A before and after view of the experiment
In 1997, ecologists Daniel Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs approached an orange juice company in Costa Rica with an off-the-wall idea. In exchange for donating a portion of unspoiled, forested land to the Área de Conservación Guanacaste — a nature preserve in the country's northwest — the park would allow the company to dump its discarded orange peels and pulp, free of charge, in a heavily grazed, largely deforested area nearby.
One year later, one thousand trucks poured into the national park, offloading over 12,000 metric tons of sticky, mealy, orange compost onto the worn-out plot. The site was left untouched and largely unexamined for over a decade. A sign was placed to ensure future researchers could locate and study it.
16 years later, Janzen dispatched graduate student Timothy Treuer to look for the site where the food waste was dumped.
Treuer initially set out to locate the large placard that marked the plot — and failed.
The first deposit of orange peels in 1996.Photo by Dan Janzen.
"It's a huge sign, bright yellow lettering. We should have been able to see it," Treuer says. After wandering around for half an hour with no luck, he consulted Janzen, who gave him more detailed instructions on how to find the plot.
When he returned a week later and confirmed he was in the right place, Treuer was floored. Compared to the adjacent barren former pastureland, the site of the food waste deposit was "like night and day."
The site of the orange peel deposit (L) and adjacent pastureland (R).Photo by Leland Werden.
"It was just hard to believe that the only difference between the two areas was a bunch of orange peels. They look like completely different ecosystems," he explains.
The area was so thick with vegetation he still could not find the sign.
Treuer and a team of researchers from Princeton University studied the site over the course of the following three years.
The results, published in the journal "Restoration Ecology," highlight just how completely the discarded fruit parts assisted the area's turnaround.
According to the Princeton School of International Public Affairs, the experiment resulted in a "176 percent increase in aboveground biomass — or the wood in the trees — within the 3-hectare area (7 acres) studied."
The ecologists measured various qualities of the site against an area of former pastureland immediately across the access road used to dump the orange peels two decades prior. Compared to the adjacent plot, which was dominated by a single species of tree, the site of the orange peel deposit featured two dozen species of vegetation, most thriving.
Lab technician Erik Schilling explores the newly overgrown orange peel plot.Photo by Tim Treuer.
In addition to greater biodiversity, richer soil, and a better-developed canopy, researchers discovered a tayra (a dog-sized weasel) and a giant fig tree three feet in diameter, on the plot.
"You could have had 20 people climbing in that tree at once and it would have supported the weight no problem," says Jon Choi, co-author of the paper, who conducted much of the soil analysis. "That thing was massive."
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Recent evidence suggests that secondary tropical forests — those that grow after the original inhabitants are torn down — are essential to helping slow climate change.
In a 2016 study published in Nature, researchers found that such forests absorb and store atmospheric carbon at roughly 11 times the rate of old-growth forests.
Treuer believes better management of discarded produce — like orange peels — could be key to helping these forests regrow.
In many parts of the world, rates of deforestation are increasing dramatically, sapping local soil of much-needed nutrients and, with them, the ability of ecosystems to restore themselves.
Meanwhile, much of the world is awash in nutrient-rich food waste. In the United States, up to half of all produce in the United States is discarded. Most currently ends up in landfills.
The site after a deposit of orange peels in 1998.Photo by Dan Janzen.
"We don't want companies to go out there will-nilly just dumping their waste all over the place, but if it's scientifically driven and restorationists are involved in addition to companies, this is something I think has really high potential," Treuer says.
The next step, he believes, is to examine whether other ecosystems — dry forests, cloud forests, tropical savannas — react the same way to similar deposits.
Two years after his initial survey, Treuer returned to once again try to locate the sign marking the site.
Since his first scouting mission in 2013, Treuer had visited the plot more than 15 times. Choi had visited more than 50. Neither had spotted the original sign.
In 2015, when Treuer, with the help of the paper's senior author, David Wilcove, and Princeton Professor Rob Pringle, finally found it under a thicket of vines, the scope of the area's transformation became truly clear.
The sign after clearing away the vines.Photo by Tim Treuer.
"It's a big honking sign," Choi emphasizes.
19 years of waiting with crossed fingers had buried it, thanks to two scientists, a flash of inspiration, and the rind of an unassuming fruit.
This article originally appeared eight years ago.
Jack Black channeling his inner Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance.
One can expect for Jack Black and Saturday Night Live to go hand in hand. After all, the dude has hosted on the long-running sketch show four times now, and his bombastic style of comedy only elevates the level of silliness other cast members commit to.
But for the April 5 episode, it seems like Black outdid himself from his epic musical monologue noting his nearly two decade gap between appearances, to his dating show character who was accidently-on-purpose dressed like Indiana Jones.
There were a lot of great moments and sketches, but the performance that seemed to really win viewers over was when he parodied My Chemical Romance‘s early 2000s hit “Welcome To The Black Parade” for a musical sketch aptly titled, “Goth Kid on Vacation.”
