Inside/In: Mold and Moss
We’re back with another installment in our series Inside/In...short science stories for families and individuals who want to discover how, even when we’re stuck inside, the natural world ties us together. Today, we’re going to learn to appreciate a pair of organisms that we often just step right over… or immediately pitch into garbage. One is green, understated, wise: the Yoda of plants. The other is is fuzzy and a little funny smelling… the fungi that makes the world goes round. Meet our friends mold and moss.
Mold might be gross… and it can be dangerous to your health. But it can also be delicious. Cheesemakers want mold to colonize their cheese. The threads of mold snake through the cheese, breaking down, eating cheesy proteins and literally creating the flavors that many people have come to know and love as a byproduct.
Want to try your own mold growing experiment?
All you need is some bread and some plastic bags.
Dirty hands: Rub your unwashed hands on one piece of bread and then place it in a plastic bag with a little air. Seal it shut. Be sure to label it so you can keep track.
Clean hands: Give your hands a good scrub and rub your hands all over a second slice of bread. Place that bag in another bag. Seal it shut. Give that one a label as well.
Optional object: Rub another piece of bread over something else in your house - a door knob, the microwave or fridge handle. Give it a good rub and put that piece of bread in another bag. Seal it up.
Tape the bags up somewhere so you can watch what happens… and then wait.
Want to get to know some mosses?
Guides can be really helpful for getting to know these tiny plants. Dr. Jessica Budke helped write this free downloadable booklet, A Visit to the Miniature Forest. It has pictures and descriptions of some common types.
Photos also help. You can also find lots of moss glamour shots on Annie Martin’s website, Mountain Moss.
Producer Erika Janik’s favorite patch of local moss
Credits
Outside/In was produced this week by Taylor Quimby, Phineas Quimby and Erika Janik with help from Justine Paradis and Sam Evans-Brown.
Erika Janik is our executive producer.
Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.
Special thanks to Special thanks to Mossin’ Annie Martin, author of The Magical World of Moss Gardening, and Dr. Jessica Budke. Also thanks to Benjamin Wolfe, Megan Biango-Daniels and Patrick Polowsky.
If you’ve got a question for our Ask Sam hotline, give us a call! We’re always looking for rabbit holes to dive down into. Leave us a voicemail at: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837). Don’t forget to leave a number so we can call you back.