Indeed, to all three of those civilizations it was the most sacred of flowers. Deities were regularly depicted standing or sitting on lotus flowers or surrounded by them.

Anyone who has stared at one of these blossoms, protruding from a still pond and surrounded by huge flat lotus leaves, would appreciate the beauty. The scent (which I learned to relish while living in Thailand) is almost unearthly.

This alone would explain the popularity of lotus flowers. However, there’s more.

Recently, the blossom when consumed has been found to offer mood elevating properties similar to the drug MDMA but in a subtler way.

Perhaps this is the origin of the mythological “lotus eaters.”

In any case, the word has been “re-branded” as a major corporation (Lotus, maker of the world’s first popular spreadsheet and suddenly acquired by IBM) and as an automobile popular among aficionados, including my brother-in-law.

Lotus plants thrive in filthy water, and are known for cleaning up the water before producing a beautiful and incredibly fragrant blossom. Recently, researchers have discovered that the lotus leaf is phenomenally efficient at cleaning itself, and his insights may lead to whole new kinds of nanotechnology — coatings for things we use in everyday life.

PhysOrg.com reports that nanoscale structures in the lotus leaf trap air so that not more than 3% of a raindrop touches the leaf. Already, nanotechnology products are hitting the markets that serve to repel dirt by not letting it stick to the surface in the first place. These products include paints and plastic and glass coatings.

The lotus leaf avoids contamination and seemingly repels bacteria, two qualities highly desirable to botanists and disease specialists.

Basically, the lotus leaf has a combination of micro-scale bumps and nano-scale “hairs.” It also has a waxy surface structure. It turns out that the combination of all three is necessary for an optimal result.

Essentially, when water hits the leaf it rolls off, taking with it dirt and bacteria. This explains the cleansing mechanism. The nano-hairs, in particular, cause the water to roll.

While this may seem obscure and unrelated to everyday life, consider the benefits to windows on high-rise buildings if they would self-clean with a thunderstorm. Likewise, vehicular windshields would not only remain clean longer but might offer better visibility at crucial times, such as in a downpour.

This has further applications. Such a coating, once artificially replicated, will offer a way to keep countertops and bathroom surfaces freer of bacteria. Even more important are the medical applications, where iatrogenic disease (contracted in hospitals) kills hundreds of thousands annually.

From the tiniest discoveries, sometimes big things result. We’ll be watching to see which companies are licensed this new technology.

Then we’ll invest, sit calmly, and wait for our profits.

To Your Profitable Future,
Jonathan Kolber
May 16, 2007

P.S.: Big Pharma buys out two kinds of companies: Those that can give it a competitive advantage, and those that can take it away.

Investing in Floral-Based Technology was originally featured in the Penny Sleuth.