April 16 ‘flying…with shrooms?’

Wilber Wright was born April 16, 1867. He was the younger brother to Orville Wright-the Wright brothers that invented the plane. I have a book to acknowledge them, “The Wright Brothers, Pioneers of American Aviation” by Quentin Reynolds, 1950. It is another Landmark book from my collection. This gives a good biography of the brothers, in an easy to read young adult book.

Just to be clear, two wrongs do not make a right, but two Wrights make a plane.

April 16 is also National Day of the Mushroom. I have “Field Book of Common Mushrooms” by William S. Thomas, 1948. It has colored illustrations and “With a Key to identification of the Gilled Mushrooms and directions for cooking those that are edible.” It tells all sorts of things on how to identify and find mushrooms. There was not any discusion on Psilocybin mushrooms. The only mushrooms I liked to find were Puffball mushrooms. When walking to my grandparents home in Winthrop Harbor, I had to cross a wooded ravine. There I found puffball mushrooms to kick, and wild onions to eat.

I also have an interesting book “Bizarre Plants, Magical, Monstrous, and Mythical” by William A. Emboden, 1974. There is a whole chapter on mushrooms. The author gives a non-botanical description that edible fungi are mushrooms, and poisonous ones are toadstools. He also mentions that the Great Sphinx in Egypt, when viewed from behind looks like a mushroom. Another reason to make a trip to see the pyramids.

The chapter on mushrooms goes into more details (with photographs) of various shapes of mushrooms (more than just the penile shape though Phallus indusiata and Phallus impudicus are two examples). There is Cyathus striatus that looks like a bird’s nest with eggs. This book is another good one to just sit in a chair for an hour and read a chapter or two for interesting, easy to read facts.

What did the girl mushroom say to the boy mushroom? You’re a fungi.

The boy mushroom liked to date a girl mushroom with loose morels.

I don’t want to get in truffle with anyone, so thanks for reading.