Real Garden Fed on Social Interaction Drowns (Literally) in Love

In an attempt to shift the focus on plants from that of object -- add water, sunlight, soil; watch grow -- to creatures worthy of our respect and understanding, Bashkim Isai set up an interactive project at the Queensland state library in Australia. Meet Meat Eater, a real plant that is watered and fed nutrients whenever people friend or interact with it on Facebook. "By retrofitting the plant with feedback mechanisms we become able to make a connection in a way previously limited to more extroverted forms of life," Isai wrote on the plant's page, where you can watch a live feed. The plant you'll see on the feed is young, but that's because you're viewing the third incarnation. It's also incredibly water tolerant; the first plants were showered with so much social networking love that they drowned in it.

Creator Bashkim Isai said he had wanted to see whether people could care enough about a plant seen on Facebook to keep it alive, and had been overwhelmed by the response.

Since its unveiling two months ago, Isai said Meet Eater had attracted more than 5,000 fans from across the world -- including a five-fold spike in the past two weeks -- literally drowning it with love.

"We found that it's been over-loved, it's actually died two times from having too much stimulation, which is an interesting outcome for us," said Isai, a Queensland University student in interactive design.

Read the full story at Discovery News.