Plants "call you" when they are thirsty

[mzteris]

The "space program" is sooooooooooo useless, isn't it?

http://www.livescience.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=LS_100419_leaf-sensor

this could save millions of gallons of water - and, of course more milions in $$ (the only thing that counts to some)

[Ian David]

1. Also when they're hungry...

[mzteris]

5. you're quick, Ian

:rofl:

[Occulus]

15. You get a DUzy for Cultural Reference

:D

[Ian David]

16. Thanks :)

[TheMadMonk]

19. You know you've been playing 3d games way too much when...

...your first instinct is to grab an object in a picture to see what it looks like from a different angle.

[Occulus]

21. Actually, you're just anticipating future technology

:D

[FSogol]

2. Bah, if plants were cool, they'd text message.

:shrug:

[mzteris]

7. Yeah, but would we be able to

comprehend "plant speak"?

[razorman]

13. Teenage plants would never shut up.

[madrchsod]

3. that`s really a fantastic device

it`s going to revolutionize the growing of plants commercially and if cheap enough for the home grower.

[mzteris]

6. I'm thinking maybe all my plants

wouldn't die.

Though, do you think maybe they'd stage a coup and just take over?

:scared:

[BrklynLiberal]

10. Googly Eyes Gardener

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/googly-eyes-gardener/1119102/

[madrchsod]

12. my backyard is being taken over!

water here in northern illinois has`t been a problem in the last 5-6 years

[janx]

4. Love it, and used to work for the CU College of Engineering!

:hug:

[PSPS]

8. They should add the voice of Charlie Griffith!

He did the voice of the plant in "The Little Shop of Horrors" from 1960.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. The Secret Life of Plants

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Plants-Peter-Tompkins/dp/0060915870

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Plants
The Secret Life of Plants (1973) is a book by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, described as "A fascinating account of the physical, emotional, and spiritual relations between plants and man."

The book explores the idea that plants may be sentient, despite their lack of a nervous system and a brain, an idea not supported by mainstream biology. This sentience has purportedly been observed through changes in plants' conductivity, as through a polygraph, as pioneered by Cleve Backster. The book also contains a summary of Goethe's theory of plant metamorphosis. The book delves deeply into such unconventional topics as the aura, psychophysics, orgone, radionics, kirlian photography, magnetism/magnetotropism, bioelectrics, dowsing, and (more conventionally) the history of science.

The Secret Life of Plants was the basis for the 1979 documentary of the same name, with a soundtrack specially recorded by Stevie Wonder called Journey through the Secret Life of Plants.

[TZ]

17. 99% of that was debunked by mythbusters.

:eyes:
The reason why biologists don't back that...Is its complete and utter psuedoscientific nonsense

[dipsydoodle]

11. Beer, beer, beer

Not that Budweieser crap - I want a Peroni.

[Bolo Boffin]

14. Sounds like the Zen Garden in Plants vs. Zombies n/t

[chillspike]

18. Botanicalls lets your plants phone you when they need water

Botanicalls Kits let plants reach out for human help! They offer a connection to your leafy pal via online Twitter status updates to your mobile phone. When your plant needs water, it will post to let you know, and send its thanks when you show it love.

http://www.botanicalls.com/

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. Couldn't they have just spent the money on ag research directly?

[caraher]

22. But space is magic!

The "spinoff" argument is kind of like saying building LHC was a good idea because the world-wide web was born at CERN... The thing about spinoffs is that they can happen when you fund *any* kind of research.

Do the promoters of NASA spending on the basis of these economic benefits compare the "yield" to investments in other kinds of research?

(And yes, I know NASA is only a tiny part of the budget, we could easily pay for everything anyone wanted to do in space by trimming the Pentagon budget, etc. I'd support that; I just tire of the arguments that ignore every other kind of science.)