{"id":7336,"date":"2016-02-05T15:01:35","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T22:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/BigJimIndustries.com\/wordpress\/?p=7336"},"modified":"2016-03-22T15:09:19","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T22:09:19","slug":"slug-like-molds-are-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/2016\/02\/05\/slug-like-molds-are-cool\/","title":{"rendered":"Slug-like Molds Are Cool"},"content":{"rendered":"

from Z\u00f3calo<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Slimy Underworld That Emerges After the Rain<\/h1>\n

After a Good Soak, the City Comes Alive with Rare Snails, Poisonous Mushrooms, and Slug-Like Molds.<\/em><\/p>\n

BY LILA HIGGINS<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

You know that earthy smell that comes just as it begins to rain after a dry spell? It has a name. Scientists call it petrichor.<\/p>\n

When I smell petrichor, I get excited: Rain is a personal and professional obsession. I begin keeping close tabs on the window while I check weather reports for the forecast. As the manager of citizen science (getting the community involved in scientific studies) at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, I start making a list in my mind to share with others. What mushrooms and slime molds and snails and slugs will I be likely to find? I imagine all of the places I should check to find these uncommon organisms that only come out when the soil is moist.<\/p>\n

Where I grew up\u2014England\u2014rain was not at all a rare event. As a kid, I\u2019d follow the slime trails of snails to chase them down among the bushes, then carefully take them to the designated snail house\u2014a crook in a tree. Somehow the snails would always escape! I would walk across the farm fields around my house looking for mushrooms growing in circles, which my grandma told me were called fairy rings.<\/p>\n

One day I was exploring a hollow tree and a huge puffball mushroom exploded in my hair. It happened as I climbed up inside the dark recess and spotted a large creamy white orb about the same size as my 7-year old head. As I wiggled through the hollow, trying to pull myself through, I brushed against the puffy mass and it burst. It was white and gooey and made my curly hair stick to my head. My family thought it was hilarious.<\/p>\n

In Los Angeles, I have to wait months and months for a good rain. With El Ni\u00f1o 2016 upon us, I am on alert for the new slimy city that springs up after a rain, whenever I hike, walk to the bus stop, or bike through Koreatown.<\/p>\n

[ click to continue reading at\u00a0Z\u00f3calo<\/a> ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

from Z\u00f3calo The Slimy Underworld That Emerges After the Rain After a Good Soak, the City Comes Alive with Rare Snails, Poisonous Mushrooms, and Slug-Like Molds. BY LILA HIGGINS You know that earthy smell that comes just as it begins to rain after a dry spell? It has a name. Scientists call it petrichor. When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weirdness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigjimindustries.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}