this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.

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submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

Plants, through photosynthesis, take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen as a byproduct

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

The main thing for me is that the contents of flatulence and BO were not made by the animal themselves. They were made by symbiotic bacteria.

Regarding plants taking in O2 and expelling CO2, to my knowledge this only happens at night, and the plant is not actually using the O2. It's just concentrations naturally equalizing while it waits for the sun to come back. Do some plants actually have a use for O2? That's out of my wheelhouse.

Anyways, I can see the flatulence argument, since both are a result of a "feeding" behavior, but there's not a lot else in common.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Plants do indeed use O2. They use if for the same reason we do, the have mitochondria that use O2 during respiration.

During the day plants typically produce more O2 than they consume, but at night they need it from elsewhere.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

I guess, yea, they're making sugar, but they're still going to need to metabolize it. Why do I have the impression I probably knew this at one point in time...?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Oh sweet. The new "airplane on a treadmill" problem just dropped. 🍿