WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:02.960 Do you know what real power is? It's knowing you're 2 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.719 on the same rate for energy all day, every day. 3 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:08.640 With a smart all Day plan from Board Gosh Energy, 4 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:11.000 save up to eight hundred and eighty euro on dual 5 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.519 fuel plus get a two hundred and thirty five You're 6 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:16.960 oh welcome bonus switch today at Boardgosh Energy dot I 7 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:18.679 E Board Gosh Energy. 8 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:20.600 Know your power. 9 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:22.960 Estimated annual bility twenty six hundred twenty nine, Your new 10 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:25.039 customers only thirst of percentI is kent of Smart all 11 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:27.280 Day electricity unit rates in twenty nine percent of gas. 12 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:29.839 You know a seaportcush Energy dot E for fulties and cs. 13 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:32.000 Do you know what real power is? 14 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:35.079 It's knowing you're on the same rate for energy all day, 15 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.880 every day with a smart all day plan from Board 16 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:40.560 Gosh Energy, save up to eight hundred and eighty euro 17 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.200 on dual fuel plus get a two hundred and thirty 18 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:46.679 five You're oh welcome bonus switch today at Boardgosh Energy 19 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:48.759 dot I E Board Gosh Energy. 20 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:51.960 Know your power estimate annual bill of two thousand, six 21 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.479 hundred twenty nine. Your new customers only THIRSHPERCENTI is kent 22 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:56.719 of Smart All Day electricity unit rates in twenty nine 23 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:58.960 percent of gas. You know a seaportsh energy dot E 24 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:00.079 for fulties and ces. 25 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:01.520 O. 26 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:04.799 Hey it's your internet, dad. I'm here with facts about 27 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:07.200 things you don't know you care about yet, Ali Ward, 28 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:09.400 I'm back with an episode of Ologies. It is not 29 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:12.959 about Valentine's Day, because if you are coupled, you have 30 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:15.400 had a lot of quality time together this past year, 31 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:17.879 and if you're not, it has been a year of 32 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:23.359 maybe zoom dates and googling diy hug machine plans. So 33 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:25.680 we're just not doing that this week. Okay, there's no 34 00:01:25.719 --> 00:01:30.319 episodes about matrimoniology or sexology. We had those in previous years, 35 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:32.480 and yes they'll be linked in the show notes. But 36 00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:35.120 this episode is not about that. It's not about roses 37 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:40.079 or chocolate. It's about not chocolate. It's about undersung trees. 38 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.480 It's about something perhaps right over your head that you're 39 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:49.239 about to be obsessed about. It's about carab. Yeah, carab stop. Okay. First, thanks, 40 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:52.200 thank you to everyone on Patreon. I gushed about you 41 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:54.200 in a recent article that I will link on my 42 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:56.840 website and heads up, you can join Patreon for a 43 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:00.719 one tiny dollar and thanks to everyone who's subscribing and 44 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:04.599 posting on social media, texting your friends about the show, 45 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:08.560 leaving reviews. I pick a newly left one each week, 46 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.759 such as this one from NK. Shepherd who says that 47 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.960 ologies is the best thing they got from NX and 48 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:17.479 they say, this recommendation is from an exis friend and 49 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:21.000 it's the best thing I'm left with. Incredibly fresh, entertaining 50 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.800 and educational. Not an easy feat. Also thank you m K. Shepherd. 51 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:27.960 If you're single, there is a Flirtology singles group on Facebook. 52 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:30.199 I'm just saying, and then I wink at you. Okay. 53 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:33.039 Charrobology This is indeed a word. It has been used 54 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:36.120 just one time in the literature. It was in a 55 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:39.280 nineteen forty five La Times article by a columnist who 56 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.840 wrote quote in his book character Study of a Carab Tree, 57 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:48.159 Doctor Arboreal Snodgrass, a karabologist of the nth degree says 58 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.520 they is a tree of the Seratonia siliqua, and then 59 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:54.120 it goes on to describe the charb tree. So yes, 60 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:57.759 karabologist used in a nineteen forty five newspaper. It's a 61 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:00.759 word so karab itself, though comes from a root word 62 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:05.159 in Aramaic Karuba, meaning carab tree or carib shrug. It's 63 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:08.800 also related to the Hebrew Carab for carab. Does that 64 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:10.840 help you? I don't know, But once I had found 65 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:13.919 out that carobology had been used, it was on with 66 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:17.840 this Davis based California carab expert. So she studied in 67 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:20.960 her undergrad art and humanities, but has had a second 68 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.120 career as a musician and then decided to go back 69 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:26.960 to school to pursue STEM and she launched her own 70 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.000 research into the carab tree, which she continues as she 71 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:33.599 gets her masters at UC Davis, working in almond development. 