In this episode, we learn about a bird that basically evolved into a mammal. The sheer number of areas where they have converged with mammals is absurd. Ironically, the mammals they have almost become may be their undoing. Enjoy the show.
Summary
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Kiwis. Which came first? The bird or the fruit? It's quite obvious that the two are at least related. One is a small, fuzzy brown bird. The other is a small, fuzzy brown fruit. They both have the same name and they both live in New Zealand. This can't be a coincidence. |
| 0:22.4 | And it's not. |
| 0:28.4 | The fruit that we call the Kiwi today is a descendant of the Chinese gooseberry, |
| 0:34.2 | a wild plant that was rarely cultivated in China and usually only harvested for medicinal purposes. |
| 0:39.9 | A traveling evangelist decided to bring some of the seeds from China to New Zealand, |
| 0:45.9 | and the New Zealanders said, oh my gosh, this looks a lot like that weird bird we've got around here. |
| 0:51.1 | Let's name it after them, and start a $350 million industry. |
| 0:57.7 | They carefully bred the fruit for its delicious taste, and created what is today one of the most beloved natural treats on earth. |
| 1:01.9 | Unfortunately, the New Zealanders, the Kiwis themselves, didn't patent any of it, and now |
| 1:07.3 | basically everyone else is making more money off Kiwis than them. |
| 1:12.7 | But the Kiwis still have their bird. |
| 1:16.3 | And why is the bird called a kiwi? |
| 1:18.4 | Well, the name Kiwi is a Maori name, and it actually comes from the sound they make. |
| 1:30.0 | Don't ask me how they got from that to Kiwi. |
| 1:34.2 | Aptorix Mentali. |
| 1:36.5 | I'm Mackin. This is species. |
| 1:42.7 | Welcome to the show. |
| 2:02.8 | New Zealand listeners, I expect you Kiwis to send me tweets correcting me and saying that the fruit Kiwis are called Kiwi fruits, not just Kiwis. But guess what, guys? Nobody outside of New Zealand calls them that, and I am outside of New Zealand. By the way, I've got three announcements, all of which you've likely already heard. First, we have another cartoon. |
| 2:08.4 | It is our pin tweet on the Species podcast Twitter, and it's also on the website. Second, |
| 2:14.4 | please nominate us for the podcast awards in the education and people's choice categories. |
| 2:19.3 | It would mean a lot to win, and I'll link it in the show description. |
| 2:22.9 | Third, we are three episodes away from episode 100. |
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