Today is International Mud Day. Ten things you never knew about mud:
Mud is defined as a liquid or semi-liquid mixture of water and any combination of different kinds of soil (loam, silt, and Clay).
Sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone is basically ancient mud which has hardened.
In ancient times, people built houses out of mud, or turned the stuff into bricks. The Egyptians would place a mixture of mud and straw into a rectangular mould and leave it to dry in the sun.
Worms, Frogs, Snails, clams, and Crayfish are among the animals which make their homes in mud.
Bigger animals like Hippopotamuses, Pigs, Rhinoceros, water buffalo and Elephants use it as sunscreen. They bathe in mud and let it dry on their skin.
Mississippi mud pie is a chocolate based dessert pie, and “mud” is generally a chocolate or cornstarch-based sludge popular with children. Neither contain any actual mud.
Children like to play in mud, which may be a nightmare for parents but it’s actually quite beneficial. Mycobacterium vaccae found in mud increase human serotonin levels, which is why kids enjoy playing in it so much. Meanwhile playing in mud can strengthen a child’s immune system.
Some American towns, including Albuquerque and Gillette, Wyoming, hold a yearly event in which participants play volleyball in a giant mud pit.
The word mud has existed in the English language since the 1400s. While on the subject of words, “bedrabble” means to make dirty with rain or mud; “belute” means to splatter with mud; daggle means to drag in mud; and “plodge” means to wade through mud.
The phrase “as clear as mud” dates back to 1804, and the toast “Here’s mud in your eye” first appeared in 1927.
The six richest people in Britain decide to hold a contest to settle the question of which of them is most successful. It will be a gladiator style contest with each entrant fielding a team of ten super-powered combatants. Entrepreneur Llew Powell sets out to put together his team, which includes his former lover, an employee of his company with a fascinating hobby, two refugees from another dimension (a lonely giant and a drunken sailor), two sisters bound together by a promise, a diminutive doctor, a former Tibetan monk initiate and two androids with a history. As the team train together, alliances form, friendships and more develop, while others find the past is not easy to leave behind.
Meanwhile, a ruthless race of aliens has its eyes on the Earth. Already abducting and enslaving humans, they work towards the final invasion which would destroy life on Earth as we know it. Powell’s group, Combat Team Alpha, stumble upon one of the wormholes the aliens use to travel to Earth and witness for themselves the horrors in store if the aliens aren’t stopped. Barely escaping with their lives, they realise there are more important things to worry about than a fighting competition.
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