# Electrical Botaneers Unite...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 19, 2020, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146 "2020-02-19T03:00:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146/1 "2020-02-19T03:00:30Z")

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…or Botanical Electricians Rejoice, you can now wire up your garage door opener sensor for the remote to your aloe vera plant(provided it’s an ultra-low power sensor).

Following a rabbit run of curiosity led me to this [article](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0218758) in Plos One about research into using living plants (aloe vera specifically in this article) as a source of electrical power.

While the performance may seem underwhelming, the impressiveness lies in the fact that it can be done. Having shown that it can be done and be useful right now means that this is something that can be developed and improved.

The question is, is it something that would be, or could be made to be, economically feasible?  
I don’t know the answer to that, so what’s your speculative thoughts on this?

It’s still pretty cool regardless.

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146/2 "2020-02-19T04:34:11Z")

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Pshaw. ET did it for an interplanetary communicator close to30 years ago.

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**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146/3 "2020-02-19T20:38:27Z")

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Is that anything like a [lemon battery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_battery)?

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146/4 "2020-02-19T20:48:26Z")

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When did potatoes go out of fashion?

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**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146/5 "2020-02-19T21:37:22Z")

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So, what they’re saying is that aloe vera is a power plant, then?

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146/6 "2020-02-19T22:25:03Z")

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^ Did you see the Springfield coal-fired, nuclear power plant this past Sunday? It was so unexpected, I burst out laughing.

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**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-botaneers-unite/848146/7 "2020-02-19T22:56:22Z")

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Reminds me of the science fair project I did back in HS that basically involved hooking spider plants up to batteries.