That’s a little more understandable. Peas grow on vines, so you’d expect peanuts to be somehow similar to peas. I guess they get their name because they’re in pods like peas but without being told, how would someone guess they grow underground?
And cashews do grow on trees (they’re technically a fruit) and are similar to peanuts. Would anyone guess that cashews are fruits?
I guess they get their name because they’re in pods like peas but without being told
Presumably the opposite; they get their name because they’re in shells like nuts
(The ‘pea’ part is because they’re a legume; it could have just as easily ended up ‘bean-nut’, except that would over time become ‘beanut’, which would probably re-become peanut)
Yes, okay, guessing the origin from the name can be somewhat misleading. But the striking thing for me is that people do not know and do not bother to ask themselves where a product that they consume every day or every week comes from. That’s ignorance.
Why is it important to know these things? I’d rather people be ignorant of the biology of a peanut plant than ignorant of the many important things that people are ignorant of.
That’s a little more understandable. Peas grow on vines, so you’d expect peanuts to be somehow similar to peas. I guess they get their name because they’re in pods like peas but without being told, how would someone guess they grow underground?
And cashews do grow on trees (they’re technically a fruit) and are similar to peanuts. Would anyone guess that cashews are fruits?
They’re legumes that grow underground and trigger nut allergies. They are the platypus of the plant world.
I don’t know why I remember this, but there was also a Spongebob episode that showed a potted peanut plant with peanuts growing on it like peas do.
How dare you question the scientific accuracy of Spongebob Squarepants!
Presumably the opposite; they get their name because they’re in shells like nuts
(The ‘pea’ part is because they’re a legume; it could have just as easily ended up ‘bean-nut’, except that would over time become ‘beanut’, which would probably re-become peanut)
Peas were named after peanuts?
Yes, okay, guessing the origin from the name can be somewhat misleading. But the striking thing for me is that people do not know and do not bother to ask themselves where a product that they consume every day or every week comes from. That’s ignorance.
Why is it important to know these things? I’d rather people be ignorant of the biology of a peanut plant than ignorant of the many important things that people are ignorant of.