72 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:38.159 And she's passionate about plants, about the underdogs, under our 73 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:41.360 noses and above our heads. And we chatted about everything 74 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:47.800 from hoggandaws to pupcakes and pods, potassium, the culinary horrors 75 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:53.360 of the nineteen seventies, fiber, the drought resistant resolve of carab, 76 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:56.080 how to find one, when to pick the pods, what 77 00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:01.120 to make from them. We also talk about cheesecake, rum, fungi, diamonds, 78 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:03.960 and most importantly, how carab is about to make a 79 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.159 comeback right into your mouth and your heart. With Botany 80 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:11.280 nerd outspoken advocate and carobologist, Megan Lynch. 81 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:36.720 In terms of my body personally, phenotypically, I'm very irish, 82 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:38.959 So being in a place with you know that's not 83 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.600 too hot. You know, the ideal temperature for me is 84 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:47.199 like about seventy five. I love, you know, a reasonable 85 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:49.480 amount of rain, a reasonable amount of fog. I love 86 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:51.920 all that stuff. And when I went up to Davis 87 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:54.720 last fall, I was living down there again, So it 88 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:58.120 gave me a basis for comparison in terms of how 89 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.000 much had changed, you know, as opposed to people who 90 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:02.199 live there the whole time. The change is so gradual. 91 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:05.319 It doesn't they don't see it. But for me it was, 92 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:07.879 you know, there were definitely things that were really dramatically different. 93 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:10.439 That's such a scientist thing to say, give me a 94 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:16.120 basis for comparison, spoken like a true scientist. Have you 95 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:17.480 always wanted to be a scientist. 96 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:21.279 No, it's not something that I I mean, I always 97 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:27.279 took science. But I have to say, I mean, where 98 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:31.439 to start with this. I'm disabled. I became physically disabled 99 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:32.319 at twenty nine. 100 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:35.279 And as anyone who lives with them knows, not all 101 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:39.240 disabilities that are physical or visible, and not all disabilities 102 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:42.199 are even physical. And Megan is an amazing advocate for 103 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:45.000 all kinds of folks, and I actually started following her 104 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:48.519 when I got wind of the disabilities in STEM hashtag 105 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:51.519 on Twitter, And like many people using that hashtag, she 106 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:54.480 didn't think that she belonged in STEM, despite her love 107 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:54.759 of it. 108 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.519 I still don't have the money to get an official diagnosis, 109 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.519 but I'm pretty sure I have dyscalculio, which is is 110 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:04.319 sort of like dyslexia for math, you know, and spatial things, 111 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:10.160 and so much of the way science is taught in 112 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:15.279 junior high and high school, you know, and certainly the 113 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:18.240 messages that we get from society at large is that 114 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:20.759 if you're not excellent in math, don't even consider going 115 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:24.879 into science. Yeah, And so I think for that reason 116 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.199 that's why I didn't really consider it as an option 117 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:28.600 for me. 118 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:32.800 So Megan was readjusting to life after becoming disabled, and 119 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:35.560 she says the reality for folks living with a disability, 120 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:38.839 visible or invisible, is that a lot of jobs are 121 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.319 deemed by others as inaccessible to them. And she says 122 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:46.079 that sadly, the employment levels and income levels tend to 123 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.920 be lower, and it really drives those populations into a 124 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:51.399 situation where finances are a struggle. In fact, I was 125 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.759 looking this up and today found out that Section fourteen 126 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:58.120 of the Fair Labor Standards Act states that employers can 127 00:06:58.199 --> 00:07:02.160 pay employees with the disabilities below the minimum wage, and 128 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:04.879 in order for the subminimum wage to apply, it says 129 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:08.199 the disability of the worker must directly affect their productivity 130 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:11.639 in their given position, and that the disabilities affecting productivity 131 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:16.800 can include blindness, mental illness, developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, and 132 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:20.639 alcoholism and drug addiction. So, since this section was enacted 133 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:23.120 in nineteen eighty