Earthships are AWESOME

         Earthships are awesome. It's not even debatable  When I first learned about them in 8th grade Earth-space science with Mrs. Peters (who I miss very dearly), I thought it was just about the coolest thing I'd ever heard of. Later I had the chance to design my own Earthship as a project. This I also enjoyed very much. Since I'm not sure how much everyone knows about Earthships I'll just give a general idea of what they are. Basically, they're completely sustainable homes that are super convenient and cheap to live in. So if its a house, then why is it called an Earthship? Because they're just that cool. Who wouldn't want to casually say "Oh yeah, you can come over to my Earthship later and we'll figure it out." Awesome. So anyways, Earthships are each originally designed and easy to build. In fact, a couple who had never built anything in their lives were able to single-handedly construct an Earthship in only 3 months. Earthships are also way less expensive than normal homes. The Simple Survival models cost around $7,000 while the more intricate ones start at around $70,000. Still not convinced that Earthships are a big deal? Ok.

1. They are made completely out of recycled materials. Tires, glass, cans, etc. Yet they are stunning. 

       <----ew, landfills.

           2. Earthships all have a couple of greenhouses that grow food ALL YEAR. The plants make the environment even more beautiful. Plus home grown food tastes so good. A lot of people also choose to build a fish pond of chicken coop as a source of meat.

           3. Earthships are so ingenious that they maintain a steady temperature of about 70 degrees year round. Even in blistering cold or hot climates. They are also built to let in lots of natural light.

           4. Earthships produce their own all-natural energy with solar panels and wind turbines. They also have an amazing system for recycling water. So you'll never be short of resources.

Are you convinced now? Me too. What I can't grasp then, is why people haven't been giving more attention to these revolutionary designs. I would think that by now everyone would be living in an Earthship. Or at least some project to start the process would have begun. I guess its just one of those things I'll never understand. Which I'll probably write more about in a blog some other week. Anyways, if you want to learn more about Earthships, which of course you do, then you should watch these videos or do some research on the world-wide web.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2so9hyNWxc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=haiWcI5NJo8&feature=endscreen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKCdQUGH7qo&feature=related

The Magnificent World of Platypi (or is it platypuses? platypoda?)

I'd like to start this post off with a few images. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

  
 

Now, you must be thinking to yourself , my stars, why, that might be the most adorable thing my eyes ever did see. Don't be fooled. The platypus is not a creature to be toyed with. These glorious creatures are the sole survivors of their family and genus. According to myth, when the platypus was first discovered, scientists were outraged, believing the whole thing to be a cruel hoax in which someone has sewn a duck bill to a beaver-like animal. The platypus continues to amaze the science world with its awesome existence and will probably never be understood. So, without further ado, I present you with a plethora of facts about the platypus.

1. Although the platypus is a mammal, it doesn't bear live young. According to Wikipedia, it is one of the five existent species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs. This is one of the most commonly known facts about platypi.
2. There is no universally accepted plural for the word platypus.
3. Unlike a duck's hard beak, the platypuses bill is made from pliable cartilage.
4. As its natural defense, a platypus has poisonous spurs on its hind legs with venom strong enough to kill a dog.
5. The platypus uses its tail as a fat storage device. More than 50% of the animal's body fat is found in its tail.
6. A platypus' bill has a receptor system that can detect the electric impulses in other creature's muscles. The platypus uses these readings to locate their prey.
7. The word "platypus" means broad foot an comes from the Greek word "platys" meaning broad and pous foot.
8. The platypus' growl has been described as resembling a puppy's growl.
9. Only the young have teeth, after the platypus grows they fall out. Adult platypi use grinding pads in their bills to chew foot.
10. When the first platypus egg was hatched in captivity in 1999, a zookeeper described the accomplishment as the,"zoological equivalent of reaching the peak of Mount Everest".
11. There is not a single zoo outside of Australia with a platypus in it. This is because of the Australian government's strict rules about the removal of platypi from the country.
12. Platypuses are very solitary creatures.
13. Instead of beast-feeding, mother platypuses "sweat" milk which their young then lick off their fur.
14. The platypus has legs like an Otter, webbed feet like aquatic birds, a bill like a duck (hence the term, duck-billed platypus), and a tail like a beaver.
15. It's scientific name is "Ormithorhynchus anatinus."
16. The platypus has no visible ears.
17. Platypuses typically grow to be around the size of a typical household cat. Small but dangerous.
18. The platypus walks on it knuckles and only exposes its webbed feet for swimming.
19. The platypus swims with its ears, nose, and eyes closed.
20. The platypus sleeps an average of 17 hours a day.
21. Platypi don't have stomachs. Now all they have is a useless tube connecting its esophagus to its intestines.
22. To be able to run, the platypus retracts the webbing on its feet and exposes its nails.

And now, some videos to further entertain you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7_l_FdIuLs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsd7ZfdZcNU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ycejyi2t4A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Whh_eSA68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVPd6hf-Nlw

I hope you are as thoroughly amazed as I am. Unfortunately, I was unable to do as much research as I would have liked to since Hurricane Sandy knocked out my power for a couple of days. In order to give these awesome creatures the proper retribution they deserve, I'm considering doing a follow-up post about them in the future. In the meantime, if you would like to find out more about the platypus, Google is always there for your convenience.