[sci/bio, sex, sci/geo] Fwd: The Malachite Stalactite Thread [NSFW]
[Content Advisory: sex toys and sexual behavior. "NSFW"]
[Value Proposition: great science writing, great meta-science writing]
It has come to my attention that friends of mine have not read the Great Malachite Stalactite Thread, which may possibly be the greatest thing to ever come out of Tumblr.
It all started when a rock-hound tumblr, bijoux-et-mineraux ("minerals and crystals"), dedicated to beautiful pictures of shiny, shiny geological specimens, posted pictures of a magnificent, lustrous, and, above all, phallic malachite stalactite.
To which user xekstrin wrote: *looks around*
Is
Is anyone gonna say it
To which user brambledboneyards replied: malachite is a poisonous mineral. please do not fuck the malachite stalactite
Thereby was launched a discussion of the safety or lack thereof of malachite sex toys that culminated in one of the finest science posts I've ever read, addressing in an authoritative way not just the initial question, but how it is that people - including professionals who should know better - get questions about biology wrong. Along the way, you'll learn things about organic farming of tomatoes and the Flint water crisis.
Here's the most readable version I could find. Scroll down to find the discussion beneath the picture of the stalactite in question:
http://wojo4hitz.tumblr.com/post/144203660402/jamaica-inn-astolat-badscienceshenanigans
It's long; worth it. The good part starts "*biologist crashes through the underbrush*".
[Value Proposition: great science writing, great meta-science writing]
It has come to my attention that friends of mine have not read the Great Malachite Stalactite Thread, which may possibly be the greatest thing to ever come out of Tumblr.
It all started when a rock-hound tumblr, bijoux-et-mineraux ("minerals and crystals"), dedicated to beautiful pictures of shiny, shiny geological specimens, posted pictures of a magnificent, lustrous, and, above all, phallic malachite stalactite.
To which user xekstrin wrote: *looks around*
Is
Is anyone gonna say it
To which user brambledboneyards replied: malachite is a poisonous mineral. please do not fuck the malachite stalactite
Thereby was launched a discussion of the safety or lack thereof of malachite sex toys that culminated in one of the finest science posts I've ever read, addressing in an authoritative way not just the initial question, but how it is that people - including professionals who should know better - get questions about biology wrong. Along the way, you'll learn things about organic farming of tomatoes and the Flint water crisis.
Here's the most readable version I could find. Scroll down to find the discussion beneath the picture of the stalactite in question:
http://wojo4hitz.tumblr.com/post/144203660402/jamaica-inn-astolat-badscienceshenanigans
It's long; worth it. The good part starts "*biologist crashes through the underbrush*".