prednezone, hydrocortizone and a surly decumbent

Got gingko? I do, and she's a girl. Lot's of fetid fruit, which I try to avoid touching but must've somehow anyway. Then I must've rubbed my eyes and gone to the restroom. The result: four weeks of the most intense itching I have ever experienced. Puffy, eyes with skin the texture of persimmon bark, and ditto the unmentionables. This stuff makes poison ivy seem like a Swedish massage. So my holiday message to all: Do not touch gingko fruit unless you are some kind of sick masochist. If you are a sick masochist, go ahead and roll around in it. Have at it.

Decumbent

Gee, you make poison-ivy sound downright delectable!

Poor old Ginkgo -- if you weren't squashing its little baby fruits it wouldn't have nailed you like anyprotective mother would!

I presume you're sure it was the Ginkgo that hit you, and not something else like Euphorbia sap . . .

Guy S.

When I washed several buckets of fruit it seemed like it took the top layer of skin off my hands. The smell was like dog vomit and I got a bit in my eyes. I didn't like processing the seed either.

"Got gingko?" Pretty funny, I'll reserve comment as I've had a run in with the seed I handled to germinate myself.

And Guy, "Poor old Ginkgo -- if you weren't squashing its little baby fruits it wouldn't have nailed you like anyprotective mother would!" That was pretty funny too. Now, I'm stuck with this visual of Decumbent rolling around underneath his/her Ginkgo Tree squishing baby fruits.

Want to be truly masochistic? Roll around in some of this-
http://www.wnrmag.com/stories/1999/jun99/parsnip.htm
I've seen people who have come in contact with Pastinaca sativa who look as if they should be shipped off to a leper colony.

Dog vomit, did somebody say dog vomit?
Allow me to introduce you to Fuligo septica-
http://www.mushroomthejournal.com/coma/ey/Fuligo198.html

I've got lots of dog vomit around here!

I agree with Equil -- who needs fake Ginkgo puke when you have lovable but stupid dogs who will eat anything that smells remotely organic, and thus you have ready access to the real stuff?

But I will say that I've cleaned Ginkgo fruits with no dermal reaftion. Plenty of olfactory reaction, and even some gastrointestinal convulsions (fortunately I was working at the sink), but no dermal reaction. I also had trouble sleeping that night because the smell lingered on my hands. That was in the late 60s before they invented modern latex gloves, and I've learned a few things since then.

By the way, if you have a score to settle with a neighbor, Ginkgo fruit does very well as an air freshener placed on the engine block of his/her car . . . whenever the engine warms up, the smell comes in though the heater vent, and he winds up pulling over and checking his tires to see if he ran over something yucky. It lasts for weeks! Hee-hee-hee! Of course, that was back before they invented inside hood releases. I guess I had a perverted youth.

Maybe we should start a new thread about creative ways to use Ginkgo?

Guy S.

"Ginkgo fruit does very well as an air freshener placed on the engine block of his/her car . . . whenever the engine warms up, the smell comes in though the heater vent, and he winds up pulling over and checking his tires to see if he ran over something yucky. It lasts for weeks!" oh how wonderfully evil! Yes, please start a new thread using this! I'm sure I could come up with a few additions! I have an adjustable Model 3061 slingshot with a fully adjustable yoke and arm support for maximum comfort and shooting stability! Oh Guy, the possibilities are endless!

I must be getting old and responsible. It never occurred to me to use this profusion of nasty fruit for diabolical purposes. Such a resource!

The first person I thought of to "get" by putting gingko fruit on the block of their engine was my son, but then I remembered he drives my car. No good there. But possibly some of his friends.

If I wasn't so allergic to these things, it would be great to launch them into neighbor's yards with the help of a badminton racket, but invariably that would just spray gingko juice into my already swollen and itchy face.

Decumbent

Know some bratty neighborhood kids? Sneak Ginkgo fruits into their trick-or-treat bags via slight of hand, then pointedly drop a couple of huge shiny apples on top. All they'll remember about you is those nice apples. But later, when they get home . . .

Guy S.

Decumbent, Decumbent, Decumbent! You are getting old before your time! Guy and I are a year or so apart from each other in age and we are barely even approaching our prime! We've got many years ahead of us with hopefully lots of mischief in store for the younger generation.

Now let's get you back in the swing of things. You said, "If I wasn't so allergic to these things, it would be great to launch them into neighbor's yards with the help of a badminton racket". I've got an idea, How about one of these cute little ensembles-
http://www.countryfields.ca/images/pricelist/sherriffsuit.jpg

Now, go get em slugger!

This being said, does anyone have any ideas on what I can do with ginkgo to get back at our oldest son who... no longer drives a car I own? My mind is wandering back to days of gum strategically stuck to the dash board to be saved for later use, my steering wheel all greasy and slimy from sun tan oil, a dehydrated pizza piece stuck to the back of my headrest (I never did figure that one out), pop cans and high energy drinks oozing their high fructose sugars out onto my floors, cheerios crunching under foot, and those horrible pine tree air fresheners hanging from my rear view mirror. It's pay back time!

Hi, Equil.

I get similar stuff when I mulch my gardens(dog vomit.) Doesn't bother me. I just either let it be or kick it aside. Nasty-looking, but does no harm, eh?

You guys are so nasty! I remember my best friend's dad hated the smell of peanut butter, which is of course benign compared to ginkgo, but just wanted to say that he smeared a lot of peanut butter on a board and nailed it to the bottom of his son's bed. The son, who didn't mind the smell of peanut butter, but who couldn't imagine WHERE the peanut butter smell was coming from, finally discovered the source when the family dog came into his room, crawled under his bed and started licking the peanut butter off the board. The son then pried the board off the bottom of his bed, snuck upstairs and nailed the board to the bottom of his DAD's bed. (Of course, one has to do the hammering when the victim is not home.) So, what do you guys think about nailing a ginkgo-smeared board to the bottom of a bed instead of ruining car engines? Actually, I hope you are both kidding, as what you are talking about sounds very nasty and ruinous indeed.

"Actually, I hope you are both kidding, as what you are talking about sounds very nasty and ruinous indeed."

Hee-hee-hee!
Don't mess with a Scorpio!
Especially one who has access to Ginkgo!

Guy S.

Why Guy, you're back.

Hey persevere, I'm with Guy because... well... he's got the Ginkgo and... well... he is a Scorpio.

Yeah, I was in San Diego for a few days. Now I have ten weeks of work that piled up during the few days I was gone. How does that happen anyway?
There oughta be a law . . .

Guy S.

A law? Don't we have enough of those already?

I was thinking more of a law of physics -- how can 3 months worth of work accumulate in 4 days?

Gotta go --

Guy S.

I have the answer to that question but since we're both still on line... I suppose it is moot.