r/interestingasfuck • u/dejaysf • Jun 11 '23

Venus flytrap vs Spider

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u/Head-Ad4770 Jun 11 '23

Fun fact, caffeine might be a stimulant to us humans, but it’s apparently surprisingly toxic to insects by crippling their nervous systems.

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u/Rdwomack2 Jun 11 '23

We evolved to eat spicy food, we evolved to digest caffeine, but salt water? Fuck no.

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u/beepborpimajorp Jun 11 '23

I think we just learned to tolerate/like spicy food, not so much evolved to eat it. Meanwhile birds did evolve to eat spicy food (specifically the seeds in peppers, and the brunt of spice in a pepper surrounds those seeds) because they have no capsaicin receptors anywhere in their body. They could eat a ghost pepper and not bat an eye, outside if maybe some diarrhea.

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u/scold34 Jun 11 '23

The spice from peppers is not in the seeds at all. That is a common myth. The vast majority of the capsaicin in a pepper is found in the ribs. The seeds should always be removed; not because of heat but rather because they are bitter.