[HN Gopher] 'Glacier mice' baffle scientists
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       'Glacier mice' baffle scientists
        
       Author : janandonly
       Score  : 77 points
       Date   : 2023-12-11 16:53 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
        
       | AlbertoGP wrote:
       | > In 1950, Icelandic researcher Jon Eythorsson came across a
       | gathering of fuzzy green puff balls, the size of small gerbils,
       | scattered across Hrutarjokull Glacier in the southeast of the
       | country. Curiously, the mossy balls weren't attached to the
       | ground, and many were green on all sides, indicating they must
       | slowly turn so that the entire exterior sees the sun at some
       | point, theorized Eythorsson. That fall, he wrote a letter to the
       | editor of the Journal of Glaciology. "I call these mossy balls
       | Jokla-mys, literally 'glacier mice,'" he wrote, "and you will
       | have noted, Sir, that rolling stones can gather moss."
       | 
       | > [...]
       | 
       | > Glacier moss balls can grow up to about eight inches long
       | before they fall apart, and can live at least six years. The one
       | on the right was tagged with beads by researchers.
        
       | JoshTko wrote:
       | Tumblemoss
        
         | _a_a_a_ wrote:
         | That's rather nice.
        
       | nimish wrote:
       | Frozen marimo?
        
         | bacon_waffle wrote:
         | Yukimarimo are a thing:
         | 
         | https://weaknuclearforce.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/yukimarimo...
        
       | antiquark wrote:
       | Rolling moss gathers no stones.
        
         | vlachen wrote:
         | Even better, rolling moss removes its stones. Surely there's a
         | life-lesson in there, ready to be ejected like dust from a
         | glacier mouse.
        
       | MPSimmons wrote:
       | This gives Racetrack Playa vibes -
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racetrack_Playa
       | 
       | They eventually discovered that the playa would occasionally
       | flood, then freeze at night, trapping the rocks in the ice, and
       | wind would then push the ice sheets with the rocks embedded,
       | which would cause the tracks that gave the area its name.
        
         | m463 wrote:
         | I was thinking the same thing:
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_stones
        
       | abledon wrote:
       | You think they'd put a youtube video in the article..... to
       | show.. ya know.. the movement
        
       | Sharlin wrote:
       | Today in nominative determinism: Glaciologist Tim Bartholo _maus_
       | studies glacier _mice_.
        
       | etothepii wrote:
       | I don't know why but this article felt like a LLM hallucination.
        
       | nerpderp82 wrote:
       | Like a glacial tumbleweed made of moss. This is wonderful!
        
       | deadbabe wrote:
       | Moss is one of those things that is tricky to eat, but very
       | rewarding if you find the right species and know what you're
       | doing! Fluffy goodness
        
       | yieldcrv wrote:
       | reminds me of Scavenger's Reign
        
       | jldugger wrote:
       | Is this any different than the sailing stones of death valley?
        
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       (page generated 2023-12-11 23:00 UTC)