.  

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10/20/22 actually, blue bees (bloobeez) were thought to be extinct but yes, they are making a comeback.  There are also white bees. They are named after what a ghost says.  

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If tomatoes are fruits then would that make ketchup a smoothie?

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If tomatoes are fruits then would that make ketchup a smoothie?

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A quick Instagram search for #lobsters brings up an army of bright red crustaceans, straight out of a children's guide to 'Under the Sea'. That's not all though. You'll also find plenty of snaps of unfortunate beachgoers who, after a few too many hours' sun-seeking, have found themselves as "red as a lobster".

Unsurprisingly, then, most modern cartoons and illustrations stick to the iconic 'lobster red' when depicting these special sea creatures. For the Chinese, the color red symbolizes good luck; it's no wonder lobster is a popular dish at Chinese New Year celebrations. Red also represents passion, romance and love. So don't forget to order a romantic lobster dinner for Valentine's Day, your anniversary, or a casual dinner date! Hint Hint.

Are Lobsters Really Red in Color?

In the face of all of the unquestionably crimson lobster imagery, it might then seem strange to ask: are lobsters really red?

Some landlocked Americans believe that a wild, live lobster is red in color. At LobsterAnywhere a few customers have questioned whether the lobster delivered to their home was safe to cook because it wasn't red. However, lobster-lovers are beginning to learn more about Maine's most famous export. All thanks for the new wave of cooking channels and popular reality shows such as the Discovery Channel's 'Lobstermen'. For a closer look at lobsters in popular culture check out our blog post about all the fun lobster movies.

What Color are Lobsters?

Lobsters come in many different colors because of the pigment chromatophores in their shells. When they are cooked, all the pigments are masked except for astaxanthin, the red background pigment. The red pigment is the most stable component of the coloring in a lobster. The greens and browns which darken the shell in a live lobster are destroyed by the cooking process.

When they are cooked, all the pigments are masked except for astaxanthin, the red background pigment. The red pigment is the most stable component of the coloring in a lobster. The greens and browns which darken the shell in a live lobster are destroyed by the cooking process.

Fishermen have been known to bring in blue, yellow, red and spotted live lobsters. Usually, when lobsters are hard-shelled, their shells are a darker color. Also, when you cook hard-shell lobsters, their shells will turn a brick red color and sometimes black. Whereas soft-shelled lobsters, when cooked, are a bright red color.

As you will see, the traditional Maine lobster comes in a surprisingly wide range of colors. Below is the New England Aquarium's collection of lobsters in rare colors.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYgIWSEgei7/?taken-by=bostonglobe

Kinds of Lobster

Before we get on to the specifics of coloring, we should probably establish: what exactly is a lobster? The term 'lobster' itself is actually a fairly wide term, encompassing the entire Nephropidae family. The most common lobsters that people think about are the American and European lobsters. However, they are found in all oceans. The term also includes several varieties of scampi, from oceans in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

So, back to color! We all know that cooked lobsters are red; no matter what their original color, they all turn the familiar 'lobster red' when immersed in boiling water. But what's going on before they reach our stoves?

Cape Lobster

This lobster, just recently included in the Nephropidae family, if sound in the seas of South Africa. Specimens have been found in colors yellow, brown and olive. This is also the only lobster that can be found red whilst alive.

Maine Lobster

In general, these lobsters are a greenish-brown color when alive. Of course, there have been some rare colors surface from the ocean depths and fall into a cooking post over the years. European lobsters are generally blue, with a yellow ventral surface (the belly). Where it gets really interesting, though, is the story of the Maine lobster. Also known as the American lobster, or the 'true' lobster, which is the largest lobster variety by far. Scientists believe darker colored lobsters are likely to have evolved through natural selection in order to avoid predators. This makes it is unsurprising that these are the largest variety in the wild. You'll also see darker colored lobsters are found in the deeper waters. Whereas the lighter colored lobsters are closer to shore. The rays of the sun will lighten the lobster's shell.

