(no subject)

[molly_o]

From Wikipedia:

"The skin is often known as 'the largest organ of the human body.' This applies to exterior surface, as it covers the body, appearing to have the largest surface area of all the organs. Moreover, it applies to weight, as it weighs more than any single internal organ, accounting for about 15 percent of body weight. For the average adult human, the skin has a surface area of between 1.5-2.0 square meters, most of it is between 2-3 mm thick. The average square inch of skin holds 650 sweat glands, 20 blood vessels, 60,000 melanocytes, and more than a thousand nerve endings."

Another fun fact: the palm of the hand is generally considered about equal to 1 percent of the skin's total area. Based on that figure, 10-15 percent of my largest organ is presently sloughing off in sheets.

See, I thought it would be nice to spiff up my back yard. (I use the term "yard" loosely, as it's 95 percent cement, with just a couple small areas of dirt.) Being a gifted plant-killer, I recruited my friend S, she of the serious green thumb, to come over and help me select plants and prepare the soil and put them in it. Which she did, and it was a lovely afternoon during which we spent about six hours toiling over those two small areas of dirt, which are now planted with daisies and black-eyed susans and a rose bush that is no longer in danger of imminent death.

Unfortunately, I forgot to wear sunscreen. My shoulders and upper back are now a lovely shade of pink, somewhere between magenta and fuschia, and I am shedding enormous flakes of epidermis peeling.