What's inside these tree balls?

Oak galls are found on oak trees, and they grow when a certain type of wasp injects the tree with chemicals. They're kind of like wood tumors, and if I crush one, it's kind of like smashing a ball of wood. What I think is really cool though, is what happens, when it's added to a solution of iron. he tannins in the oak gall react with iron to form a super dark complex. In Europe, this was one of the first, and most popular ways to make ink.

#shorts

[gcook]

This is also why earlier fountain pens used gold nibs: Gold won't react with the iron in the ink while a steel nib would rust incredibly fast.

[howdyfriends]

the ink is called an iron gall ink, some brands still make them!
iron gall ink benefits:
- the ink oxidizes and binds to the paper so it's super duper waterproof and permanent
- it's got a range of colors but it's not every color, it's exclusively these dark, muted, rustic greyish/sepia tones which i think are very pretty (e.g. red iron gall ink is a stunning deep brownish-red color, blue iron gall ink is a unique grayish blue that reminds me of like some military uniform or polo shirt or something)

the downsides of iron gall ink:
- it oxidizes when exposed to air, so when you open the ink bottle, you've introduced oxygen, it now has a limited shelf life
- it's heavily corrosive and will slowly eat through the paper over the course of several years
- it's very permanent, if you spill it on your carpet, it is never coming out. to get it out you need a reducing agent that won't damage or remove the dye from your carpet, having looked for this before, from the bottom of my heart: best of luck to you, it's probably easier to just patch it.
also if you ever spill any kind of ink on your carpet, the best thing you can do is see if you can lift it off with your clothing before it even penetrates, then as soon as you've lifted as much as you can, pour water on it immediately, and then grab multiple towels and lift as much liquid as possible, as quickly as possible. repeatedly pour clean water onto it and lift it off, you want to dilute the pigment/dye before it sets.
for dye based inks, water, ammonia or vinegar might help once it's set.
for pigment based inks, water, then once it's set try hydrogen peroxide.
for dry-erase and "permanent" dye-based inks, you usually want to try alcohol, 90%+ isopropyl is fine, if not then try another solvent like acetone, nail polish remover, or naphthalene (assuming your carpet is cotton)
for iron gall ink, water before it sets. once it's set, hopes and prayers.

[dannylmaoooo]

i was waiting for the slap in the end, and i was very satisfied

[sihemlazaar]

I am from Tunisia, North Africa. Where I come from, women in the past, and even today, used this thing along with other ingredients to dye their hair. The dye would be super black to the point that it literally glows. It's also very benificial for the hair. The hair looks much healthier and smoother after being dyed unlike modern hair dyes.

[tongnguyenthien]

Nigel: *pours ink on the table
Me: wait for it-
Nigel: *Slaps

[samuelestuffo]

Nile: creates ink using oak galls
Me: oh nice
Also Nile: proceeds to slap it
Me: oh that's class

[Master_Splinter]

So in conclusion, trees can provide us with both paper and ink. Noted.

[AzunaChibiKitteh]

As someone Fascinated by Galls and wanting to eventually study them, I had no idea what they were so culturally significant! All I know is that they're fascinating things on their own and there is such a vast array of different kinds of galls created by different insects.
Id love more videos on galls and how they form!

[MogeraWogura]

The gall of this man to call them "oak gals 💅"

[TheUncannyDani]

During research I did for my D&D group I found oak galls were one of the ingredients used in burn salves in the middle ages.

[MAMTASINGH-qyyi]

"Mom we are out of ink"
"Oh just make some from the tree in the backyard"

[RCT]

For those who don't know, Gal Wasps have trees make Gals as a home for their young. They are less a tumor and more like the wasp forcing the tree to build the perfect nursery.

[IllIllIIlllll]

who thought “im gonna crush up this tree ball and mix it with an iron solution in hopes of making a dye”

[Xtacy]

NileRed: This are tree balls.
Tree: Omg put them back..

[maple]

nile has officially become howtobasic : chemist edition

[A-a]

You can also use that iron solution to paint over a piece of wood (oak works best because of the tanins) amd it stains it almost black, called ebonizong.

[laurendisney]

Also a great way to dye fibers black or grey. I'm slowly collecting enough to dye some wool black, because I'm too cheap to buy them lol. Just a note, wasps aren't injecting trees with chemicals... they're laying their eggs in the tree, and the tree forms a gall around the developing larvae.

[misswisscheese]

Fun fact! irongall ink is mildly corrosive. In the short term, it's not enough to effect paper, but some very old letters written in irongall ink have disintegrated everywhere the ink touched, and thus had to be carefully reconstructed/copied to be legible through various methods. This is a big reason why really old letters look the way they do.

[wilovo]

Ahh yes a double meaning to having wood

[Chip_Brand]

People who mod Minecraft, this is your new goal and I will pay with my soul