six, folks with the disabilities of all 134 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:26.759 kinds have been legally paid below minimum wage for their work. 135 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:29.680 So just feel free to pause this and go break 136 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.920 some plates, or grab your collar and rip your shirt off, 137 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:35.560 or crush some metal in your hands, or perhaps tweet 138 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:39.240 your congress person because that is disgusting anyway. So Megan, 139 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:41.839 who became disabled in her twenties, was trying to figure 140 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:42.800 out what to do. 141 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:46.399 When I first went back to community college, I was 142 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:48.360 thinking I was just going to brush up the skills 143 00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:50.480 I was resting on and then look around for what 144 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:54.319 I could retrain in, and then within a semester I was. 145 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:58.519 I took a botany class as well as a environmental 146 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:01.079 chemistry class for non major's, simply to you know, for 147 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:05.600 my own interest. And by the end of that semester, 148 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:08.720 my botany teacher had sort of pulled me aside and said, hey, 149 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.839 you know, you're good, and I had actually pulled her 150 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:15.000 aside and said, look, I'm you know, I'm trying to 151 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:16.839 consider what it is I can do, and I don't 152 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.439 want to do something that's completely unfulfilling for me, because 153 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:21.639 I've actually done a lot of that in my life already. 154 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:24.839 Although jobs that I can see for people in horticulture, 155 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:27.959 you know, even the most advanced jobs, they want you 156 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.079 to lift fifty pounds, you need to be certified for 157 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:33.480 a forklift work. Blah blah blah. Is this even possible 158 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.000 for me? And she says, yeah, I think you could 159 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:36.799 do lab science. 160 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:41.360 Oh so you kind of got discovered almost. 161 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.039 Well, I guess. I mean, it's just that it took 162 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:52.080 somebody to make it clear to me that that sort 163 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:57.120 of pop idea of what science is is not necessarily 164 00:08:57.159 --> 00:08:59.799 the way science works on a daily basis. That does 165 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:06.080 doesn't mean that it's easy for scientists with disabilities anything 166 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:10.559 but but but the fact is, and even at that 167 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:13.519 same institution, there was another prof that I was taking 168 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.879 chemistry from who was like, why are you even going 169 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.480 into science if you're not good at math? And yeah, 170 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:24.919 I know, which is really rather a ridiculous thing, because 171 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.480 it's it's like, you don't have to be the person 172 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.120 in the lab who's in charge of all the calculations, 173 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:34.320 you know, even if we even if we didn't have 174 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:40.360 computer programs into which you just plugged variables, but for 175 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:43.240 some reason, you know, there's that sort of gatekeeping. And 176 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:45.440 I think one thing that helped me a lot, besides 177 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:49.840 that professor taking me aside and expressing confidence in me, 178 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:52.639 was the fact that, you know, I was already on 179 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:55.759 Twitter to before I went back to school, just to 180 00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:58.399 promote my album, And so I switched to sort of 181 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:01.200 using my Twitter account to just following as many scientists, 182 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:03.120 particularly planned scientists, as I could. 183 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:06.799 Megan credits some of her resolve to the working scientists 184 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:09.480 she follows who were brave enough to come out and say, hey, 185 00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:12.200 math isn't my passion or my strong suit, and that 186 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.720 just have their work double checked or focus on qualitative things. 187 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:19.159 And we heard this very thing actually from excellent doctor 188 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:22.399 Kaylee Swift of corvid Thanatology, and in that episode she 189 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:25.039 discusses her ADHD and she has gone on to be 190 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:26.399 a huge star in her field. 191 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:31.000 The fact that people were willing to admit, yeah, I'm 192 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:33.600 not that stereotype. 193 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:33.799 You know. 194 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:36.960 We have people in science who are complete whizzes at it, 195 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:40.480 and that's great. It's really it's important for the type 196 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:43.080 of work that demands that. But it doesn't mean the 197 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:46.840 other sides of science don't always need that all the time. 198 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.759 You're working in a team and everybody has their own strengths. 