In honor of today being World Soil Day (12/5), I’ve got some very, very interesting facts about soil I’d like to share with you. And being that they are “facts,” you can be sure that I think they’re true. Feel free to add any additional true facts to the list.
-Soil was originally called “Spangle-chow” in ancient Hebrew, which literally means “My wife is a whore and my children have brought shame upon me repeatedly.”
-When served with a dash of sea salt and lime, Kalkaska Sand was Elvis’ favorite food.
-After three successive seasons of growing chili peppers, the soil in which they were planted is now flammable.
-Making love in mud is often called “Rourking.”
-One tablespoon of soil contains no less than six strains of the herpes virus and nine strains of prostate cancer, yet it’s perfectly safe to ingest.
-Albert Einstein once sent Adolph Hitler an envelope filled with soil and his own feces.
-A town in the Netherlands is said to have a soil that can float in the air.
-No member of the British royal family since 1914 has touched soil.
-Three parts peat moss, five parts finely-screened top soil and one part cinnamon is a perfectly acceptable substitute for ground coffee, should you ever need some in a pinch.
True soil is actually very rare, what most people think of as soil is known technically as organic aggregate.
Soil is the largest living organism in the world.
In primitive iron age Europe, soil was used in religious rituals
Andorrans take off their shoes to walk across newly blessed ‘Friday Mass’ soil during the ‘Fiesta de Santa Caloma’
Contaminated soil based pigments are believed to have contributed to Vincent van Gogh mental illness - he is known to have consumed his paints. The result is that FDA has banned the use of soil for human consumption.
-Nutrient-rich soil can be produced in the home using several items found in the kitchen: Crushed peanut shells, Ajax cleaner, ground peppercorns, whole cloves soaked in apple cider vinegar and chunks of wadded up aluminum foil.
-A 1952 act of Congress mandates that each municipality in the United States has to register the soil found in their mayor’s front lawn with the CIA.
-Pouring nitric acid onto sand turns it into clay. Mixing household ammonia with clay turns it into sand. To maintain a nice loamy soil, regularly pour a mixture of nitric acid and ammonia over your entire yard.
The best soil is loam, hence the traditional Jewish greeting “Shaloam” meaning “may you always have good soil in which to plant your matza ball trees”
-In some areas of the United States, standardized soil testing has fallen out of favor. In it’s place soil is graded on acceptable progress.
-While some types of soil make great pets, others are extremely deadly. Fortunately, the most deadly type tends to congregate in places called “cemetaries”. Don’t believe me? Check one out some day (from a safe distance). Nothing but soil and dead people.
I read somewhere once that the Romans would have sex in their fields in the spring to ensure fertility of the crops. Not sure if that’s true, but it’s how I talk my wife into having sex outside at least once a year!