Eclectic Echoes

Nothing is ever simple, or boring, in our house…

Take asking for a glass of orange juice for instance. One would think that would be very simple. Not here.

Some background first:

In my very first semester back to school I took an oceanography class, which was an overview type class. Except some of the math, I shared everything in that class with Johann each night. When I get home from class I ask him what he did and learned in Shanti School that day. When he has finished this show and tell, he asks me what I learned at university. It is a great tradition we have and one that helps reinforce what I am learning, as I boil it down to the level that he can easily grasp, and then we expand from there if he is interested. Nothing like teaching someone else to really help you learn something well.

In the introductory class we touched on a bit of everything, but one of Johann’s favorite parts was when we covered oceanic sediments and oozes. Oozes are sediment deposits consisting primarily (greater than 30%) of the shells (or tests) and other remains of oceanic animals (primarily plankton). There are two general categories of ooze: calcereous and siliceous. Calcereous oozes cover about 48% of the world’s ocean basin floor (the shallower Atlantic has 68% coverage, the deeper Pacific 36.2%). Siliceous oozes cover 14.2% of the world’s ocean basins (20.4% of the Indian, 14.7% of the Atlantic, and 6.7% of the Pacific).

Calcereous oozes consist primarily of the remains of animals with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) tests, such as pteropods, foraminifera and coccolithophores. These deposits accumulate rapidly (for a marine sediment that is) at a rate of up to 3-4 centimeters per 1,000 years. Notably, these oozes form the sedimentary rock limestone in its many forms, including chalk. The most well-known formations of this type of sedimentary rock are the famous cliffs of Southern England.

Siliceous oozes consist of the remains of animals with hydrous silica (SiO2 · nH2O) tests, such as diatoms and radiolarians. These deposits accumulate slower than calcereous oozes, maybe upwards of 1cm per 1,000 years, but generally much slower. When siliceous oozes form into sedimentary rocks they become diatomite, also known as diatomaceous earth.

For some reason, just saying “ooze” was enough to set Johann off laughing. We made a game of having an “Ooze Party”, during which we talk about the different types of ooze, how they form, where they are found, and what they are made of. Every time the word ooze is said during the party, it has to be really emphasized and drawn out (Say “OOoooooooZZZE!!!”). Johann learned much of the above last year, and we revisit it with successive ooze parties. Since then we have also studied geology, especially the metamorphosis of rocks from sediments to sedimentary rocks, then to metamorphic rocks. So we discussed the transformations of calcereous ooze into limestone and then into marble.

Recently we switched orange juice brands so that Johann could still have calcium fortified orange juice and Tammy could drink the same juice. Because of her dairy allergy, she has to avoid products with calcium derived from cow’s milk, which is the source for most orange juice calcium fortification. We laughed that the source of the calcium was calcium hydroxide, which I have on the shelf as an ingredient in some of the dyeing recipes. Naturally, the question of where calcium hydroxide comes from came up…well, generally, the original source is from limestone, which they heat to release calcium oxide (a.k.a. lime), and then they mix it with water to create calcium hydroxide.

Of course THAT was all Johann needed to hear…

Now if you want orange juice in our house, be sure to ask for it by its localized name…
Limestone.

I guess I should be grateful…

It could have been renamed Ooooooooozzze Juice.