Friday, November 24, 2023

Forgotten women of Paleontology: Esther Richards Applin

In the 18th and 19th centuries women’s access to science was limited, and science was usually a ‘hobby’ for intelligent wealthy women. But at the beginning of 20th century, many universities started admitting women, with different motivations, including the lack of men following WWI and the Soviet Revolution. Later, the boom in the oil industry opened opportunities for women. In 1920, E. T. Dumble, vice-president and general manager of the Rio Bravo Oil Company, put together a consortium agreement in Houston, which included his own company, the Texas Company, and Humble Oil Company. He hired Esther Applin née Richards, Alva Ellisor, and Hedwig Kniker to take charge of the company’s paleontological laboratory in Houston and solve the Gulf Coast stratigraphic problems. Macrofossils were too badly broken to be identifiable as to species, so Esther Applin turned her attention to the microfossils, especially foraminifera. It was the begining of the micropaleontological revolution. 

Esther Richards was born November 24, 1895, in in Newark, Ohio. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated with honors in paleontology in 1919. A year later, she moved to Houston to work for the Rio Bravo Oil company. In 1923, she married Paul L. Applin, a young geologist. In 1921, Esther presented a paper suggesting that microfossils could be use to stratigraphic correlation. Her study was ridiculed by Professor J.J. Galloway of the University of Texas, who stated: “Gentlemen, here is this chit of a girl, right out of college, telling us that we can use Foraminifera to determine the age of formation. Gentlemen, you know that it can’t be done.”


 

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Rearranging collections

I took yesterday off from freelance, and finished transferring the vials of sand to the cabinet. Still very shoved in there and I need to have two more glass shelves cut. They are about 4 deep in some places which it makes it hard to appreciate all the different colors. But it is nice having them all together. I hate taking them out of the cute vintage wooden boxes, but they are now are not spread all the house. Everything has a more room to breath. I have my box-o-shells, looks like I love to have little collections in a box or a big bowl, doesn't it? I had put the chair collections there but they would not all fit. So I switched it up. 

I received a very large collection of samples from Elise Lattuca the other day. (Thank you for sharing) Can't wait to put them in appropriate vials. But I need to identify on the vials before doing it and that takes a little effort. I noticed how many unidentified sand I have when moving it around the other day. Shame on me! Will not happen again.

Before
With chairs

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Safari time

Once again, I am so glad I have friends that travel. This time a good friend went on a safari. 

 Johannesburg. South 

Africa Okavango Delta, Botswana

Victoria Falls, Zambia

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Michigan

I am glad I have friends that travel, otherwise, I would not have any new sand! 
 
Van's Beach, Leland Lake, Michigan
 

Whitefish Bay Lake Superior, near the wreck of Edmonds Fitzgerald
 
 
 

Add a little mystery to your next getaway.

18 Beautiful Beaches That Have Secrets  

Iona's Beach - Minnesota  

When waves crash onto this section of beach, the rocks sing a song. 

Cemitério de Navios (The Ship Cemetery)  - Panguila, Angola  

Abandoned ships along a deserted beach feel like the set of a post-apocalyptic thriller. 

Crosby Blitz Beach - Waterloo, England  

Much of what constituted mid-century Liverpool now litters a beach outside of town. 

Neptuni Åkrar - Borgholm N, Sweden  

An otherworldly, fossil-rich cobble beach holds Viking graves, cairns, and other remains.  

Neskowin Ghost Forest  - Neskowin, Oregon  

The eerie remnants of an ancient forest were hidden under the sand for centuries.  

Shell Beach - Guyana  

A nesting ground for four of the world’s seven marine turtle species, most of which are endangered.  

Praia de São Paio  - Labruge, Portugal  

Iron Age runes and ruins hide in plain sight along this Portuguese beach. 

Nauset Beach  - Orleans, Massachusetts 

Centuries-old hoofprints and wagon tracks reveal themselves after a good winter storm.  

Driftwood Beach  - Jekyll Island, Georgia 

Constant erosion has created a surreal landscape of bleached and preserved fallen trees.  

The Stromatolites of Hamelin Pool  - Hamelin Pool, Australia  

Living fossils in this remote Australian bay provide a glimpse of what Earth may have looked like 3.5 billion years ago.  

Spiaggia Rosa (Pink Beach)  - La Maddalena, Italy  

Crushed coral and crystals give the sand its signature coloration. 

Kauai Glass Beach  - Eleele, Hawaii  

This industrial area was the dumping ground for massive amounts of trash, some of which washes up as tiny bits of sea glass.  

Shell Beach  - Francois Peron National Park, 

Australia This Australian beach is composed of tiny shells.  

Red Beach at Mjelle  - Bodo, Norway  

According to the locals, the sands of this secluded Norway beach are infused with gemstone particles. 

