"Third Rock From the Sun" is a very appropriate name for this orb which houses this Human Comedy. Or rather, one might suppose that a title more apropos would be "The Divine Comedy" but Dante, or DaVinci, or some other Italian guy has already coined that phrase. Anyway, this thin thread of continuity races through my feeble mind - Earth - Man - Divinity - Dirt!
Yes, dirt! Well, let's face it, some purists would say, "it's dust, not dirt', because when God created man from a pinch of soil, He said, "Remember man thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return." Be that as it may, as the author of this exposition, it is my choice and prerogative to choose the term "dirt."
Dust, earth, soil, dirt, whatever - who cares? Well, let us examine this "stuff" somewhat. A physicist might say that dirt is a form of matter, solid, as opposed to liquid or gas. A geologist might tell us something like: Loam - a rich, dark soil composed of clay, sand and some organic matter, or Alluvial Soil - basically the same components as loam, but soil that is carried away and deposited by flowing water, as in a river bed. Soil - the surface layer of earth, supporting plant life; hence, a place of growth or development of any kind. Parenthetically, consider the verb, soil - to make dirty, or unclean. Dust - powdery earth or any powdered matter fine enough to be easily suspended in air; hence, mortal remains disintegrated to earth or dust. Earth - the soft, granular or crumbly part of land; soil; ground. Next, a chemist might well be more specific, saying: any of the metallic oxides, formerly classed as elements, which are reduced with difficulty, as alumina, zirconia, strontia, etc.
Finally, we reach Dirt - which Webster's New World Dictionary defines in the following order of preferred use: 1. any unclean or soiling matter, as mud, dust, trash, etc.; filth. 2. earth or garden soil. 3. anything common or filthy.
So there you have it: God created a big ball (7,918 miles diameter) of DIRT, then created a minuscule, living, breathing speck of Dirt (to run the big Dirt-Ball), who subsequently managed to soil this "Big Blue Marble" or "Great Green Pap" with his own dirt (filth, excrement, waste, trash, pornography, etc.), thus reaching my original premise, or rather question, "Is All Just Dirt?"
Next, let us backtrack a bit. We previously established that plant life and other things grow in dirt. "How so?", you may ask. GERMS! With the proper amounts of "good" dirt (with nutrients) and warmth (heat from sun-light, or artificial), moisture (water, rain, irrigation, etc.) And air (oxygen and other gases) - VOILA! The germs germinate, and plants grow. WOW! The three basic elements: air, water, and dirt!
Now, just like there is good dirt and bad dirt, there is also good germs (that grow things) and bad germs, that cause diseases. Hence, we take one giant step for man-kind, and leap to the germ theory, the generally accepted theory that all living organisms develop only from germ cells.
A lexicographer, like Mr. Webster tells us: germ - 1. the rudimentary form from which a new organism is developed; seed, bud, nut, etc. 2. any microscopic organism, especially one of the bacteria, that can cause disease. 3. that from which something can develop or grow; origin: as, the germ of an idea.
Thus, it is readily seen that, even with the above-mentioned three elements (air, water, dirt), life can not exist, grow, or proliferate without the presence of the fourth element - germs! Today as we contemplate the "Tree of Life" it is evident that no longer can one acknowledge Biology as having only two major branches, i.e. Botany (Plant Life), and Zoology (Animal Life), just because the third branch Microbiology (Microbes) consists of such small microorganisms, or germs. While these little "critters" may be the smallest living things, and only sub-atomic in nature, they are by no means insignificant. In fact, looking at numbers alone, they far outnumber all of the other two types combined. Germs, or microbes are everywhere! Millions, billions, trillions, quadrillions, zillions . . . who knows how many exist? They are impossible to count! Germs are: in the air, in the water, in the clouds, in the dirt, in our bodies, on our bodies, in our food, on our food, in our excrement, on our excrement . . . ad infinitum! In short then, germs are germane, they germinate everywhere, not just in Germany!
So, there you have it - all the information (dirt) on what you (dirt) have always thought about (idea = germ) but were afraid to ask - "Is All Just Dirt?"
P.S.: Look for the sequel, "All Dirt And No Germs Make Earth A Dull Planet." Oh, what the Heck! Let's just include it here, as a bonus for your reading this far. Read on, MacDuff!
All Dirt And No Germs Make Earth A Dull Planet !
