(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The main ingredient in penicillin is about to become the official state microbe.
Penicillium rubens is the mold that saved the world, says State Rep. Ryan Spain, a Republican from Peoria where the organism sprang in a USDA lab.
“The process to mass-produce this penicillin came from a cantaloupe that had grown a certain type of mold,” he explained Wednesday.
It’s probably the best known product from the venerable lab, which is still at it some 80 years later. Another? The super-absorbent paper used in disposable diapers.
Why should Illinois have an official state this and that?
“It’s useful to learn about our state and be proud of the great things Illinois has done to change the course of the world,” Spain said.
With business in Springfield often contentious, he added: “It’s sometimes nice to have a thing or two that we can all agree on.”
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