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This week on Walter Edgar’s Journal, John S. Sledge’s talks with Walter about his book, The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History (2021, USC Press). In it, Sledge presents a compelling, salt-streaked narrative of the earth's tenth largest body of water. In this beautifully written and illustrated volume, Sledge explores the people, ships, and cities that have made the Gulf's human history and culture so rich.

Professor Greg Reighard, Clemson researcher and international fruit specialist, explained that elderberries are primarily wind-pollinated. Although the flowers are extraordinarily showy, which you think would be a sign that they are attracting all sorts of pollinators, they don’t produce nectar so insect visitors are only collecting pollen. Still, their value to wildlife is high as the hundreds of dark purple fruits that each flower head produces are devoured by over 45 species of birds and racoons among others -- the Missouri Department of Conservation reports that a sharp-eyed naturalist even saw a box turtle eating fruits. But for people the entire plant contains compounds toxic to us, so this is one plant that grazers should not eat in the field. But properly prepared with heat, their berries have long been safely used for pies, wines and jellies.

A listener finds mud dauber nests near a bald-faced hornet's nest. Mud dauber wasps are solitary and do not defend their nests, and so rarely sting humans. Hornets do defend their nests.

“J” is for Jasper County (656 square miles; 2020 population 24,777).

It may be that fireflies first started glowing to warn off predators that they contain a toxin and taste horrible.

Since 2005, Michelin has been sponsoring Innovision’s Young Innovator Award which recognizes successful South Carolina educational programs that encourage young people to engage in science, technology, engineering, math, and innovation. Our next guest’s student team in Columbia won the most recent award for developing a COVID-19 contact tracer, which also won them $65,000 as a national finalist in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. Mike Switzer interviews Kirsten Bullington, Next Energy Engineering instructor at the Richland Two Institute of Innovation in Columbia, SC.

“W” is for Wayside Hospitals. Wayside hospitals were formed across South Carolina during the Civil War as means to care for sick and wounded Confederate soldiers travelling throughout the state.

When the dance known as the waltz first became popular in Europe in the late 1700's and early 1800's, it was considered by many to be the ultimate in lewdness and licentiousness.

“T” is for Tillman, Benjamin Ryan (1847-1918). U.S. senator, governor.

“D” is for DeSoto’s exploration of South Carolina (1540). Hernando DeSoto’s exploration of present-day South Carolina (April and May 1540) began in May 1539 at Tampa Bay and ended in 1543 in Mexico.