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Pregnant pepper When cutting into what I considered to be an unusually heavy red pepper, I found inside a fully formed green pepper. What is going on?Linda Saunders, Bristol, UK
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 17:10:54

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Categories: Domestic Science, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, domestic science, plants.

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Proto photo

On a beach walk last year in northern Mayo, Ireland, I thought I had found a spectacular fossil seaweed. Close inspection showed that instead it was a kind of photo image of a sargassum-type weed on a Dalradian metavolcanic rock. There were other examples nearby, all at the mean high water level and all of the same species of weed on the same rock type. I took the rock home and, a year on, the image is still crisp (see photo). However, all attempts to imitate the conditions have failed. Do readers have any idea of how the image occurred, and are there any other instances of natural photoetching?Tony Legg, St Martins, Jersey

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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:52:10

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Categories: Animals, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: animals, unanswered, plants.

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Veggie violence Occasionally when reheating broccoli and sweet potato in the microwave, what sounds like violent electrical arcing occurs if the two are in contact with each other. This results in blackened sections. What is going on? Stephen Plevier, Hadfield, Victoria, Australia
Editorial status: In magazine. (no votes) There are 1 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:50:30

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Last edited on: 2009-08-19 16:52:40

Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: plants, microwave, sweetpotato, broccoli.

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The colour purple When I make a banana loaf, the bananas turn purple after being baked. Why?Gemma Hopkins, Sheffield, UK
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:47:16

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Categories: Domestic Science, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, domestic science, plants.

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In black and white While working at a factory that produces carbon powder, I noticed I had made a large black thumbprint on one of my sandwiches. This set me wondering why bread, or for that matter potatoes, rice and sugar, which are mostly carbon, are not black.Douglas Thompson, Holywell, Flintshire, UK.
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:47:05

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Categories: Domestic Science, Animals, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: animals, unanswered, domestic science, plants.

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Do the twist All the stems of the morning glory plants growing on my balcony coil in the same direction. When I moved some of the plants, I recoiled them by hand onto the strings they creep around. Those that I had coiled in the "wrong" direction started to coil in the "right" direction as soon as they could. Why is this?Judit ZÃ¡dor Budapest, Hungary
Editorial status: In magazine. (2 votes) average rating:3.5 There are 4 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:35:25

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Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, plants.

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Shakin all over The leaves of our spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum, which stands in a pot next to our television, move in unison when the TV is switched on. Why?Chris Coleman, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, UK
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:35:07

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Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, plants.

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Closing time Why do some flowers close at night? What is the evolutionary advantage of doing this, and why do only some plants bother to do so?Craig, Christchurch, New Zealand
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-08 16:16:11

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Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, plants.

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Shaping the mould

I enclose a sequence of three photos of a pear that started to go bad in my fruit basket. I discovered it one evening with a perfect bullseye pattern of mould, as in the left picture. Sixty hours later it had grown more (partial) rings of mould, as shown in the middle photograph. Another 48 hours later it had grown still more partial rings, always separated by the same gap and all still roughly concentric (right-hand pic). At that point it was getting pretty rotten, so I threw it away. What causes the mould to grow in rings like this?Bob Ladd, Edinburgh, UK

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