Birds don’t have receptors for capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers hot. They could chow a bag of Moruga Scorpions with zero effect.
Evolution’s idea being, birds will swallow the seeds whole, poop them all around. Mammals will chew them up and destroy the seeds, so they evolved a defense specifically against us.
As a hot pepper fanatic, I love this trivia:
Birds don’t have receptors for capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers hot. They could chow a bag of Moruga Scorpions with zero effect.
Evolution’s idea being, birds will swallow the seeds whole, poop them all around. Mammals will chew them up and destroy the seeds, so they evolved a defense specifically against us.
I mean, if it propagates its offspring in a way that allows seeds to spread, it’s doing very well
Turns out that the best way to propagate is for humans to like eating you so they’ll build entire farms to harvest you.
Ahh so Bananas are the true royalty of the world.
Farmed so much they became inbred and almost wiped out. More than once
Just like the Habsburgs.
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They get an A for effort. They just didn’t expect us to be masochists.
As a species, we actively search for food items that are borderline toxic, for the fun of it and because it flavours our food.
Humans can have a little pain, as a treat
Funny how that works for so many.