Skeleton Trivia for Tuesday, 2024-09-17
C4 is fine, but the real photosynthusiasts are all about crassulacean acid metabolism
Hiya Skeleton Crew,
Didja know that I’m doin’ fantasy football again this year? My team’s gone 2–0 so far!
Today’s trivias ain’t about football at all. I, ah, just wanted to brag ’bout my fantasy football team, if I’m bein’ honest!
Answers to Last Time
The chess move I was lookin’ for yesterday was c4 ... ’n’ even if ya don’t know chess so well, maybe ya picked up on my “explosive” hint? Since C4’s also a type a’ explosive, get it??
Skier Suzy Chaffee got to be known as “Suzy Chapstick” owin’ to how she used to be in those ChapStick commercials.
Today’s Trivias
Trivia 1
I was originally gonna ask ya some follow-up questions today about C4 the plastic explosive ... but, uh, I don’t wanna get on any government watchlists or anythin’ like that, so instead maybe let’s talk ’bout another kind a’ C4.
Like maybe ... C4 carbon fixation!
Does that not mean anythin’ to ya? No worries! It’s just a name for a certain type a’ photosynthesis, that’s all! It’s a photosynthesis that’s different from the regular C3 photosynthesis used by most plants species out there.
But even though it’s not the most popular version a’ photosynthesis, it’s still pretty dang important. Lotsa agricultural heavyweights—I’m talkin’ crops like maize ’n’ sugarcane ’n’ sorghum—are all C4 plants.
The chemistry’s kinda over my cranium, but it seems like C4 photosynthesis is pretty good at reducin’ energy waste from somethin’ called photorespiration. Also, in particular, C4 plants don’t hafta open up those li’l pores in their leaves—y’know the ones I’m talkin’ ’bout? They’re like li’l ... mouths? Or somethin’? But so anyway, C4 plants don’t hafta open the pores so much to let in carbon dioxide for photosynthesis to happen.
Which is great news if yer a plant that lives in a hot ’n’ dry environment! Like maize, or sugarcane!!
Anyway, what’re those little pores in the leaves of plants called?
Trivia 2
C4 is a letter stuck next to the number 4. An’ y’know what ELSE is a letter stuck next to the number 4? 4X!
(I know, that was one a’ my better segues, eh??)
What’s “4X”, ya might be askin’? Well, it’s a term gamers like to use to describe a certain genre a’ game, one that I’d say is epitomized by the Civilization series a’ games—though the term originally got coined to describe the 1993 game Master of Orion.
Can ya tell me what any a’ the Xs in 4X stand for?
OK then
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee