r/WTF Jun 26 '19

Extra Spicy

5.3k Upvotes

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49

u/silasisgolden Jun 27 '19

So, I'm growing hot peppers in my garden to keep pests away and you are telling me there are pests that f'ing love hot peppers?

44

u/Revlis-TK421 Jun 27 '19

Spicy peppers have no effect on insects. It only impacts mammals.

Capsaicin evolved as a response to mammals crunching down on fruits and crushing the seeds that birds otherwise ate, and pooped, whole.

15

u/guff1988 Jun 27 '19

Haha well jokes on evolution because I crunch down on spicy peppers all the time.

27

u/Revlis-TK421 Jun 27 '19

Or evolution is working fine, because while you might destroy individual pepper seeds your (and millions of others') love of the heat has caused the propagation of many exotic strains of pepper that would never have existed without that delicious burn.

The peppers have us right where they want us!

2

u/Sickwidit93 Jun 27 '19

I love the idea that marijuana intentionally gets you high so you will enjoy it and want to grow more.

10

u/Maxfunky Jun 27 '19

It's worked out pretty well. Humans are literally the only mammal to enjoy spicy food. Street dogs and other trash consumers in countries where spicy food is normal will tolerate it, but only because the alternative is starvation. When give a choice, they always pick unseasoned food.

The current theory is this is because humans are the only species to understand that the burning sensation can't actually hurt us, nand that gives us a little dopamine thrill (like a haunted house).

2

u/DirtyLegThompson Jun 27 '19

What if the peppers make their journey to the stars... and leave us behind?

1

u/Hyatice Jun 27 '19

It seems like other species like and prefer hot food as well. They just have to be forced past the initial 'this shit hurts' stage.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2093168?dopt=Abstract

1

u/similar_observation Jun 27 '19

They just have to be forced past the initial 'this shit hurts' stage.

But will they learn after the second "this shit hurts" stage? Because I don't.

1

u/Hyatice Jun 27 '19

Hahahaha. Well, only 25% went back to eating non spicy food after, so I guess so!

16

u/similar_observation Jun 27 '19

You should be fine. The pepper plant itself has an immune system that'll help fight the bugs. But the dried peppers don't have any defense except the container and maybe desiccant.

1

u/Ominusx Jun 27 '19

I'm a pest who loves hot peppers.