Nobody spoke to goth kids like My Chemical Romancemedia4.giphy.com
In the pre-recorded sketch, Ego Nwodim and Kenan Thomspon play a Jamaican reggae duo who sing about how they find joy with all the “struggle and pain” by laughing at, you guessed it, the goth kid on vacation.
Even before Black makes his appearance, Michael Longfellow plays an excellent goth/emo kid, dressed in all black and decidedly not having a good time on the beach as he applies sunscreen through his fishnet gloves.
But then Black joins in during the song’s climax, singing updated lyrics like “When I was a young boy, my parents took me down to Jamaica for my high school spring break.”
Watch:
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The video even got the seal of approval from actual goth kids, who applauded the accuracy.
“As a Black-African emo-goth kid in my teens and an Elder Emo now, I screamed at the The Black Parade reference. Goosebumps! It's still my anthem, and Jack Black giving me 2000s Gerard Way/Tenacious D energy is something I didn't know I needed. The Black Parade will CARRY OOON~"
“Me being a goth person, this is one of the best and funniest snl skits I've ever seen ”
“I am an emo kid freshly departed from a vacation this is way too good ”
"Elder goth here. I have a photo of myself and my teenagers on the beach, wearing our goth clothes, labeled' Goth Day at the Beach'! This SNL skit was fun and true! Still not a phase! Love the MCR reference, too!"
By the way, if listening to this got you jonesing for even more MCR, the band is actually embarking on a "Long Live: The Black Parade" North American stadium tour in 2025, starting in Seattle on July 11 and concluding in Tampa on September 13, performing their 2006 album The Black Parade in full. So there’s something for our dark, twisted hearts to get excited about.
Previously, Black made another equally awesome guest appearance, meeting Love on the Spectrum’s Tanner Smith on the Kelly Clarkson Show. The Kung Fu Panda star had previously sent Tanner a video message to tell him to “keep up the great work” and promised that they’d meet in person “someday soon.”
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There you have it folks. Jack Black is not only funny, but true to his word. No wonder he is so well-liked.
Jan Langer's incredible photos are timeless.
Czech photographer Jan Langer's portrait series "Faces of Century" shows them in a different light: as human beings aged by years of experience, but at their deepest level, unchanged by the passing of time. In the series, Langer juxtaposes his portraits with another portrait of the subject from decades earlier. He recreates the original pose and lighting as closely as he can — he wants us to see them not just as they are now, but how they have and haven't changed over time. That is the key to the series.
These are the rare faces of people who have lived through two world wars, a cavalcade of regimes, and the rush of advancements in modern life. These photos, and the stories of the lives lived by the people in them, show not only the beauty of aging, but how even as we age, we still remain essentially ourselves.
All photos by Jan Langer.
1. Prokop Vejdělek, at age 22 and 101
Prokop Vejdělek, at age 22 and 101via Jan Langer/Aktualne
Vejdělek is a former metallurgical engineer who will never forget the taste of warm fresh goat's milk.
2. Bedřiška Köhlerová, at age 26 and 103
Originally born in Merano, Italy, Köhlerová wishes to visit Italy one more time.
3. Ludvík Chybík, at age 20 and 102
Chybík is a former postal carrier and says he will never forget the route he worked every day.
4. Vincenc Jetelina, at age 30 and 105
Jetelina spent eight years in prison after World War II. Now, he just wants to live the rest of his life in peace.
5. Antonín Kovář, at age 25 and 102
Kovář is a former musician whose daughter comes to visit him every day. He wishes to play the clarinet once more.
6. Anna Vašinová, at age 22 and 102
Vašinová will always remember the day her husband was taken away by the Nazis. She wishes to be reunited with him after death.
7. Stanislav Spáčil, at age 17 and 102
Spáčil was an electrical engineer throughout his life and thinks that it's too early in his life to think about the past.
8. Anna Pochobradská, at age 30 and 100
Pochobradská was a farmer. She now lives a quiet life and is thankful that her daughter visits her every weekend.
9. Antonín Baldrman, at age 17 and 101
Baldrman was a clerk early in life and keeps up with current events by reading the newspaper.
10. Marie Burešová, at age 23 and 101
Burešová loves talking to her family and wishes to have them all together again.
11. Vlasta Čížková, at age 23 and 101
Čížková cooked in the dining room at the airport in the small village of Vodochody. She'll never forget reciting her own poetry at wedding ceremonies.
12. Ludmila Vysloužilová, at age 23 and 101
Vysloužilová stays active every day by chopping wood, shoveling snow, and doing work around her house.
The photographer Langer was initially inspired to document the lives of elderly people because of what he saw as the media's lack of coverage of them. He decided to focus on people over the age of 100 — a very rare demographic indeed. The 2020 U.S. Census recorded 80,139 people aged 100 or older, a 50.2% increase from the 53,364 centenarians counted in 2010. As our aging population continues to increase, and technology evolves along with it, it's likely these incredibly photo essays will become far more common. But for now, they are an incredible reminder of how precious and valuable life is, sometimes especially when we reach our golden years.