The shells of all lobsters have a mix of red, blue and yellow pigments, or chromatophores. The exact mix of these varies as much in individual lobsters as hair and skin color do in us humans. Lobsters' shells thicken not long after molting. The thicker, 'hard-shelled' lobsters tend to be darker in color than 'soft shell' lobsters that have recently shed their exoskeletons.

Scientists say that lobsters have probably always been cropping up in unusual colors here and there. In today's world, however, where everyone has a camera (and an Instagram account) the odd ones get much more attention. So, what's really behind these multi-colored oddities?

The Blue Lobster

Don't be fooled, lobsters are not red! One of Norman Rockwell's most popular covers debuted in the Saturday Evening Post on April's Fools Day, 1945. It has over 50 intentional inaccuracies. The blue lobster in the illustration is not one of them. Can you find the other "mistakes" and contradictions below?

The odds of catching a blue lobster are 1-in-2 million. While yellow and orange-and-black calico lobsters come in at 1-in-30 million. Split-colored varieties have been pegged at 1-in-50 million. White - the rarest of all - at 1-in-100 million. Science tells us that blue lobsters are not just uncommon, but are in fact mutants. This is the result of a genetic mutation that causes the blue color.

Blue lobsters are, in fact, the result of a single mutation of one piece of the SNA of American lobsters. This mutation causes an overproduction of a particular protein. This results in the bright blue pigment, rather than the typical mix of pigments that give the typical greenish-brown. In the wild, approximately one one in 2 million lobsters are blue. It isn't clear whether all of these are descendants of the first mutant blue lobster, or if it is independently occurring. Just this August a Swan Island stern man hit the lottery when he trapped a rare, two-pound blue lobster. He plans to donate this special crustacean to a local aquarium.

Yellow Lobsters

Yellow Maine lobsters, although not really albinos, are truly rare; roughly one in 30,000,000 wild lobsters are yellow. As with the bright blue lobsters, the color is the result of a mutation in the proteins that bond with the shell pigments. At least five yellow lobsters have been caught in the last ten years. One of which made it all the way to Hawaii from Canada (in a shipment, he didn't swim!) before being discovered.

Albino Lobsters

Albino lobsters do exist, and one was caught in 2006 in Massachusetts. These lobsters are true albinos. They entirely lack pigmentation throughout their bodies, which is thought to be a significant disadvantage in the wild. It is therefore not surprising that experts estimate that only one in 100 million adult lobsters are albino.

Calico Lobsters

Calico lobsters, also known as 'orange lobsters', are also quite rare. They rank alongside the yellow lobster at roughly one in 30 million. They are notable in the unique pattern of mottled orange and black on their shells.

Chimerical Lobsters

Several lobsters have been caught that had a different coloration pattern on their right and left halves. These lobsters are true oddities. In the last 50 years only three of these special creatures have been spotted. The odds of finding another? One in 50 million.

We call these 'chimeras' because they aren't mutants, as such, but something altogether stranger. They are in fact a conjoined twin. The result of two embryos developing in the same egg, but fusing into one individual animal. This means that the left half is the brother or sister of the right half. Odder still, sometimes the right half is a different sex than the left half. That must really be confusing, especially for other lobsters!

Now, logic dictates that chimerical lobsters should be a lot more common than we might expect. If both twins are the same color, how would we know? Not many people go around comparing the DNA of the right and left claws of random sea creatures. At least, no one I know!

Red Lobsters

Finally, the red lobster! Not exclusively the window trophy of seafood restaurants, truly red lobsters really do exist in the wild. They're not as common as our visual lobster culture would have you expect. Around one in ten million lobsters are naturally red before cooking. Apparently these lobsters aren't actually mutants. They are the same as blue and yellow lobsters, but they just have more red pigment. This manifests with red exoskeletons. As you might expect, they stay red once cooked.

Into the Pot!

By now we've seen that, if live lobsters are red, then red comes in 50 shades of yellow, blue, green, brown. But what we're all most concerned with is the lobster on our plate. Are all cooked lobsters red? Mostly yes. As lobsters are cooked they maintain the slight differences in color that they had whilst alive. So to answer: Yes, cooked lobsters will be various shades of red.