199 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:54.639 When it comes to botany and music. I'm sure that 200 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:58.039 they fulfill different things for you, But is there anything 201 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:02.080 that's similar about them when you think about projects that 202 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:04.840 you work on, or anything that excites you about both 203 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:05.879 kind of in the same way. 204 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:11.639 Gosh, I suppose for me, when I'm singing or when 205 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:15.240 I'm singing in front of an audience, I'm very much 206 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:19.960 present in the moment. And when I'm doing field work 207 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:24.279 working with plants, or when I'm gardening or that is 208 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.639 about the most you know. I don't find meditation easy. 209 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:31.960 My brain talks to me a lot, so something that 210 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.879 gets me out of my own head is very much, 211 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:38.799 you know, doing that kind of observation of nature does. 212 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:41.039 That that's a really beautiful thing. That's got to be 213 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:45.360 such a great incentive to do field work to you. 214 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:49.200 Yeah, and I think it's also something that you know, 215 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.559 doing this work where I chose for logistical reasons, working 216 00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:58.600 on street trees. It brings me into contact with what 217 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:01.039 those trees and what public trials trees mean to people. 218 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:05.240 And certainly there have been studies in terms of the 219 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:09.600 mental health benefits of living someplace where there's plenty of greenery. 220 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:13.360 It's clearly not just working for me. That sort of calming, 221 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.840 meditative aspect to being around a tree that takes you 222 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.240 out of yourself and you can just observe the wind 223 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.120 going through the trees, or you can hear you know, 224 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:25.440 like outside my door right now, there's a walnut tree 225 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:28.720 and you can hear the sound of the squirrels eating 226 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:29.279 the walnuts. 227 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:36.559 And you said street trees in particular, how do you 228 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:39.720 differentiate a tree tree in a street tree. 229 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:42.559 I call something a street tree if it is something 230 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:46.240 that is planted, usually by the city, in the little 231 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:50.919 hell strip that's in front of people's yards. Is that 232 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:53.919 called a hell strip or do you no, that's one 233 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:55.720 of the things. I mean, it's not the official name 234 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:57.879 of it, but it's something I sort of picked up 235 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:00.200 for There's a blog called garden Rant. I think that 236 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.720 first introduced me to that, and you know, I mean, 237 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:06.120 it can be a heaven strip too, but for a 238 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:07.000 lot of people it's. 239 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:13.720 A Megan says that generally the city is responsible for 240 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:16.600 the hell strip, but sometimes the homeowner will just go 241 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:18.960 out and plant something in there, and you know, nobody 242 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:21.799 cares or catches them. Maybe a business will prune some 243 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:24.879 branches that cover their signage or just chop down a 244 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:28.240 tree without getting caught. And then there's nonprofits like tree 245 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:31.159 people who sometimes care for the street trees if the 246 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:35.399 government is neglecting them. But street trees are all over, 247 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:39.120 which makes them both familiar and intriguing but easy to 248 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:39.399 get to. 249 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:42.679 So I needed some aspect that I could study that 250 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:45.279 was nearby that was inexpensive for me to study. And 251 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:48.600 that's when I remembered that there had been carab trees 252 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.519 near my grammar school, and that there were in our 253 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:55.360 region a number of street trees that were Caribs. And 254 00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:58.480 there's a tree fruit that I can study three hundred 255 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:01.159 and sixty five days a year. That was my initial 256 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:02.279 approach to it. 257 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:08.200 Ah, And I perhaps you're biased, perhaps you're not. Is 258 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:10.879 carab the best street tree? 259 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.639 Well? I think I think for any species, you know, 260 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:18.559 they always the cliche thing is right plant for the 261 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:23.919 right place. So carib is very good. And I would 262 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:28.320 say it's an ideal tree to plant in coastal and 263 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:33.440 some valley parts of California. Once you start getting north north, 264 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:37.600 where the winter temps get down below twenty, it's not 265 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:38.919 a good good thing to plant. 