02 October 2006

What's that floating in my beer?

I spent most of last week drawing fossils, colouring in maps and travelling around New England (the Australian one, not the Yank one) in a minibus.

As I've mentioned before, I like to sit up the front of the bus. It's not that I get travel sick or anything, I just like to be able to see where we're going and with that big window you get a better view than the rest of the passengers.

Let me tell you, riding up front at a hundred kilometres an hour, on a twisty dirt road, in cattle country is quite an adrenaline rush. Especially when you come around a corner and there's a huge cloud of dust coming toward you with a big truck at the front of it.

Anyway, one of the places we visited was a kitty litter mine. Yes, a kitty litter mine. They dig this stuff up, crush it, dry it, stick it in bags, then cats crap in it.

That's not all they do with it though. This stuff is also used as a filtering agent when they make beer.

Think about that next time you're sitting out in the back yard having a nice cold one in the sun.

Personally, Donna and I are wine drinkers. They use fish products or eggs to filter wine. I tend to drink home-brew if I drink beer.

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If you don't believe me about the kitty litter, try googling diatomaceous earth.

Oh, it's used as an abrasive in toothpaste as well.

4 comments:

caramaena said...

I may never clean my teeth again!

admin said...

The only time I've heard mention of diatomaceous earth was in an episode of Bones. So that's what the killer intended; a thousand cats to crap all over the dead body in the hope they'd bury it for him afterwards. So cunning. So like a serial killer.

Um, anyway. Nice blog.

Steve said...

Well, when you think about it, what self respecting forensic investigator would want to go anywhere near something that smells of cat poo.

Some of the stories my dad's told me about my aunt and cat poo would have you in hysterics.

Dodderyoldfart said...

We also use it on oil spills etc.
Doesn't seem to attract cats though ...