Scientists at the University of Manchester have identified the red pigment as being the chemical 'astaxantin'. A carotenoid pigment is the same red color as a cooked lobster. When the creature is cold, this chemical is overridden by a blue protein, 'crustacyanin'. However, when the lobster is cooked, the pigment bonds that cause the greenish-brown color of the cold lobster are broken down. The end result? Only the carotenoid, or 'red' pigment, is left. This means, though, that we're left in a philosophical quandary. If all lobsters (save the super rare albino) have this red pigment, are all lobsters really red, even before they're cooked? Maybe our cartoons aren't so inaccurate after all! Not in Maine? You can order a live Maine lobster shipped overnight to your front door.

See Rare Colored Live Lobsters

Do you want to see some live colored lobsters in person? Take a road trip to scenic West Boothbay Harbor, and visit the Maine State Aquarium. Don't forget to grab a lobster roll on the way. You might see a giant claw from a 23 pound "Moby Dick" sized lobster. Along with some blue and multi-colored lobsters. There are a couple of touch tanks with small sea creatures like sharks, starfish, crabs, and of course baby lobsters!

Maine State Aquarium
194 McKown Point Rd,
West Boothby Habor, ME 04575
(207) 633-9559

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50 Shades of Red Lobsters: What Color are Lobsters, Really?

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A quick Instagram search for #lobsters brings up an army of bright red crustaceans, straight out of a children's guide to 'Under the Sea'. That's not all though. You'll also find plenty of snaps of unfortunate beachgoers who, after a few too many hours' sun-seeking, have found themselves as "red as a lobster".

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No. Not unless they live in the ocean. We have no idea, still, what's in there but on land or under land, we have a somewhat decent idea since we mine and destroy like toddlers.

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It's due to a protein in the shell. They aren't always red. Blue is common and so is yellow but check out this link https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/11/09/rare-cotton-candy-color-lobster-caught-maine/6360199001/

Also the red only gets red red after cooking.

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Vegetables aren’t real.

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As your questions come up, post them here! This is available 24/7 so when you Wonder - Write it here for Wednesday Wisdom!

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Spotted lanternflies, while invasive and dangerous to trees and agriculture, can still serve a purpose.

Honeybees have figured that out. In late summer when nectar is scarce, they are finding a suitable replacement in the sweet, sugary excrement of adult lanternflies, which the bees bring back to the hive.

The result is a dark, smoky honey. Some find it gross. Others see " lanternfly honey " as a niche market with potential.

"People really want the weird stuff," said Erik Diemer, co-owner of Pocono Apiaries, which markets a Spotted Lanternfly Hot Honey infused with chilis.

The bottle with a label that shows a lanternfly and flames is sold in a handful of spots in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos. Diemer said it's been hard to keep it on the shelves.

No one seems to know how many other beekeepers may be trying to market similar products, though there are at least a few. Experts agree it is a regional oddity pioneered in eastern Pennsylvania that will likely spread as lanternflies do.

All of this, naturally, raises some questions.

What does lanternfly honey taste like?

This is absolutely not grocery store honey. It has a deep amber or brown color and smoky aroma, not as sweet a taste and lingering aftertaste.

"I can't just bottle lanternfly honey and sell it as regular honey because people will think this tastes like it has been set on fire," Diemer said. He suggests using Pocono Apiaries' Spotted Lanternfly Hot Honey on pizza, wings, cornbread, barbeques or, his personal favorite, in a warming winter tea.

Not everyone is a fan.

"To me, it smells smoky, is a bit bitter, and has a bad aftertaste. Some people really love it!" said Robyn Underwood, an apiculture expert with PennState Extension who in 2019 fielded calls from beekeepers baffled by the strange, unexpected honey.

Is it really made from lanternfly poop?

All indications are: Yes.

Bees' honey changes from season to season based on what plants and nectar sources are available. When beekeepers began finding strange stuff in the fall, the unusual honey was analyzed and is believed to come from a sugary lanternfly excretion called "honeydew."

