this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2024
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Science Memes

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submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 172 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I was told to touch grass, but when I did that it yelled "sexual harassment."

[–] BreadOven 140 points 3 months ago (1 children)

[–] someguy3 26 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

It only said it licks feet. Gotcha.

[–] NatakuNox 16 points 3 months ago

Still going to do the splits

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[–] BugleFingers 15 points 3 months ago

Sexual grassment

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago

Maybe it was Henry the anti assgrab crabgrass. https://youtu.be/1n7NB-lPJuU

[–] [email protected] 113 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I'm something of a "not a scientist" myself

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Same. Would like answers.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 months ago

Did some searching. The paper from 2019 that discussed this -

We recorded 65 dBSPL (dB of sound pressure level) ultrasonic sounds 4 inches (10 cm) from tomato and tobacco plants, implying that these sounds could be detected by some organisms from up to several feet (meters) away.

https://www.sci.news/biology/plants-ultrasonic-clicks-07895.html

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago

I would like some weed. As a nonscientist, answers come secondary to weed.

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[–] [email protected] 105 points 3 months ago (2 children)

"I am not a scientist, I just smoke weed" needs to be a shirt.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I'm not sure what it actually means though

[–] BlitzoTheOisSilent 23 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

"High thoughts," almost like shower thoughts, but driven by weed and, in my experience, learning an interesting fact or tidbit.

So they're not a scientist and don't have formal training in sounds or plants or animals, they learned a fact and got high and connected some dots, haha

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[–] pyre 6 points 3 months ago

imagine a shirt that says "I'm not a scientist". it's basically that but if you smoke weed you are obligated to tell everyone unprompted, so this is for weed smokers who want a shirt that says I'm not a scientist.

[–] SLVRDRGN 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

a further idea: Front of the shirt says "I am not a scientist"

Back of the shirt says "I just smoke weed"

[–] [email protected] 86 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That explains why my fuzzy terrorist always wants to bite them.

[–] ReputedlyDeplorable 41 points 3 months ago

Yes, if the plant is screaming at having its leaves torn, my little psychopath would absolutely be like “bite it harder!”

[–] Crackhappy 83 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Wait... If the plants are whispering to my cat late at night. Is that why the little fucker spazzes out and goes crazy all over the house at 3 am?

[–] [email protected] 46 points 3 months ago

Well, during the day plants are busy working (photosynthesising, defending, sticking pollen to bugs), they only have a chance to get socially chatty at night.

And cats love plant humour.
Except that of succulents. They crunch too much.

[–] Nuke_the_whales 12 points 3 months ago (2 children)

That and all the ghost activity at 3am

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[–] idiomaddict 68 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Plants talk? As in rustle with movement or communicate through sound? Can plants hear? The world is amazing, I’ll be on Wikipedia for a few.

[–] Hellstormy 94 points 3 months ago

There are high frequency sounds that they emit when they experience certain stimuli, for example when not having enough water or leaves being torn. As far as I know some other plants or insects might be evolutionarily tuned to recognize those sounds and react to them. So yes, in a way plants can talk.

[–] [email protected] 67 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Did some checking, out of curiosity.

And yeah. Interesting as hell.

We recorded 65 dBSPL (dB of sound pressure level) ultrasonic sounds 4 inches (10 cm) from tomato and tobacco plants, implying that these sounds could be detected by some organisms from up to several feet (meters) away.

https://www.sci.news/biology/plants-ultrasonic-clicks-07895.html

[–] SpaceNoodle 44 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Your move, vegans

[–] NardoPolo 18 points 3 months ago (3 children)
[–] craigers 6 points 3 months ago

Been waiting 17 years to pull that out, lol. Perfect.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

CARROTS CAINT FIGHT BACK

[–] Omega_Man 18 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Pineapples dissolve your mouth. Anything with capsaicin is non verbally asking you not to eat it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

…and anything with that many spikes on it is visually threatening your gullet, but it’s still delicious.

[–] iAvicenna 32 points 3 months ago (1 children)

does that mean cats hear house plants scream while they are chewing on their leaves

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 months ago

It's why they do it!

I'm not a cat or a plant scientist.

[–] nifty 23 points 3 months ago (1 children)

How do we know that sound signals recorded aren’t just from the release of biomolecules? Using the nervous system to produce sound is a more intentional process than the release of biomolecules for chemical signaling, which is something even simple multicellular organism do

[–] angrystego 21 points 3 months ago (2 children)

You're right that it doesn't have to be talking. But it is a sound cats and dogs can hear. They do hear the plant noise, which is cool.

[–] AngryCommieKender 13 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

It's cool to us.

I can absolutely confirm that neither cats nor dogs particularly enjoy hearing multiple frequencies in that range, as I use ultrasonic noisemakers to train dogs and cats. Both species have had specific individuals that reacted as though I had just beaten them, and all the individuals of both species reacted in such a way that it was clear that they would do just about anything to never hear those noises again.

That being said, I wonder if they could hear that frequency all the time and were freaked out that a human was shouting in plant language.

[–] Buddahriffic 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

The unpleasant reaction could be to the shape of the sound rather than just the frequency. Like a sin wave isn't a pleasant sound, though it's not bad at lower amplitudes.

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[–] nifty 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Right, but what’s the source of the sound? If it’s not intentionally produced, but rather a chemical reaction or reaction byproduct, then it says something different about plant communication

[–] angrystego 6 points 3 months ago

I agree, I just don't think it's that relevant to the post, which was more about how our pets experience the world.

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[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds 23 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This is what happens when you get too high and Dr Dog - Listening In is playing

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That's actually the first time I've seen Dr Dog referenced in the wild (outside of Pat Finnerty's channel.)

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Is it possible to record those higher frequencies and then turn them down so I can hear how noisy it is for my dog at home?

[–] Etterra 8 points 3 months ago

Probably. If astronomers can convert the radio noise stars make into audible sound - and they can - then I don't see why we couldn't pitch adjust background noise to human-audible levels.

[–] rhandyrhoads 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I'm not 100% on the pitching down bit, but key would be to get a mic that has those frequencies in its range.

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[–] thesporkeffect 11 points 3 months ago

Sorry to link to CNN but I was skeptical and here's a good enough summary

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/30/world/plants-make-sounds-scn/index.html

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago

"I can hear the innermost thoughts of plants" - yup, sounds crazy to me! (Therefore let's do it - make it happen!:-)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It would be really neat if someone made a sensor that could tell you whether your plant needs to be watered.

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