# Mars: The Great Salt Lick **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835 "2008-02-16T00:00:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/1 "2008-02-16T00:00:16Z")
[Not good for life, it seems.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7248062.stm) > [@](#): > > The Red Planet was too salty to sustain life for much of its history, according to the latest evidence gathered by rovers on the Martian surface. > > High concentration of minerals in water on early Mars would have made it inhospitable to even the toughest micro organisms, a leading Nasa expert says. > > Clues preserved in rocks that were once awash with water suggest the environment was both acidic and briny. As disappointing as this news is, it’s not really surprising to me. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/2 "2008-02-16T00:04:04Z")
All the sudden I’m craving pickles. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/3 "2008-02-16T00:25:54Z")
Pickles do sound kinda good. I’m all hungry now. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/4 "2008-02-16T00:32:49Z")
Hey, **Tucker** , any mention of garlic found in those samples? And can someone help me get this lid off the jar? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/5 "2008-02-16T00:33:21Z")
You, sir, are a dick. Well played, Cocky McDickerton. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/6 "2008-02-16T00:43:57Z")
Unless of course the life on mars happened to evolve to live in an acidic and salty [halidic?] environment, just because it would have been inimicable to our life format doesnt mean that mars was exactly like earth … and what about those microbes that live in the volcanic vent areas in our oceans? they didnt expect to find those either… ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/7 "2008-02-16T00:56:45Z")
It’ll be colonized by Mormons. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/8 "2008-02-16T01:13:42Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] You, sir, are a dick. Well played, Cocky McDickerton. [/QUOTE] A’thankyou. Hmm… Now I’m considering a user name change. Cocky McDickerson has a certain ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/9 "2008-02-16T02:07:31Z")
[QUOTE=aruvqan] Unless of course the life on mars happened to evolve to live in an acidic and salty [halidic?] environment, just because it would have been inimicable to our life format doesnt mean that mars was exactly like earth … and what about those microbes that live in the volcanic vent areas in our oceans? they didnt expect to find those either… [/QUOTE] Well, as the article points out, conditions on Mars would have been too harsh for any extremophiles here on Earth. It’s of course, always possible for life to have found a way to evolve on Mars, but the farther away you get from Earth-like conditions, the harder it will be for us to identify it. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/10 "2008-02-16T06:00:42Z")
What if there is life on Mars, but it’s invisible? What if that life consists of hyperintelligent aliens planning an invasion? We’d never see them coming. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/11 "2008-02-16T06:05:02Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] It’ll be colonized by Mormons. [/QUOTE] Is that where the Salt of the Earth went? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/12 "2008-02-16T06:05:39Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] What if there is life on Mars, but it’s invisible? What if that life consists of hyperintelligent aliens planning an invasion? We’d never see them coming. [/QUOTE] Oh, be still, my beating heart! ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/13 "2008-02-16T06:20:55Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Well, as the article points out, conditions on Mars would have been too harsh for any extremophiles here on Earth. It’s of course, always possible for life to have found a way to evolve on Mars, but the farther away you get from Earth-like conditions, the harder it will be for us to identify it. [/QUOTE] Slight nitpik, but the article did say there are a “handful” of terrestrial organisms which could survive those conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Rosewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/14 "2008-02-16T06:40:35Z")
Any signs of bacon, yet? ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/15 "2008-02-17T00:37:51Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] All the sudden I’m craving pickles. [/QUOTE] Pickles are green… Martians are green… … coincidence? S^G ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/16 "2008-02-17T08:23:15Z")
[QUOTE=Satellite^Guy] Pickles are green… Martians are green… … coincidence? S^G [/QUOTE] Aaaand, they both come in saucers. Now if you`d excuse me there is a pickle pointing a ray gun at me demanding to see my leader. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/17 "2008-02-17T09:20:33Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] What if there is life on Mars, but it’s invisible? What if that life consists of hyperintelligent aliens planning an invasion? We’d never see them coming. [/QUOTE] The chances are … a million to one. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/18 "2008-02-17T09:23:47Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] The chances are … a million to one. [/QUOTE] Which are much better than the odds of winning the lottery. I’m getting worried now ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/19 "2008-02-17T11:40:41Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] The chances are … a million to one. [/QUOTE] With seven billion people on Earth, that’s about a thousand attacks! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835/20 "2008-02-17T15:13:36Z")
Does no-one listen to [the classics](http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thewaroftheworlds/theeveofthewar.htm) anymore? That was a perfectly good straight line, people! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-the-great-salt-lick/437835.md?page=2)