• Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    17 hours ago

    Portable water is kind of a big deal technologically, IMO. Especially for a persistence predator species (aka humans).

    • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      Some fun facts: Grover Krantz, the originator of the concept of human persistence hunting (which Wikipedia labels “conjecture”), was better-known as a staunch advocate for the existence of Bigfoot (there is of course no such thing as Bigfoot - it’s obviously a Yeti in a gorilla suit). Interestingly, he didn’t propose it as an explanation for bipedality, one of the unique characteristics of the human lineage, but rather as an explanation for our big brains, speculating that bigger brains would allow persistence hunters to survive a large fraction of their brain neurons dying from the heat stress that would result from long-distance running during the day.

      For apparently no reason, Krantz’ skeleton and that of his favorite dog are on display at the Smithsonian.

  • Duranie@leminal.space
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    1 day ago

    My mom used to do arts and crafts things with gourds. When she passed there were easily over a dozen laying around the house plus a giant one she had started prepping, but never finished.

    She was cremated, and the plans were to bury her in the plot she already had next to my dad. State or county requirements, however, that works, allowed us to be the ones to dig the hole to actually place her urn in the ground. When the time came, her five children, their spouses and many grandchildren gathered to dig a great big hole in the ground. We ended up taking the big gourd that she had been working on and placed it in the ground, then as we filled that with dirt we placed her urn inside the gourd. In the end everyone took shovelfuls and handfuls of earth and covered her up.

    I can never look at a gourd without thinking of my mom.

      • Duranie@leminal.space
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        1 day ago

        Lol when it was discussed with the funeral home folks (who gave us the shovel to dig with - left it leaning against the back door of the funeral home the morning of) they just said to let them know when we were done so they could document what was left there for the records.

        Yes. This happened in a very, very rural area lol.

    • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 day ago

      My dad grew gourdes. One of the happiest pictures I have of him late in life is him standing on the porch, surrounded by gourdes hanging to dry. I have three of his goudes. I also have one of his loufas.

  • Zephorah@discuss.online
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    22 hours ago

    Consider the luffa next. It’s a squash of sorts that grows on a vine. The inner matrix of the large zucchini looking fruits is the luffa sponge. Zone 10.

    • WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.world
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      23 hours ago

      You have an accent aggue on your name, so I’m inclined to believe you, but so do I. I I don’t know how much authority it really imbues. Can you be trusted?

  • Hotzilla@sopuli.xyz
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    24 hours ago

    There could be some sense figuring first out water containers. Old saying is that human survives few minutes without oxygen, few days without water and few weeks without food. Water > Food

    Also as a hunter gatherer, food is around you (berries, roots, game) and you can carry them with you. Drinking water is more scarce and keeping it with you when you move around needs some container.

    • SeptugenarianSenate@leminal.space
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      16 hours ago

      I saw bucketloads of blackberries growing down in the trees behind the park the other week. But as water with decreased nanoplastic contamination levels continues to become scarce in as many accessible places throughout nearly every system in our environment, Gourd is Good for keeping a filtered fitty (50 fl. ounces) of crystal clear lectrolyzed gulpers on hand in a pinch. It may even prove itself to be Great again, who knows!

    • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Among other things.

      The gourd is used traditionally to administer enemas. Along the upper Congo River an enema apparatus is made by making a hole in one end of the gourd for filling it, and using a resin to attach a hollow cane to the gourd’s neck.[52]

      which sounds… splintery…

  • ImWaitingForRetcons@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    Bottle gourds are still eaten pretty regularly in India, and I suspect, other parts of the world too.

    Yep, I just checked Wikipedia, and yes, tons of people around the world still eat it.

  • Contramuffin@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    It probably has to do with weight. Pottery is pretty heavy and I assume this gourd, when hollowed out, isn’t

  • a_little_red_rat [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    23 hours ago

    This reminds me of Ursula Le Guin’s “bag theory”: that the first tool humans developed, was not a weapon which is usually taught, like a spear, but rather, a bag, to carry things: for example for berries we picked. A nice reframe from the violent status quo.