The Tanks of Flamenco Beach - Culebra, Puerto Rico  

Rusting, graffiti-covered tanks litter the beach of this island, once used by the U.S. military for target practice.  

Punalu`u Black Sand Beach  - Hawaii  

This black shoreline is made up of exploded lava particles.  

Schoolhouse Beach  - Washington Island, Wisconsin  

This pebble beach is so beautiful that taking its rocks is against the law.  

The Jade Coast  - Itoigawa, Japan  

You can still find treasures on the pebbly beaches of one of the world's oldest jade-producing areas.

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Once Upon a Wednesday

It’s an acronym for Once Upon a Wednesday. You can find awe any day, not only on the first day of the week, on special holidays, or weekends. Your next big awe-story might start Once Upon a Wednesday. 

From Quaw, Sand Origin

   

It is funny, I would rather wear a necklace with a beautiful rock rather than a diamond. I give rock necklaces a lot for presents. I don't see the recipient wearing them so many they don't feel the same :) NOT a polished rock but a simple plain one!

I love this. Jealous! 

 Explore the Hidden World of Sand 

 I really want to get a microscope and macro lens for my phone.

Discovering the Unseen Beauty of Sand Under a Digital Microscope

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Something about my sand collecting

Kristina Kallur is asking why do you collect sand and I want to answer that. 

My husband and I are great collectors. So it is no surprise that sand became an obsession.

It all started with this image from a magazine so many years ago. Small bottles of sand from around the world displayed in a single row on a small shelf. Instantly in love with the idea. The variety of subtle colors of the earth gave me a chill.

I lived all over the world with my step dad working for an oil company and I soooo wish I had started collecting when I lived in Malta, Scotland, Majorca. But then I forgot about collecting sand until a couple of years ago and that image popped back in my head. I think I started when I was laid off from MSNBC, my job for 14 years. I was a little depressed and in my 50's. I am now 67 so I have been collecting for some years. This sounded like something to take my mind off of that blow, while I freelanced and traveled with a friend of mine as a her photographer assistant. It was a perfect time to start my collecting. I put the call out to my traveling friends to bring me back a surprise! Now I am a little possessed. I have not successfully achieved to build a wall full of sand but I have big plans.

 
I also love this display.
 

I don't travel as much as I did in my youth, thankfully, I have friends who never forget my hobby! Just think of it as a cheap but well-loved birthday or Christmas gift!

My husband and I recently took a road trip through new Mexico, Arizona and Utah and got some lovely samples! I think he was more excited than I was about the wonderful samples we had!

 

I purchased 8 Dram / 1 oz / 30 mL, Clear Glass Sample Storage Specimen Vial Container w/Black Screw on Caps for a consistent display. Mind you, these vials have become so much more expensive, I will need to rethink my display once I use up my present supply

I also collect seedpods and feathers, rocks and shells.


 
I am a part of Sand Collectors United and International Sand Collectors Society on Facebook. I want to go to some meetups. I want to join the Everett Rock and Gem Club for grins. I have meet some wonderful people online that I chat with all the time. Mainly I ask them about the ins and outs of collecting since I still consider myself a novice. One of my friends is Jim Rienhardt. He shared his Excel reference example for keeping track. He sent me lots of samples from New York and encouraged me. I think we met on Pinterest! I am not as diligent as a serious collector of the cleaning, and measuring and documenting for me to be confident to trade. I do send off samples to friends. And I am much better at getting all the information correct. I guess I just feel a little intimidated.
 
I consider myself an internet sleuth and LOVE looking up the area on Google maps where my sand comes from, what the sand consist of, about the area where people found it. It is a mystery always worth exploring which is one of the reasons I started my Something Sand blog, for myself to document my discoveries. Also books and videos that I had found interesting. There are also wonderful groups who make natural pigments, like the Wild Pigment Project.

My husband LOVED my sand collection. Always encouraged me. He passed away recently which makes our car trip through AZ, NM, and Utah even more precious. 
 
My kids want to keep it once I have passed. My granddaughter stood looking at my display of sand and shells and collection of art, she stepped  back, spread her arms to the heavens and said "Just think, all of this will be mine some day". Boy, did I have a giggle inside but I am thankful they are interested in my favorite hobby.
 
I don't see any downfalls of this hobby. Just take a small amount. Make sure you identify it while you are taking it because trust me, you will forget. I have lots of samples that are unmarked. I think this is a great project for school kids and younger adults. It is not expensive, it is very interesting, it gives them something to do on vacation instead of buying knick knacks. It teaches them about earth, geology and geography.
 
For 10+ years now I have wanted to put together a sand collecting kit for kids. It would include some bottles or vials, a printed log book and an example of how to note your sample, a nice box to keep your collection safe, maybe a FB group just for them to share their finds, a program for their school. I just love the idea.