this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2025
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Science Memes

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all 46 comments
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[–] Genius@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 hour ago

Is that what Gaara kept his sand in?

[–] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 hour ago

Portable water is kind of a big deal technologically, IMO. Especially for a persistence predator species (aka humans).

[–] solarvector@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 4 hours ago

I just found my solution to bringing water to a concert without using a shitty plastic bottle.

[–] mavu@discuss.tchncs.de 21 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

more durable and lighter than pottery.
gourd does the job better.

[–] janus2@lemmy.zip 18 points 5 hours ago

also carries water much better than a basket

[–] Zephorah@discuss.online 19 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Consider the luffa next. It’s a squash of sorts that grows on a vine. The inner matrix of the large zucchini looking fruits is the luffa sponge. Zone 10.

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 1 points 9 minutes ago

You can even eat the luffa before it gets too old and fiberous.

[–] Duranie@leminal.space 79 points 9 hours ago (4 children)

My mom used to do arts and crafts things with gourds. When she passed there were easily over a dozen laying around the house plus a giant one she had started prepping, but never finished.

She was cremated, and the plans were to bury her in the plot she already had next to my dad. State or county requirements, however, that works, allowed us to be the ones to dig the hole to actually place her urn in the ground. When the time came, her five children, their spouses and many grandchildren gathered to dig a great big hole in the ground. We ended up taking the big gourd that she had been working on and placed it in the ground, then as we filled that with dirt we placed her urn inside the gourd. In the end everyone took shovelfuls and handfuls of earth and covered her up.

I can never look at a gourd without thinking of my mom.

[–] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 hours ago

What a delightful way to go!

Love the whole thing. How big was the gourd? (I gather it held the ashes?)

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 28 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Someday in the distant future, there is going to be a very confused archeologist.

[–] Duranie@leminal.space 15 points 8 hours ago

Lol when it was discussed with the funeral home folks (who gave us the shovel to dig with - left it leaning against the back door of the funeral home the morning of) they just said to let them know when we were done so they could document what was left there for the records.

Yes. This happened in a very, very rural area lol.

[–] chaogomu@lemmy.world 10 points 8 hours ago

Depending on how far along the prep work on the gourd was, it may have decomposed.

[–] CobblerScholar@lemmy.world 12 points 8 hours ago

Thats really sweet, thanks for sharing

[–] grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 8 hours ago

My dad grew gourdes. One of the happiest pictures I have of him late in life is him standing on the porch, surrounded by gourdes hanging to dry. I have three of his goudes. I also have one of his loufas.

[–] Hotzilla@sopuli.xyz 24 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

There could be some sense figuring first out water containers. Old saying is that human survives few minutes without oxygen, few days without water and few weeks without food. Water > Food

Also as a hunter gatherer, food is around you (berries, roots, game) and you can carry them with you. Drinking water is more scarce and keeping it with you when you move around needs some container.

[–] SeptugenarianSenate@leminal.space 1 points 10 minutes ago

I saw bucketloads of blackberries growing down in the trees behind the park the other week. But as water with decreased nanoplastic contamination levels continues to become scarce in as many accessible places throughout nearly every system in our environment, Gourd is Good for keeping a filtered fitty (50 fl. ounces) of crystal clear lectrolyzed gulpers on hand in a pinch. It may even prove itself to be Great again, who knows!

[–] ImWaitingForRetcons@lemmy.world 17 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (2 children)

Bottle gourds are still eaten pretty regularly in India, and I suspect, other parts of the world too.

Yep, I just checked Wikipedia, and yes, tons of people around the world still eat it.

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 17 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

tons of purple around the world still eat it.

I wonder what the other colors eat.

[–] humorlessrepost@lemmy.world 8 points 4 hours ago

The blues eat away at my life.

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 5 hours ago

I was surprised to see them called inedible. The young gourds are tender and taste like squash.

[–] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 31 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

holy shit is that why a common word for reusable water bottles in french is gourde??? whoa

[–] WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.world 8 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

You have an accent aggue on your name, so I'm inclined to believe you, but so do I. I I don't know how much authority it really imbues. Can you be trusted?

[–] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

i am to be trusted, in my opinion (which you can trust because i am to be trusted) ☺️

/j

[–] Deathray5@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 4 hours ago

On the subject of the name, you available to come check out a large cauldron?

[–] Broadfern@lemmy.world 82 points 10 hours ago

Emotional support water bottles are human nature confirmed

[–] Zwiebel@feddit.org 50 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (2 children)
[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 36 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (2 children)

Among other things.

The gourd is used traditionally to administer enemas. Along the upper Congo River an enema apparatus is made by making a hole in one end of the gourd for filling it, and using a resin to attach a hollow cane to the gourd's neck.[52]

which sounds... splintery...

[–] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 9 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Ok now you got my attention

[–] rautapekoni@sopuli.xyz 12 points 8 hours ago

There's also a 13th century persian poem called The Importance of Gourd Crafting that offers other rather intimate uses for the produce.

[–] chtk@feddit.nl 3 points 8 hours ago

If only we had told this to Aleksey Tartarov sooner.

[–] Contramuffin@lemmy.world 34 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

It probably has to do with weight. Pottery is pretty heavy and I assume this gourd, when hollowed out, isn't

[–] Ashiette@lemmy.world 29 points 9 hours ago

And resistance. Pottery tends to break easily, organic material is more resistant to most types of mechanical stress.

[–] ryedaft@sh.itjust.works 41 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

They probably just made really good bongs

[–] ruuster13@lemmy.zip 30 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Why do you think we say "stoned off his gourd"?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 16 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Just going to sit here and stare at this comment for a while.

[–] ruuster13@lemmy.zip 9 points 9 hours ago

That's what I do when I am.

[–] wetbeardhairs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 10 hours ago (2 children)
[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 13 points 7 hours ago
[–] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 9 hours ago

They were also used as personal flotation devices and floats for fishing nets.

[–] dumples@midwest.social 15 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

At the art fair by my house is a lady who makes gourd earrings, birdhouses and instruments. She even wears a gourd hat. She grows them all herself. I tried to grow a luffa this year inspired by her. It failed because they are hard to germinate. Next year I'm doing a bottle gourd

[–] darklamer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Never wear a hat you haven't grown yourself.

[–] logicbomb@lemmy.world 7 points 8 hours ago

"As you can see, this hat is felted from my own body hair, and the decorative bits? My toenails."

[–] dumples@midwest.social 3 points 8 hours ago

Real baller move. Time to get some sheep so I can make my own wool hats I guess. The gourd hat is more decorative than functional in the winter

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 4 points 9 hours ago

I'm growing bird houses and luffa! Get another pack of luffa seeds. Mine are 2 or 3 years old and almost every one has sprouted. This year I just stuck 'em in the ground.

Be aware! Once they get rolling they can grow nearly 1' a day!