All kinds of bizarre biological lamps, the earth's "original" lighting technology!

In modern society, electric lights are generally used for night lighting. You may not believe it, but there are still many places in the world where people use bioluminescence for lighting.

In the Kotenmaurice Mountains of Guyana, there is a kind of "lamp cow" whose tail is covered with a lot of flammable oil. After the local residents slaughter it, they take off its tail and drill a small hole in the center, insert a wick, and they make a special "cow tail lamp". Each "cow tail lamp" can not only be lit for seven or eight hours, but also is bright and smokeless.

In the American Indian tribes, a kind of "fish lamp" is still used for lighting. The fish used as the "lamp" is called Aiuraho, which is about 30 cm long and rich in fat. The Indians catch this fish and dry it into fish jerky, and then pass a cotton thread through its body to make a "fish lamp". At night, people light the fish lamp and do various housework.

Glowing Aiuraho

In the Jin Dynasty of my country, there was a poor boy named Che Yin. He had no money to buy lamp oil, so he carried a firefly to hang up in the summer to light up his study. This lamp that "carried a firefly to light up the study" was called a "firefly lamp". There is a light source at the tail of a firefly that can emit cold light.

Glowing fireflies

There is a kind of phosphorescent beetle in Central America, which is a close relative of fireflies and can also emit cold light. However, its light source is not in the tail but in the two wings. Put three or four phosphorescent beetles together, and the light they emit is enough to illuminate a book.

There is a kind of "mushroom" in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, my country, which emits a faint green light at night. Many "mushrooms" like to grow on tree trunks. In the dark night, the light green fluorescence emitted by the "mushrooms" is like shining stars, appearing and disappearing from time to time. It turns out that it is a kind of fungus. The reason why these "mushrooms" glow is almost the same as the principle of fireflies' luminescence, which is caused by the action of luciferin and enzymes.

Glowing Mushrooms

There is a kind of luminous fungus growing in Australia, which is about 5 cm in diameter and 33 cm in height. Locals pick it and put it on the table. At night, the cap of the fungus will scatter a dazzling emerald-like light, which can be used for reading and writing.

There is a kind of krill living in the Antarctic Ocean that has luminous organs on its body.

There is a flying insect called "cocuyo" in the West Indies, which is about the size of a human thumb. Its two eyes are like two small electric beads, and the light it emits is dozens of times brighter than that of a firefly. At night, if you put a "cocuyo" in the house, it can light up the whole room.

In the Kira Forest west of Entebbe, Africa, there is a kind of glowing "firefly bird". This bird has only sparse feathers on its head and wings. Its oval body is smooth and yellow without any feathers. At night, it glows with a brightness equivalent to that of a 2-watt light bulb.

Glowing Warbler

Lobi Island in the Gulf of Guinea, Africa, has a mild climate and overgrown weeds. A poisonous snake called "Kugasha" lives everywhere, threatening the safety of people and livestock. Although this snake is poisonous, it contains a large amount of flammable oil in its body. In order to solve the lighting problem, the locals caught this snake, put a cotton wick through its mouth, and then dried it to use as a lamp. After lighting the snake lamp, the light emitted is equivalent to a 5-watt light bulb, and one snake can be used for three or four nights.

There are many strange and bizarre biological lamps in the world, such as the "seabird lamps" in the coastal areas of Scotland, the "diving fish lamps" in the Indian Ocean, and so on. The biological lamps in the world are really diverse, waiting for us to continue to discover!