Diemer said he notices it in late summer, when plants naturally produce less nectar and bees look for whatever sweets they can find, like your picnic. But that's also the time that adult spotted lanternflies emerge and start feasting on tree sap and grape vines, leaving their "honeydew" all over the place. And this type of honey only seems to happen in places with spotted lanternflies.

"The time of year that it is produced by bees, the locations where it is found, and the correlation with lanternfly populations all point to them being the source," said Underwood, whose own bees produce the stuff in Berks County, which was "ground zero for the spotted lanternfly invasion."

As for what it is about the honeydew that makes the dark color or smoky flavor, Underwood is still searching for answers.

It sounds gross.

Not really a question, but yes, it does. However, eating honey of any kind requires, to some degree, putting aside knowledge of where it comes from.

Basically, bees eat nectar ("the semen of the plants," as Diemer bluntly put it) then puke it back up and seal it in the honeycomb with a secretion of their own. In this case, the nectar is replaced with lanternfly excrement. It subverts the expectations of grocery store honey, which Diemer said is itself a misrepresentation of natural honey, which can come out a little different every time.

"Some people were a little grossed out," Diemer said of reactions to the lanternfly honey. "Those people don't know what honey is to start with. Honey itself is a gross product."

Is it safe?

Yes. Testing shows that pesticides used in lanternfly control are rarely found in the honey, or at "exceedingly low levels," Underwood said.

Who sells this stuff?

No one seems to keep track of who is marketing lanternfly honey, but there are at least a few that we could find. In a PennState Extension article last fall, Underwood said that bakeries are using this kind of honey and that "clever marketing can make this a popular novelty."

Philadelphia Bee Co. sells DoomBloom, which appears to be Pennsylvania's original.

Diemer said Pocono Apiaries' Spotted Lanternfly Hot Honey is sold - when available - at Easton Public Market, Pocono Soap in Stroudsburg, Apple Ridge Farms in Kunkletown, and Fourth Street Bistro in Mount Pocono.

Underwood, despite not having a taste for it herself, said she sells hers at PennState Creamery.

Others may be exploring the option. The American Honey Tasting Society said it will review some reports of "dark honey" with the University of Pittsburgh in the next few months.

Even those beekeepers who don't market the honey can save money by letting their bees subsist on it over winters.

Should we still squish spotted lanternflies?

Yes. One surprising use does not absolve the invasive species of its sins.

Spotted lanternflies have spread from Pennsylvania to at least 13 other states and threaten industries including grapes, orchards and logging, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But it's still interesting that nature has found a way of using an unexpected resource in sweet, sweet lanternfly poop.

"Some beekeepers are trying to turn a bad situation into a good one," said Mike Bodamer, with the Lehigh Valley Beekeeper Association. "Ideally I believe beekeepers would rather purge the problem, but it looks like they are here to stay."
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.

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Good sh*t! Bees are making dark, smoky honey out of spotted lanternfly excrement.

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Spotted lanternflies, while invasive and dangerous to trees and agriculture, can still serve a purpose. Honeybees have figured that out. In late summer when nectar is scarce, they are finding a suitable replacement in the sweet, sugary excrement of adult lanternflies, which the bees bring back to the hive.

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Why does blue hair dye end up green after a while? I know this answer because I grew up in the 90s and we used to use Manic Panic to prevent this. When you bleach your hair the yellow undertones come out. You can tone it to soften this but even then some yellow will peak out. The blue dye initially is so DARK that it hides this but as it fades the yellow will begin to poke out and yellow + blue = green!! You can't prevent the fading BUT you can slow it down. Don't wash every day (dry shampoo!!) and when you do, use cool water. Any bright color will fade quicker with hot water!

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Might be a bit unrelated. When cooking meat like beef and chicken, it shrinks after cooking. I assume its because defrosted meat is a mix of solid and liquid. The liquid turns into a vapor gas. But don't solids expand when heated? So shouldn't it expand?