266 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:40.600 What is a carab tree? 267 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:43.919 It's a member of the Fabasier family, So that's the 268 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:47.159 same family that you know the beans we eat come from. 269 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:50.360 It's a very large family. Some of the family does 270 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:54.080 what's called nitrogen fixing, and the used to be called 271 00:14:54.080 --> 00:15:00.120 the legumi noose, so they're legumes. And carib is in 272 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.000 the genus Serotonia, which only has two members. So it's 273 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:05.799 one of two members of that genus. 274 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:08.480 Oh wow, that's tiny, right, Yeah. 275 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:10.440 It is. It's really an oddball in a lot of ways. 276 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:13.720 By the way, I heard the genus Serotonia, and I 277 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:16.600 wondered if it had any kind of shared history with serotonin, 278 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:20.720 the neurochemical that keeps us chipper. But serotonia is spelled 279 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:23.159 with the sea and it's actually closer to keratin, coming 280 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.480 from the root for horn in case you feel horn 281 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:30.039 up for etymology. For more on serotonin, by the way, 282 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:32.679 which comes from the word for serum, you can listen 283 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:37.600 to the Molecular Neurobiology episode with Doctor Brain aka Crystal Dilworth, PhD. 284 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:41.320 But let's resume the legume chat on this what has 285 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:42.360 become a podpod. 286 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.039 It's an evergreen tree. It's native to the Mediterranean, which 287 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:47.840 is one of the reasons it does well in California, 288 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:51.240 which has a Mediterranean climate for the moment climate change 289 00:15:51.559 --> 00:15:58.519 is real. It's what's called dioecious, which means that it 290 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:03.519 has sexes. Tends to fall broadly into male or female, 291 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:06.759 although there are some that are called hermaphrodites, And what 292 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:10.960 they're referring to there really is the flower parts that 293 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:16.159 the tree makes and the females and the hermaphrodites produce pods, 294 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:19.399 and the pods are very useful. You can use the 295 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:21.480 whole pot and the seeds in various ways. 296 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:23.000 I'd like to eat the whole thing. 297 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:27.759 And are you allowed to collect cara pods. If it's 298 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:30.080 a street tree, can you harvest them? 299 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:35.639 Yeah? People do. I mean honestly, even though people homeowners 300 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:39.000 tend to get very possessive of things that are in 301 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:42.679 that hell strip. But even if the if the homeowner 302 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:46.000 planted it, the hellstrip is not their property in most places, 303 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:48.240 So yeah, you're within your rights. I would just say, 304 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:50.519 you know, be polite, don't leave a mess, don't you know, 305 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:56.000 climb on people's coores or but yeah, yeah, no, it 306 00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:57.120 does happen, and. 307 00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:00.320 They're obviously edible because all of us no care ab 308 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:06.680 as chocolate's weird less offensive cousin kind of right, careb 309 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:08.279 is called in as a substitute. 310 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:11.599 Correct, Well, that's how we've come to use it. But 311 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:16.279 it's really a rather recent development relatively speaking. Oh yeah, 312 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:18.160 oh yeah, yeah, it's very recent. I mean, if you 313 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:20.880 think about it, what we think of as chocolate, that 314 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:23.160 didn't even develop until the late nineteenth century. 315 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:24.599 Oh I didn't know that. 316 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.880 Yeah, in this in the sense that we think of 317 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.880 it in terms of like this bar is that is 318 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:32.799 processed and conked, you know, and that it's made with 319 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:36.640 cocoa butter. The cocoa butter and chocolate is from cacao. 320 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:41.319 It's not from coconut, you know, but it's just processed 321 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:43.920 in this very smooth way where those things two things 322 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:47.319 are put together. That's more of a mid to late 323 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:51.319 nineteenth century development, whereas prior to that, you know, if 324 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.839 you get like Mexican hot chocolate, like ibarra or something, 325 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.640 and you have these cakes that are together, that's much 326 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:00.119 closer to what chocolate was for years. 327 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:04.240 Ps. If you must know which, you must that etymology 328 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:08.000 of coconut and cocoa, it's about to go from confusing 329 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:12.279 and muddled to just adorable sort of. So cocw and 330 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:15.799 chocolate and cocoa, which is a highly processed form of 331 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:19.480 rock cocw. Those all stem from an indigenous meso American 332 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:22.599 word used to describe the cocow plant, which does not 333 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:26.920 have nuts. It has seeds and coconuts. Tropical coconuts are 334 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:31.119 neither cocoa or nuts. They're actually something called a drupe, 335 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:34.519 which is like an apricot or a peach or a cherry. 