Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is an annual plant of the daisy family,
Asteraceae, often grown as a leaf vegetable, and sometimes for its stem
or seeds. Often used for salads, lettuce is also seen in other kinds of
food, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps. In addition to its use as a
leafy green, it has religious and medicinal significance. World
production of lettuce and chicory for 2017 was 27 million tonnes, 56
percent of which came from China. Generally grown as a hardy annual,
lettuce is easily cultivated, although it requires relatively low
temperatures to prevent it from flowering quickly. It can be plagued by
numerous nutrient deficiencies, as well as insect and mammal pests, and
fungal and bacterial diseases. Lettuce is a rich source of vitamin K
and vitamin A, and a moderate source of folate and iron. Contaminated
lettuce can be a source of bacterial, viral, and parasitic outbreaks in
humans, including E. coli and Salmonella.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lettuce>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1821:
The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from
Spain was drafted in the National Palace in Mexico City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence_of_the_Mexican_Empire>
1928:
Scottish biologist and pharmacologist Alexander Fleming
discovered penicillin when he noticed a bacteria-killing mould growing
in his laboratory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicillin>
1978:
Pope John Paul I died only 33 days after his papal election due
to an apparent myocardial infarction, resulting in the first year of
three popes since 1605.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_I>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Uranian:
1. (comparable, literary, poetic) Celestial, heavenly; uranic.
2. (comparable, literary, archaic) Homosexual; (specifically) relating
to a man's erotic love for adolescent boys; pederastic; also, of poetry:
conveying appreciation for young men.
3. (not comparable, Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Of Aphrodite
Urania, the heavenly aspect of Greek goddess of beauty and love
Aphrodite and her Roman counterpart Venus: heavenly, spiritual, as
contrasted with the earthly aspect of Aphrodite Pandemos.
4. (not comparable, Greek mythology, dated) Relating to Urania, the Muse
of astronomy.
5. (not comparable, by extension, historical, rare) Of or pertaining to
astronomy; astronomical. [...]
6. (not comparable, astronomy) Of or pertaining to the planet Uranus.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Uranian>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I do not open up the truth to one who is not eager to get
knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself.
When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he cannot
from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson.
--Confucius (孔子 · Kongzi)
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Confucius>