I truly enjoy writing these scintillating articles for the Dirt Talk Blog, and of course I am hopeful that you all enjoy reading what I have to offer. However, I get even more enjoyment watching the faces of those with whom I share the fact that I contribute to the Dirt Talk Blog. Inevitably, Dirt Talk Blog sometimes sounds like “Dirty Talk Blog” and many folks question what kind of a blog I am associated with. They seem let down when I tell them the true nature of the blog! So this blog is dedicated to all of those yearning for more of a dirty topic, as I will now expound on the exciting world of dirt and concrete.

As many of the readers of this blog use their hands or machinery to work in and around dirt, did you know that in just one gram of soil, 5,000 to 7,000 different species of bacteria can be found? Make sure to wash your hands before eating lunch or your mid-afternoon snack! Also, in one acre of dirt, five to 10 TONS of animal life is thriving, so you better worry if you see PETA show up on the jobsite. As you dig through that dirt, please note that it takes more than 500 years to create 1 inch of topsoil. It seems to take about that long to watch one episode of “The Bachelor” with my wife! Thanks to “earth911.com” for these interesting tidbits of information.

Had enough “dirt”y talk? Let us now focus our attention on concrete. Viewing “concretehelper.com”, I was able to get the following cold hard facts about concrete. Did you know that Thomas Edison was the first person to contract and live in a precast concrete home? I wonder if that house had light bulbs. Concrete can last for thousands of years, as the oldest known man-made concrete mix dates back to around 500 BC. It’s also interesting to note that concrete will get stronger as it gets older and some concrete can reach strengths of over 20,000 psi. Sounds like your average baseball player! The Romans perfected the use of concrete as they added sandy deposits of volcanic rock to their mix which enabled their concrete to set even under water. There are some Roman Bridge piers still in existence today despite having been subjected to over 2,000 years of river erosion.

I think I’ve shared enough to this point and feel that I need a shower from all the talk about dirt and concrete. Thanks for reading, and I welcome your interesting tidbits regarding the exciting world of dirt and concrete.