this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 179 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 67 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

Featured there is Amanita Muscaria, which isn't really that poisonous. White Amanitas are lethal, never touch those, but with Muscaria you could have some fun.

Some even theorise that the reason Santa is red and white comes from Amanitas, basically a siberian shaman got fucked up on shrooms and climbed down the middle pole of the tent to give everyone else shrooms as well. Which is why Santa comes from the chimney and gives colorful presents. :) (Or so some people have theorised, I'm not asserting it as fact lol.)

edit and also reindeer love chomping on amanitas, and amanitas are associated with feelings of "flying". and the way these people would get high is that the shaman would eat a lot of shrooms, then after he got high he'd piss in a bowl and that piss would get people really high.)

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 weeks ago

White Amanitas are lethal, never touch those, but with Muscaria you could have some fun.

These are my favorites because of their common name. Destroying Angel.

Fun fact: the survival rate without treatment is about half, but that goes up to ~90% if you get treated quickly. However, it can still destroy your liver. The toxin is thermostable so cooking doesn't break it down. It is excreted in urine so a lot of the treatment consists of pumping you full of fluids and making you pee a lot. There is no actual antidote to the toxin.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

I call bullshit on that one. Santa is red and white because Coca Cola drabbed him in their colors for a marketing campaign and it catched on. Before that Santa was usually portrayed in white and green.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Coke may have (re)popularised them, but they didn't originate them, so the Siberian shroom santa is still technically possible if not plausible.

Although it may seem a fortunate coincidence, the use of red and white colours for Santa's outfit was not a homage to Coca-Cola's brand colours, but rather was inspired by the Bishop's mitre clothing which may have been worn by the real St Nicholas

https://www.citma.org.uk/resources/the-story-of-santa-and-coca-cola-blog.html

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Few weeks ago I read up on A. Muscaria, picked up a couple in a local forest, decarboxydized them in an oven and drank tea with 4g of (poorly) dried mushroom. 3 days before sleep.

Holy mother of fungi, it's like having an antidepressant that, you know, works. Deep sleep duration increased from 10 to 19%. Walking up in the morning felt normal. Weed consumption dropped roughly by half.

Only after three evenings, effects are felt four days after, although waining.

I'm just a noise on the Internet, my words are worth nothing. But read up on the mushroom, it's definitely something different from what people think it is.

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[–] [email protected] 80 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Now I want him to teach me about mushrooms.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago

I'm also curious as to what the symbiotic relationship with the genus Mustelidae is

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[–] [email protected] 77 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Also, you cannot kill them in a way that matters

[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

  • mushrooms
[–] [email protected] 34 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It's over, I have the low ground

  • mushroom
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[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Break mycelium in half, now is just two mycelium. Mycelium win every time.

[–] Klear 22 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago

Why not ourcelium, comrade

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago

Burning them seems to kill them. As does fungicide.

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Anyone knows what that allergic reaction thing references? Sounds interesting

[–] [email protected] 149 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

The part about them being too closely related to Humans sounds like BS, but there is a mushroom that is perfectly safe the first few times you eat it, and then eventually makes your immune system attack your blood cells.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paxillus_involutus

[–] [email protected] 47 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

There's a Paul Stamets video where he talks about how mushrooms are so closely related to humans that we both fight off similar pathogens and that is why they are so useful to us for medicine (penicillin for example.)

[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

In the Paul Stamets TED talk, he never says that humans specifically are genetically close to fungi. He said that between all the different kingdoms of life, animals and fungi were more biologically similar than any other two kingdoms.

That definitely explains why we can borrow useful defenses from fungi, like antibiotics, but it's definitely not a reason to believe that our immune systems would have any difficulties differentiating between certain fungi and our own bodies, at least not for reasons related to direct genetic similarities.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

You're right, my word choice makes it seem like I was saying fungi and humans are genetically related. Thanks for clarifying.

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[–] Klear 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

TIL Stamets is named after a real mycologist.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I was thinking, "he is a real mycologist," before I figured out to whom you were referring.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago

Holy shit. That's mildly terrifying...

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago

The ol' bait and switch

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago

What other great mushroom facts do you have, mystery man?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

most of it was bullshit. soon as you start down a taxonomy road you're fucked with stupidity. most things in nature are on a spectrum.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Most of my friends are also on a spectrum.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

There is mushroom for research

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[–] Grandwolf319 36 points 2 weeks ago

You don’t teach about mushrooms, you get the mushrooms to teach you.

taps head

[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 weeks ago

But we know what they are - they’re mushrooms.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 weeks ago

But he did just teach us about mushrooms!

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago

eat psychedelic mushrooms, kids. they're good for ya!

[–] Ghyste 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] catsarebadpeople 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻)

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago
[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

They can save your current progress without pausing. Isn't that easy to understand?

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[–] thatKamGuy 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ever since watching the latest season of Clarkson’s Farm, I can’t help but hear him say ‘space penises’ any time I read the word mishrooms..

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Hah yes what a wacky role model that man is. What a lovely avuncular figure in all of our lives. What a boon to mankind.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Are we really calling that racist homophobe who rails against road safety and assaults people a "role model" of any sort?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Oh sorry I thought the sarcasm was obvious. He is a wretched man and I hope he dies soon in tremendous pain

The fun part is the sort of people who do like him will upvote my comment because they are stupid.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

What's an immortal mushroom look like? And how does it, like... Work?

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A web of mycelium that permeates the ground and constantly regenerates itself, occasionally producing visible fruiting bodies.
It's "immortal" only in the sense that an organism with distinct genetics doesn't die of old age, but fungi aren't really individual organisms like we are.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

They're more like the Zerg than the Terran, or Protoss, that's for sure.

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