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Sparkling wine

Helps you sin 'til late.
  (+30, -1)(+30, -1)(+30, -1)
(+30, -1)
  [vote for,
against]

1) The oceans are awash with bioluminescent microbes, many of which flash when disturbed. Indeed, some of them are used to measure turbulence and shear in liquids, since their light output directly reflects the local movement of the liquid.

2) There are creatures that can live in the nastiest of environments, including highly acidic waters.

3) Therefore, we ought to be able to find a bioluminescent microbe that can survive modest levels of acidity and ethanol.

4) Most living things are edible.

So. By selective breeding from a promising starting point, we develop a bioluminescent microbe which is happy in wine. A few drops of the culture added to a humble Pinot Grigio would transform it into a swirling light show. A dash added to a sparkling wine would add entrancing scintillae to every bursting bubble.

MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 18 2007

tequila worms. http://www.straight...ssics/a990702b.html
[pyggy potamus, Dec 19 2007]

(??) Glowing kittens http://news.yahoo.c...loning_071212210021
Bacteria shouldn't be that tough. [gisho, Dec 21 2007]

florescence in beverages http://chemistry.ab...the-dark-drinks.htm
Absinthe mentioned [dentworth, Dec 21 2007]

Bioluminescence http://www.answers....nescence?cat=health
[quantum_flux, Dec 28 2007]

Bioluminescence (Molecule and Reactions) http://www.answers....ciferase?cat=health
[quantum_flux, Dec 28 2007]

GM Glowing Tobacco Plant http://www.answers....g-tobacco-plant-jpg
[quantum_flux, Dec 28 2007]

[link]






       Drink fast!
phoenix, Dec 19 2007
  

       [+] you could make money off of this thing [MaxwellBuchanan]... the tequila worm people will probably be the first to try out your glow wine.
pyggy potamus, Dec 19 2007
  

       I was attacked by the Tequila Worm People in a nightmare...
globaltourniquet, Dec 19 2007
  

       //I have a bottle of champagne style plonk in the fridge, but it's sparkled with 24K gold leaf//
Sounds like a nightmare if you've got old-fashioned amalgam fillings.
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Dec 19 2007
  

       Pretty darned close to magic genetic engineering. But + for the nice pun "sin 'til late" = scintillate.
csea, Dec 19 2007
  

       Very nice. But sp. "'till'".
dbmag9, Dec 19 2007
  

       //Very nice. But sp. "'till'".// No, sp. " 'til" (contraction of "until"). Till is a verb meaning to plough, or a device for handling cash transactions.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 19 2007
  

       //Pretty darned close to magic genetic engineering.// Wellllllll, OK. Though to be fair, I did suggest selective breeding, and it's fairly plausible. Perhaps.   

       Incidentally, that raises the question of whether all GM ideas should be considered magic. If you suggest creating a chicken/spider hybrid to provide more drumsticks, that would indeed be magic. On the other hand, if you propose to engineer more essential amino acids into wheat gluten, that's as reasonable a proposal as any mechanical invention. Just curious as to where the "magic" threshold lies in relation to GM.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 19 2007
  

       I try to only sin 'til eight. Kids and all...   

       (I also try to only split infinitives where necessary for the pun of it)
globaltourniquet, Dec 19 2007
  

       //I have corrected people concerning the ' 'til/till ' question for years.// That's a pity, because it's actually " 'til". I appreciate that Google may be the ultimate arbiter on many topics, but the OED disagrees on this point. Webster accepts "till" in the sense of "until", but Webster accepts many strange things. I'll stick with English usage 'til someone can convince me otherwise - it's that simple.   

       Perhaps all the Googly instances of "till" are from people whom you have erroneously corrected over the years?
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 20 2007
  

       //Incidentally, that raises the question of whether all GM ideas should be considered magic.//   

       Of course. We're magical types here at the General.   

       PRESTO! Ooh there's another car...
RayfordSteele, Dec 20 2007
  

       [linky] Making an organism glow actually isn't that hard. If we can find something that thrives in wine without ruining the taste, a glowing version should be easy.
gisho, Dec 21 2007
  

       [jscott] ...in which case, you've corrected many people unnecessarily "for years". In the UK, "till" would be corrected to " 'til" by any copy-editor. In the US, they'd presumably be happy with either.   

       [gisho] The aim is not so much to make the drink just glow, but to sparkle when disturbed (for example, by bubbles or by being drawn through a straw). For this, you want mechanosensing bioluminescent beasts, such as many marine biolominescent microbes.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 21 2007
  

       ////specific species // That caused some sort of atavistic twitch, deep in my grey matter//   

       Quite. And if one had a group of very unpreposessing creatures - perhaps a number of related species of mundane mouse - would they constitute a sort of generic genus? Incidentally, my favourite genus is a group of sea-slugs called Cafeteria.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 21 2007
  

       The genus Cafeteria got its name through some problem with Greek/Latin. It was meant to be Kafeteria, but for some reason that's not allowed, so it became Cafeteria. There's also a genus of orchid called Hysteria.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 21 2007
  

       You'd trust the word of a man who named a genus "Cafeteria"?
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 22 2007
  

       // Did I do a bad thing //   

       Yes, but only in a Biblical sense ....
8th of 7, Dec 22 2007
  

       Maybe you coveted your neighbor's house?
DrCurry, Dec 23 2007
  

       [UB] please, go easy on the eyelash fluttering. It makes me nervous. Appreciated.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 23 2007
  

       I think this can work.
quantum_flux, Dec 28 2007
  

       //I think this can work// Possibly so, but I refuse to delete it unless you can _prove_ it's a workable idea.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 28 2007
  

       I don't think there's an m-f-d tag for "possibly might actually work"...
globaltourniquet, Dec 28 2007
  

       Well you're GM'ing the stuff, could you not do something to the little critters to help prevent a hangover? [+]
noblea, Dec 29 2007
  

       We're not actually GMing anything, but we'll see what we can do.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 29 2007
  

       //Well you're GM'ing the stuff, could you not do something to the little critters to help prevent a hangover?//   

       Since you're going to drink 'em, they'll have bigger problems.
Loris, May 31 2010
  

       [Loris] If they can handle the relatively high ethanol concentration in wine, they might be hardy enough to survive your guts. Resulting in glowing stools.
mouseposture, Jun 01 2010
  

       //they might be hardy enough to survive your guts. Resulting in glowing stools//   

       This assumes successful passage right through the canal. What's to say the microbes won't be digested and their luminescence affect the drinker. That cartoon of the drunk with the glowing red nose might take on a whole new significance. Cops might derive an alternative to the breathalyser based on measuring the luminosity of the driver's nose.
Tulaine, Jun 01 2010
  

       may call for a quantum dot embedded wine glass.
FlyingToaster, Jun 01 2010
  

       // Resulting in glowing stools. //   

       I think there's a pub around here somewhere that had glowing stools back in the 80s.
land, Jun 02 2010
  

       mouseposture, just because an organism is resistant to alcohol doesn't mean that it will also be resistant to the acidic environment of the stomach. Thus, no glowing poop under ordinary circumstances. On the other hand, if you drink the stuff along with some antacid...
goldbb, Jun 03 2010
  

       Before I forget, [+], although I think I'd like this in a non-alcoholic version, too.
goldbb, Jun 03 2010
  

       [goldbb] //acidic environment of the stomach// Oh, you spoilsport. Won't you let me have my glowing poop joke?
mouseposture, Jun 03 2010
  
      
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