The Dailies

Word of the Day

Munificent (adj., mew-NIFF-ih-sent)

Extremely generous. More than is necessary. Magnanimous, but magnificent.

Gif of the Day

TagsAnimalsRaccoonPicnic basketsThieverySir Robin bravely ran awayNom nom nomKangaroo Jack?

Link of the Day

How moss saved thousands in World War I - Smithsonian.com

An interesting article from Smithsonian details how moss was used to help save thousands of people in World War I:

Desperate to get their hands on something sterile that would keep wounds clear of infection, doctors started getting creative. They tried everything from irrigating the wounds with chlorine solutions to creating bandages infused with carbolic acid, formaldehyde or mercury chloride, with varying degrees of success. But in the end, there simply wasn’t enough cotton—a substance that was already in high demand for uniforms and its recently discovered use as an explosive—to go around.

What were the Allied Powers to do? A Scottish surgeon-and-botanist duo had an idea: stuff the wounds full of moss.

Moss actually worked better than they thought. Some of its properties (absorption and antiseptic qualities) made it a valuable bandage standin. You can read more about this at Smithsonian.

TagsJournalismMedicineHistoryMossThe War to end all warsA rolling body gathers no moss?Life hacks?