336 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.759 Cocoa in the word coconut comes from the Portuguese word 337 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:41.960 for boogeyman or hobgoblin because of its three dots that 338 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:44.559 look like a creepy skull. So if you ever again 339 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:48.000 order a pinicolata, just know that you're sipping the oily 340 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:51.920 blood of a hobgoblin drup dida. So chocolate is from cocaw, 341 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:54.640 which is not coconut, which is not a nut. None 342 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:57.200 of these things are kerab, and frankly, carab doesn't give 343 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:00.119 a shit. It never asked to be involved with any 344 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:04.559 of those theatrics. Do you think that humans were yumming 345 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:07.440 up on carab before chocolate? 346 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:11.119 Broadly speaking, I don't want to say that, because you know, 347 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:15.480 the Aztecs and other indigenous peoples of the Americas were 348 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:19.920 using cacao, you know, for ages and so even the 349 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:23.640 things that we think of as being chocolate, that process 350 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:26.920 didn't develop till later. But certainly it was an extremely 351 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:31.839 important drink and item in their culture. So I really 352 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:33.799 just think of it as a parallel thing, which is 353 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:38.359 that in the Mediterranean where carab is, native people were 354 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:40.759 using carab in the various ways that they use it 355 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:43.759 without even knowing that such a thing as cacao existed, 356 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:48.119 And likewise, the people in the Americas were using cacao 357 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:50.359 and it was taking the place that it takes in 358 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:53.200 their society without even knowing there was such a thing 359 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:56.160 as the Mediterranean, this thing called Krab. Because of my 360 00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:59.039 background in the humanities, you know, I immediately started not 361 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.119 just looking for botanical information, but looking for historical information. 362 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:05.880 And if it leads me down to gas aeronomic history, 363 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.759 then I go down that road. But I'm not an 364 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:12.720 expert in gastronomic history or you know, so I'm sort 365 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:14.880 of accruing the knowledge as I can get it. You know, 366 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:20.079 the indications I'm seeing are that certain religions that had 367 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:25.519 issues with stimulants might have been the reason why Carib 368 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:30.720 was grasped that as a chocolate substitute, because the chocolate 369 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:34.759 was forbidden to have because of it has some stimulant properties. 370 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:38.319 I never connected it until right now that growing up, 371 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:41.519 my LDS friends who were in the Mormon Church ate 372 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:45.000 carib for religious reasons. I never got that. My friend 373 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:48.160 Lizzette always had Tiger's milk bars as a snack in 374 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:51.200 her lunch, and those are quoted in carib And like 375 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:53.799 a big milk chocolate bar, which is about one hundred grams, 376 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:56.640 has about as much caffeine as a coke, Carab has 377 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:00.400 none also as an American, I am deficient in the 378 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:02.960 metric system. But I just found a website called one 379 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:06.480 hundred dash grams dot blogspot dot com that shows you 380 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:08.759 what one hundred grams of a bunch of different foods 381 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:11.440 look like. It's so helpful. However, they do not feature 382 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:15.319 any carrot products. These pods that are on the trees. 383 00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:19.160 You said you can use the pod as well as 384 00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:19.680 the seeds. 385 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:23.400 Yeah. In fact, actually, when you're talking about you know, 386 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:28.000 quote unquote chocolate substitute, what's being eaten there is actually 387 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:34.160 the processed bits of the pod itself, not the seeds. Really. Yeah, 388 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:35.240 no way. 389 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:37.039 You never would have guessed that. 390 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:41.119 You can eat them straight off the tree. I mean, 391 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:43.160 if they're not too old, they won't be too tasty 392 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:45.839 if they're several years old. But if you get like 393 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:49.440 that year's crop, it's kind of you know, a little uh. 394 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:53.599 I don't know how to describe the texture, right, It's 395 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:55.799 almost like the texture you would have in a macaroon. 396 00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:00.759 If you crack the pod open, inside is a wheat pulp. 397 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:06.720 I had no idea. I had no idea that you 398 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:09.319 could even do that. Okay, how do you know what 399 00:22:09.400 --> 00:22:12.039 if you have a carab tree on your street, on 400 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:14.640 your hell strip, and you have no idea, how can 401 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:15.680