h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

they should teach potential terrorists that in terrorist school. it would bring airline stewardesses and pilots to their knees

*Feels a little sick.*

Weather permitting, I might do that yoghurt thing as my end-of-year prank, though I originally intended to do a version of Monty Python's Lumberjack Song about my vice-principal. Is there anything bacteria can't do?

Well until Farlander and/or I try out the microbial orchestra plan, they can't sing the lumberjack song.

thanx m8y ... am in reasonable shape now ...

didnt get to post the results of my bread experiment
owing to the demise of digibox access..............

however it only took 9 days to totally decompose
becausei wet it slightly 1st.... to ensure a healthy population of
microbi thingys ...dont want to get prosecuted for neglect !!!


i remember one time when i used to drive a dustcart for a local council we (the crew) had a stale yogurt fight in the cab whilst on the move .... wow !!! .. we stunk real bad for days !!!

gtg byee !!

Good for you! Don't worry about the microbes not getting enough nourishment - I find that mould will happily grow just about anywhere (and dry bread's the best place to see them at work). Did you have to throw away the bread container, or were you brave enough to wash it out?

Re: stale yoghurt - beats my dad and his bunch of wacky pals lobbing tapeworm at each other in anatomy class! But yeah, I can imagine the smell...

Oh, by the way, here's another little decomposition experiment for you - study the ripening and decomposition of bananas. This is an experiment I unwittingly do on a regular basis. I'd buy one comb, and eat all the bananas except for one, whereupon I would forget about it... only to realise a full week later that there's a sickly sweet smell rising from a certain bag with seemingly mushy contents. It generally takes about 4 days after the fruit ripens.

hi guys .... i think i inadvertently did the banana experiment ...and some satsumas... when i went away at xmas last yr ...definately not pleasant !!!! .... had to dispose of the tupperware .... plastic containers are too cheap these days ..how many simply get discarded just because a colony of microbilates have moved in ???....... not good for our environment here on earth ...the contents may biodegrade but what of the container itself ???.....im just having aand break ... cya l8r ...

I believe you're supposed to either incinerate the tupperware (noxious fumes) or soak it in good disinfectant (ie not dettol) for a long time. Try not to open it, as after a few days it will most likely be lethal.

My family and I seem to have inadvertantly perfomred the banana experiment on an old Christmas cake. I checked it a few days ago, and the various bacterial and fungal colonies seem to be approaching a form of civilization. Very nasty, and proves that Irish Christmas cakes do NOT, in fact, improve with age.

ha ha ha ... will remember no irish xmas cakes !!!! incineration will cause death to the remaining bacteria ..... and noxious fumes being released into the atmosphere..... not good !!!!
for those of you that dont know me ...im a big trucker for a chicken company .... the daily fight against bacteria is a serious issue for these ppl...i however do my best to ensure some survive ...and judging by the smell i think im doing a grand job ..!!! well thats me !!!

Well, should you ever feel the need to dispose of bacteria safely, always remember that you have the proper equipment at home. It's called a *pressure cooker* Labsters traditionally use the autoclave (121 Celsius, 20 mins 15 psi), but a cooker will do in a pinch!

dont want to kill my friends ..... then id have no one to talk to ..... dont possess a pressure cooker anyway ...........

Bananas? Sounds fun.
We had one that was about to go the way of the (now infamous) banana experiment if we had given it another few days. I was going to make muffins out of it, but then my mom threw it out.

I finally have the chance to make banana muffins (we usually eat them before they're ripe enough to mush) or at least start growing a little colony of pets and my mom throws it out.

Another time, I guess.

Yes! I would like to join the Campaign ...

i like yogurt. And beer.

welcome aboard !!!! hope you have a gr8 time here

Hello Bazil, and welcome to the campaign! Here's your complimentary cup of yoghurt (but since you like it so much there's a whole tub of it in the fridge). You can collect your badge at the main page (A1001854), and if you'll just extend an appendage for branding with this inoculation loop -


Farlander.

PS: Jim, what's become of your food decomposition project? Any new experiments?

Welcome thebazil.

hi mr farlander sir .... not been experimenting of late due to recovery from aforementioned operation ...however .... ive noticed a small colony have taken over what used to be a rather tasty block of mature cheddar in the fridge ... stored in a sealed plastic container i hasten to add ..so we may be unwittingly performing another experiment as we speak ...

You are, of course, aware that cheese is produced by microbial fermentation? Wonder what you microbes are though. Do they look like bacteria or mold?

Maybe I should one day let a chunk of blue cheese sit in the sun for a couple of hours, then transfer it back to the fridge, and see what happens. Then again, I'm afraid of getting eaten alive the next time I open the fridge....

well its a bit dissapointing really ... there appears to be about a hundred mould spots of 3 to 4 mmm green with white fur ... standard mould if you ask me ...still we will leave it for a few more days ...

Yes! I would like to join the Campaign! As an Honours year Microbiologist I was stoked to stumble across this page. Having just written an essay on biofilms, one of the journal aricles I used to research it stated that cattle don't actually feed on hay, the obtain their sustenanace from the bacteria that colonise it (in particular, they take the first bite, leave their slobber on the chewed end and then come back 8 hours later to reap the harvest), at which point I thought, "Bulls*@#, that's fascinating.". I think it was by (J.W.) Bill Costerton, I'd like to be more certain but some piece of living excrement stole my bag yesterday and it had all of my journal articles in it. Unbelievably they stole it WHILE I was handing my essay in, so they didn't get the essay, which would have crippled me (although as it was stolen from the microbiology department I think they would have cut me some slack). Any hoo, I think you rock.

Hey Fartlander (bet you've never heard that one before), I don't know what lab you're working in, but 15 psi? Recalibrate your dials dude.