“One should live every single moment according to their best knowledge and conscience because one day we will see clearly what has a real value," Langer says of what he learned from his subjects while photographing them.
The series was originally part of a story that Langer did for the Czech news outlet aktuálně.cz. You can see more photos from the portrait sessions by following the link.
This article originally appeared seven years ago.
Tanner from 'Love on the Spectrum' meets Jack Black
There's nothing like meeting a celebrity you admire, even when you're somewhat of a celebrity yourself. Tanner Smith from the hit Netflix series Love on the Spectrum has the perfect age picked out for when he meets one of his favorite celebrities: Jack Black. Smith is autistic and likes to plan ahead for events based on the age he'll be when they happen.
Recently Smith appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about how dating was going and to offer other life updates. To Clarkson's surprise, Smith has been doing quite a bit of traveling outside of work and was recently a groomsman for his sister Taylor's wedding. But it was his determination to achieve certain goals by a certain age that struck Clarkson as genius, and she was inspired to help him meet one by secretly planning it herself.
While talking to Clarkson, the excited man shares that he plans to meet one of his favorite actors, Jack Black, when he's 31—which was news to the host. Smith is currently 25, so meeting the School of Rock star wasn't on his radar for this year or any time soon, especially since he already got a video call with him last year on Clarkson's show. That made the surprise all the more exciting.
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To cue up the surprise, Clarkson played a video of Black saying, "What's up Tanner? Jack Black here. I still cannot wait to meet you in person but I'm on the road with a Minecraft movie right now, but luckily, I have insane-ninja-kung fu-powers, which means I can come through these doors and I'm gonna...I'm gonna see you right now when I come through these doors..." before opening the double doors and running onstage.
jack black happy dance GIFGiphy
Smith immediately stood up and ran to hug Black excitedly repeating, "Jack, I'm so happy I finally get to meet you!" The two hugged for what seemed to be about 20 seconds before Smith broke to introduce the actor to his sister who was sitting onstage with him. Clarkson prompts the pair to sit down after Smith got carried away pointing his family in the audience out to Black. When they finally do sit down, Smith is overcome with excitement.
Smith tells Black that he's strong and happy to meet him. Clarkson interjects to apologize that the meeting came before his goal age of 31, but she couldn't get over the excitement exuding from Smith. When Black said maybe they could work out together, the man loudly whispered that he could get the actor's phone number and make plans to go to the gym. This was peak vicarious excitement for the show host because she doubled over with joy.
Watch the wholesome moment below:
Black comments on them both being on tour to which Smith responds, "We're busy guys aren't we, Jack!" The interaction between the two men is contagiously joyful. In the end, Smith was given tickets to see Black in the new Minecraft movie in Imax with his family. Maybe during his next visit to The Kelly Clarkson Show, he and Black will get to head to the gym for that workout.
Ghosting just isn't okay.
All too often, people leave a date with no idea how the other person feels about them. And if you're not into the other person, it can be stressful trying to gauge how they feel about the situation and ultimately what you should do moving forward.
Should you go ahead and have another date to see if something blossoms? Will it come across as presumptuous to let them down? If they're not into you either, will they make you feel stupid for laying out the reasons you don't want to go out again? Or is it leading someone on to stay mum about the lack of connection?
While there's no easy way to navigate letting a date down, avoiding these awkward conversations oftentimes results in the awful trend of ghosting, which leaves one person completely in the emotional lurch.
Ghosting may sound harmless at first, but it's actually a harmful (and totally lame) way to treat another person. It's especially gross when you consider that this other person is someone you invested time in and who invested time in you. Even if there was no spark or connection on one end, ghosting is essentially like throwing the other person away and acting as if they don't matter. There are many reasons why someone might ghost, but when you poke at them enough, they really don't hold any water. In an article for Psychology Today, Janneke M. Schokkenbroek, Ph.D., gives several reasons for why people ghost. Number one? Convenience.
I Love You Lol GIF by LifetimeGiphy
Sure, it may be convenient to walk away from a situation and pretend it no longer exists, but this bit of convenience can be extremely damaging for the person on the receiving end. In fact, a lot of research has come out in the last several years outlining the harmful affects of ghosting on the mental health of both parties. Unfortunately, since ghosting is so common, it's rare to see healthy emotional rejection modeled online. In 2019, though, Reddit user karmabandido's shared a breakup text he sent to his date that quickly went viral for its honesty and clarity.
A masterclass is classy dating.Via Reddit
This is an ideal example of how to let someone down easy. He was polite, respectful, and transparent about how feelings, wants, and needs. He didn't ghost her—but he also didn't mince words about the lack of connection.
In return, she was able to reveal that she felt the same way and they were able to avoid further awkward interactions without negging or having to resort to ghosting.
Bottom line: ghosting isn't nice and it isn't cool. Instead, be honest, open, and respectful because it treats other people with dignity. It may be hard, but kindly and clearly saying how you feel is the right thing to do, people appreciate it, and it goes a long way.
A little respect goes a long way.Image via Canva
This article was originally published six years ago. It has been updated.