Stamets2Not the same man
This prompts the question, “Are vampires repelled by all alliums or just garlic?” I feel like the answer to this question could advance antivampire defense technology significantly. To get started, I’ll just need $10M and as many vampires as I can get. DM me for details.
Side note: I love The Other End comics.
That’s a good question. And if it’s only garlic, does wild garlic (Allium ursinum) count? It tastes very similar to real garlic (Allium sativum)
I’d assume it follows the same pattern in the relationship between wild and cultivated species/cultivars, with the wild species being smaller and less potent in the desired characteristics. I can see you’re a much-learned person in this field of study, and I encourage you to apply for a position once we get the funding.
Are you suggesting that one of the traits bred into domesticated garlic was vampire repelling?
The people who who domesticated garlic were not killed by vampires, yes?
People used to think it works like this, but it’s actually even more fascinating!
The vampires could still kill some people who domesticated garlic, but only those whose garlic was weak. This introduced evolutionary pressure, or in other words: by accident, they selected for stronger garlic.
It’s like when you take antibiotics and stop too soon, leaving only the most resistant bacteria alive.