this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
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Science Memes

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[–] qooqie@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Just wait until those weird hairless apes with back issues learn how to fling those pointy sticks really fast with twine and wood

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Just wait until those same weird hairless apes with back issues learn how how to harness a particular mixture of charcoal, brimstone, and poop crystals.

[–] hydrospanner@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not quite. Guano was historically a source of saltpetre...

[–] hydrospanner@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

For real?!

TIL! Thanks for explaining.

For real?!

Yup: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano

Though its main use was as fertilizer, Guano was also sought for the production of gunpowder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_nitrate#From_caves

Major natural sources of potassium nitrate were the deposits crystallizing from cave walls and the accumulations of bat guano in caves. Extraction is accomplished by immersing the guano in water for a day, filtering, and harvesting the crystals in the filtered water.