By: Tom Hyland, 01/24/00
In our previous "dirt-infested, germ-infested" article, we laid the groundwork for pondering the microcosm, so to speak. Now, we shall leap to "Warp 9" and look at some larger issues of "The Third Rock From the Sun" by considering a specific form of dirt - SAND!
Why does this great "Dirt-Ball" (Earth) have several distinct and rather large areas of desert wasteland, where nothing grows? Referring back to that which we established in our previous
expository, let us take a brief inventory of the necessary four elements that sustain life:
Air ? check!
Earth ? (soil, dust, sand) check, but ALL sand (silicon, silica).
Water ? (not hardly enough, but occasional rain).
Germs ? UH-OH !!! "Houston, we have a problem!"
Just to clarify some newly acquired technical knowledge of this subject, let's review a bit.
Again, referring to my favorite (and most handy), but somewhat out-dated edition of Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (Copyrights: 1953, 1952, 1951) we find:
silicon - (please note, no e) - a non-metallic chemical element found always in
combination and more abundant in nature than any other element except oxygen,
with which it combines to form silica. at. symbol Si; at.wt. 28.06; at. no. 14.
silica - the dioxide of silicon, SiO2, a hard, glassy mineral found in a variety of
forms, as in quartz, sand, opal, etc.
WOW! Do you now see the distinction? the magnitude? the paradox of nature? The two most abundant elements on Earth, oxygen and silicon, combine naturally to form silica, sand! The worst, driest, worthless areas of earth, the deserts, are like monuments, or reminders that sand is everywhere, in some concentration, all over the face of this big "Dirt-Ball."
Sand is a form of silica, and it is found usually along the shores of bodies of water, in river beds, under all the oceans, in the strata of the earth, and most obviously, in deserts. Next consider the fact that all of this sand that is near or in water usually promotes prolific growth of plant life. Is it not then self-evident that the fourth element, germs, must necessarily be present also? Thus, we may conclude that the missing ingredient in all the desert regions of the earth may well be those teeny-weeny critters we call – GERMS!
All Dirt And No Germs Make Earth A Dull Planet !
Yes, the lack of water in deserts is extremely important, but think about it a moment. In our own western region of the United States, such as Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, as well as Mexico, Latin America, and South America, there is obviously enough rainfall to sustain cactus
plants, mesquite, and other succulent plants that have the ability to capture and store water in order to survive. Accordingly, the existence and proliferation of said plant life proves the presence also of germs.
On the other hand, the truly barren, dull, vast wastelands like: the Sahara, Gobi, and Kalahari deserts direly lack any plant life. Miles and miles of scorching sand, dunes of silica, taller than buildings, wind-blown sandstorms that bury anything in their path, absolute desolation - that is what these deserts offer to mankind. Why? The simple lack of germs!
So, how can we get some good germs placed in these treacherous regions? Simple – plant plants! As all living organisms must necessarily have germs already, somehow they would hopefully be spread by nature. Oh, just to prove my point, ponder two other known phenomena. First, the existence, although infrequent and scarce, but nonetheless continual presence of Oases, some natural and perhaps some man-made: fresh drinking water, plush palm trees, and even date trees with edible fruit. Truly a boon to the starving, thirsty wayward traveler, no? Secondly, just look at what the Israelis have accomplished in the Sinai. They have already done, and proven what I propose, promote life where there is none!
In conclusion then, my proposition is simple (after all it did germinate from a simple mind):
transplant some good dirt, good water, and good germs into the deserts of our world, and then my title, "All Dirt And No Germs Make Earth A Dull Planet" will no longer be apropos, as either a paradigm, or a paradox. One might say that the answer is "Dirt-Cheap."
Democratic Dilemmas and Divine Inspiration examines the significance or relevance of the idea that the U.S. Constitution was, as many believe, divinely inspired. How much did that belief matter to founders of the nation and how much does it matter no
Democratic Dilemmas and Divine Inspiration examines the significance or relevance of the idea that the U.S. Constitution was, as many believe, divinely inspired. How much did that belief matter to founders of the nation and how much does it matter no
Democratic Dilemmas and Divine Inspiration examines the significance or relevance of the idea that the U.S. Constitution was, as many believe, divinely inspired. How much did that belief matter to founders of the nation and how much does it matter no
