Nomadic Fungus Shows Up At The Art Car Museum

Our Little Yellow Nomadic Fungus School Bus made the trip down to Houston, Texas this last fall to take part in the annual Art Car Museum open show. The Art Car Museum has been displaying artistic automobile oddities for 18 years so it was only natural that the Nomadic Fungi Institute connect up with this Houston institution.


The opening event crowd was an eclectic mix of car crazies and art lovers. All in all a high energy, talkative and friendly group.


















It's a good thing the NFI Lab sterilizes samples before we putting them on display. We would hate to think this enthusiastic art lover might have unknowingly transported a few Nomadic Fungus spores to his own car.

The Crunchy Capri Terrarium

The NFI staff is abuzz with excitement due to the unexpected rapid growth of Nomadic Fungus on the Crunchy Capri spore sprouting test sample.

Photos are being taken, measurements of all kinds are being made, handwritten notes are filling up legal pads.

Focusing On Crunchy Capri

It was just a week ago that Crunchy Capri developed a few silvery bubbles. Then overnight long spiraling tendrils sprouted from all sides of Crunchy Capri and filled the jar from top to bottom.

We were hoping that at least one of the ten Nomadic Fungus Spore Sprouting Test samples would show some level of response but this sudden burst of growth by Crunchy Capri was completely unexpected.

We have been keeping meticulous notes throughout the testing process. A review of those notes has yet to shed light on what sparked this reaction. More observation, more testing, more research is required.

The Long Tendrils of Crunchy Capri

The camera at the NFI Lab has been clicking nonstop all morning long. As soon as photos are down loaded from the camera, the camera is click, click, clicking again. One more from this angle. One more up close. One from above. One from below...

I could post over a 100 photos on the NFI website right now, and it's not even lunch yet. So with a bit of judiciousness here are two quite fetching photos of the dramatic growth inside the Crunchy Capri jar. I'm sure we'll be posting more soon.

Crunchy Capri Developments Mycelium

The coffee cup slipped from my hand as I gazed upon Crunchy Capri. Over night it had gone from a bubble covered car to a jar full of silver twirling mycelium tendrils.

The NFI staff was so stunned by this rapid growth, we are not sure what to do next. Open up the jar and take samples, or sit back and take lots of photos.

There is some concern that all this growth could be building up pressure inside the jar and that it could explode like homemade jam gone bad. That would be a major containment breach disaster. I don't think our renters insurance would cover the cleanup cost.

Bubbles And Boils Oh My!

Each day of the Nomadic Fungus Spore Sprouting Test begins with written and photographic documentation of all ten test samples. This process is repeated at noon and again just before we shut off the lights at the end of the day. That's a little over 300 notations and photographs taken so far.

Most of the test samples have remained inert, but one sample, Crunchy Capri has developed some very photo worthy features.

The curve of the glass jar causes some visual distortion but it is still clear enough to see the large silver bubbles now clustered on the car roof. These are reminiscent of methane biogas bubbles produced in marshes, swamps and bogs.

The next item of note are the small boils of delaminating paint that have appeared across the metal surfaces. Where the paint has flaked away, the newly exposed metal underneath is greenish and swollen.

The Nomadic Fungus Cocktail itself remains clear but a soft gray sediment has now formed on the front windshield.

These developments strongly indicate that the Nomadic Fungus Cocktail used on Crunchy Capri has generated an active Nomadic Fungus culture that is feeding on the car. How far this propagation will progress can only be guessed at, so we'll just have to wait and watch. Take lots of notes and tons more photographs.

Scientific Method Defining The Details

A subscriber to the NFI Facebook page posted a great question What brand of peanut butter jars is NFI using in the Nomadic Fungus Spore Sprouting Test; Jif, Skippy or Peter Pan?

NFI is following the standard protocol of scientific methodology and so yes, we have documented who manufactured the peanut butter and whether it was creamy or crunchy.

One big determining factor on choosing which jars to use was not the chemical make up of the peanut butter but the lid on the jar. Most peanut butter companies such as Jif, Skippy and Peter Pan use plastic lids which we were concerned would not hold up to the Nomadic Fungus Cocktail. So we opted for Smucker's Natural and U.S. Grade A Fancy Government peanut butter which both use good old, Made in America steel lids.