We are not Mushrooms

We humans are not mushrooms, although at one time during the late 1970s my grandfather suggested that I looked like a mushroom driving a car because of the way my long hair stuck out.  That was his way of telling me that I needed a haircut.

My resemblance to a mushroom may have not been entirely baseless.

My opening point, however, is to submit that from a physiological standpoint or perhaps more aptly a psychological standpoint we, unlike some mushrooms, need light.  While those people living at the equator may not give much thought to this matter, those folks occupying the Polar regions have plenty of long dark winter days to consider.  As example, the northernmost town in Sweden—a place called Kiruna—experiences a polar night (without so much as a sliver of the sun rising above the horizon) that lasts for 28 days straight during the deepest days of winter. 

Human behaviors change as days and days of darkness befall remote towns and isolated dwellings.   Many people settle into a dull idle.  Others begin overthinking.  Heavy drinking may become the norm.  Nerves fray.   Even here in Montana, during the short days of deepest winter, I sometimes feel as though I have been stuffed inside a box with only a crack in the top that allows sunlight for a bit of the day.

Depression may result.

The town of Rjukan, Norway suffered longer than most places—not only due proximity to the top of the world, but also due to being located deep inside a narrow mountain valley.  While not noticeably more afflicted by lunacy than any other place, the townspeople of Rjukan longed for more light.

They now have it.

Thanks to three huge mirrors on a nearby mountaintop and a sophisticated sun-tracking and aiming system, a 6,500 square-foot patch of light is reflected down onto the town square.  Prior to the installation of the mirrors, people craving sun were forced to seek the mountaintops.

Now they can dance in a patch of light beamed down upon them.

Photo: Yahoo News

--Mitchell Hegman