Dirt
Sat, August 18, 2007 at 5:13 PM 
Where would we be without dirt?
Honestly, the economy depends on dirt. If we didn’t have dirt it would put the entire cleaning industry out of business, the economy would collapse, and you’ll be out on the street waiting for a street-sweeper that would never need to come. Count your lucky stars that dirt’s got a long-term contract and isn’t cleaning up it’s act anytime soon.
Dirt (soil) forms the pedospherem, which is a nice Latin name for the grubby interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere.
Dirt is a three phase system comprised of all kinds of little bits, from rocks and minerals, organic matter (including all sorts of living organisms), ice, weathered rock and precipitates, liquid water solutions, and gases (worm farts).
The ‘liquid phase’ is primarily water, and is also known as the ‘soil solution’ where plants get their nutrients. The ‘gaseous phase’ is important for supplying oxygen to plant roots for respiration. Fortunately, there is no ‘teenager phase’.
Soil formation, or pedogenesis, (use that in a sentence some time this week) is the combined effect of physical, chemical, biological, and anthropogenic processes on big things turning them into progressively littler things which you want to keep out of the corners of your bathroom.
Oh yeah, we’re all going to become dirt in the end so show some respect.
Reader Comments (4)
I never heard it put that way but it makes a lot of sense.
So why does soap clean off the dirt? It's something about reducing the bonds? How does soap work vs dirt?
Darn, i thought you meant something else that keeps me lurk on these page.Good thing is, you make alot of sense amigo.Id probably appreciate dirt next time than curse it.Whew!
A man learns something every day....