helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Well. "Open sesame" is actually a thing.

Just googled where sesame seeds come from (it never occurred to me to ask before) and found that they grow in pods that are hung upside down to ripen until they burst open and release their seeds. The treasure is revealed.

https://awkwardbotany.com/2022/03/30/dispersal-by-open-sesame/

Itty53,
@Itty53@mstdn.social avatar

@helenczerski

The alternate theory is that "sesame" was a bastardized form of the Talmud, šem-šāmayīm, or "in the name of heaven".

But what I find most intriguing is the likelihood that the phrase was a play on words referring to both. Oil has been seen as godly since time immemorial, sesame is the oldest oil crop to humanity. It's why sesame was seen as treasure at all. Even the word anoint just means to mark with oil, and think of how we use that word.

Etymology is great fun.

DoomsdaysCW,
@DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social avatar

@helenczerski I did not know that! Thanks for posting!

limeon,
ColesStreetPothole,
@ColesStreetPothole@weatherishappening.network avatar

@helenczerski Whoa. 😮 Look at those okra-looking mofos. I had no idea.

floweringmind,
@floweringmind@mastodon.social avatar

@helenczerski that is so cool!

Fidoly,

@helenczerski

Sesame, sesame mucho!

CableSt,
@CableSt@mastodon.social avatar
DemocracySpot,
@DemocracySpot@mstdn.social avatar

@helenczerski

That looks everything like okra. Wonder if you can slice/fry or boil it as you do okra?

I wondered if/how they're related. I don't understand the subtleties of plant classification, but they are both native to to Eastern Africa.

stuartbaldwin,

@DemocracySpot @helenczerski Eastern Africa seems to have a lot to answer for: okra, sesame, coffee and us!

mfierst,
@mfierst@mstdn.social avatar

@helenczerski
What an interesting site, thanks for tooting this.
I must be a phytocurious.

RodneyPetersonTalent,
@RodneyPetersonTalent@mastodon.social avatar

@helenczerski

Duh, open, uh, sarsaparilla? Uh, open Saskatchewan? Open, septuagenarian? Uh, open, saddle soap? Open, sesame?

Thank you, Hassan. Now, wouldst thou like to have all this treasure for thy very own?
Oh, yes, Master. Hassan like. Hassan like!
Very well. Ickity ackity ooh, eh eh! Ziggity zaggity zoo, eh eh! Ooh, ooh, ptht! Ah, ah, ptht! Flippity flappity floop! It's yours.

com,
@com@mastodon.social avatar

@helenczerski Cool! I leaned a new word: “Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent. Structures that do not open in this way are called indehiscent.”

B_A_Palmer,

@helenczerski anyone post this Mitch Hedberg sketch yet??

https://youtu.be/wgNxAfBWC4M

pascaline,
@pascaline@mastodon.nl avatar

@helenczerski Thanks for sharing ❤

dusepo,

@helenczerski Are the pods edible too? A sesame flavoured vegetable seems delicious in my head.

MikeHar94962844,
@MikeHar94962844@mastodon.me.uk avatar

@helenczerski "Fairly unique" eh? I wonder what proportion of the English speaking world actually knows what "unique" means?

virtualwolf,
@virtualwolf@aus.social avatar

@helenczerski Woah TIL too, on both counts!

Svenja_Lohmann,
@Svenja_Lohmann@mastodon.social avatar

@helenczerski thanks for sharing! So cool!

NormanDunbar,
@NormanDunbar@mastodon.scot avatar

@helenczerski I was surprised by cashew nuts myself. They grow individually beneath an apple like fruit. You can eat the fruit, but your mouth will dry up!

tchaddad,
@tchaddad@fosstodon.org avatar

@NormanDunbar @helenczerski I think raw cashew pods have an oil that can be quite irritating/borderline poisonous (i.e. cause vomiting and other unpleasant gastric side-effects). So this is one reason to be very cautious about where the cashews you get are processed, as even dust/residue from the pods can be a problem. Apparently roasting the cashews takes care of the problem, so buying roasted, and/ or cooking your cashews is safest…

NormanDunbar,
@NormanDunbar@mastodon.scot avatar

deleted_by_author

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  • tchaddad,
    @tchaddad@fosstodon.org avatar

    @NormanDunbar @helenczerski would love to try the fruits sometime, so many great fruits in that region that we don’t have easy access to up north!

    ottaross,
    @ottaross@mastodon.social avatar

    @helenczerski Aha - the whole in our knowledge we didn't realize we had. Nice!

    They look a little like okra.

    hope_n_beauty,
    @hope_n_beauty@mastodon.world avatar

    @helenczerski Same here, never thought about it😁
    So thanks a lot for sharing this piece of interesting knowledge🙂

    bellaxtsepi,

    @helenczerski soooo so interesting!!! I need someone to say ‘open sesame’ and have one of the pods open, only then will my life be complete!

    TamiEntabi,

    @helenczerski

    The pod looks similar to okra - so interesting! Now I want to know more. Thank you for sharing.

    vicgrinberg,
    @vicgrinberg@mastodon.social avatar
    diraquel,
    @diraquel@masto.pt avatar

    @helenczerski thank you! I too love sesame and it had never occurred to me to find out about the plant. Nice new fact to start the week. 😊

    jim_easterbrook,
    @jim_easterbrook@mstdn.social avatar

    @helenczerski I thought "open sesame" was a reference to their laxative effect.

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