Field of Science

Entreperneurial botany - moss in a bottle

One of TPP's great failings has been his inability, or reluctance, to use botany to grab a quick buck.  What is it with the crazy idea that something of real value must be proffered?  Is this why a university pays me the not so big bucks for being a world-class expert?  Well, my old friend Dr. Chips sends along an item that truly boggles the mind if it truly opens wallets.  He writes:
If I could save moss in a bottle,
The first thing that I'd like to see,
Is if people who are visiting Seattle would buy
Several tubes that they take home from me!

What about it plant fans?  Would you buy a bottle of moss to take home?  As Dr. Chips, who lives north of Seattle, points out, after he has pressure washed the moss off his roof tile for the umteenth time, he has a small fortune in moss free for the taking, but he wasn't clever enough to put it into used soda bottles (?) and flog them off as souvenirs at $40 a bottle!  Yes, $40 a bottle!  The bourbon TPP only shares with good company doesn't cost $40 a bottle!  Not sure what this says about the value of moss.  Know how much seafood you can buy in Seattle for $40?  Gad.  Thanks to Dr. Chips for bringing this to everyone's attention.  Be sure to pick up a bottle next time you're in Seattle.

2 comments:

Jessica M. Budke said...

I think that it looks like a good money making idea for mosses that are destined to die, such as those that are scraped off a roof. However, I fear with many of the moss terraria sold that they are wild collected mosses that will probably die at home, even with attention and care. Though I think they are an interesting way to get people to think about mosses, overall I think that mosses-as-decoration are a negative.

The Phytophactor said...

Jessica you will have a fine career as an academic because you don't think like an entrapeneur. $40 a bottle for moss that grows like a weed! $40!