• Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world
    89·
    2 days ago

    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.

    • Rusty@lemmy.caEnglish
      31·
      2 days ago

      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)

      • Dicska@lemmy.world
        6·
        13 hours ago

        Allium ursinum

        So THAT’S why it’s called bear onion (bear garlic) in my language!

      • Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world
        18·
        2 days ago

        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.

        • Aqarius@lemmy.world
          6·
          1 day ago

          Are you suggesting that one of the traits bred into domesticated garlic was vampire repelling?

            • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
              2·
              4 hours ago

              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.

            • Vandals_handle@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              9 hours ago

              Vampires domesticated garlic and started a rumor that it repelled vampires. Tricked humans into pre-seasoning the vampires food.

            • Aqarius@lemmy.world
              4·
              1 day ago

              Would that then mean that growing garlic is an evolutionary adaptation of humans to the pressure of vampirism?

              Would that then imply Italy has a significantly higher number of vampires than normal?

                • Aqarius@lemmy.world
                  2·
                  2 hours ago

                  …And the omnipresence of garlic in Chinese cuisine would also be what drove jiangshi to develop garlic immunity, makes sense.

              • Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                2·
                9 hours ago

                It could be more complex than that. It could be an average number of vampires preying on an evolutionary disadvantage - hospitality. Vampires cannot cross a threshold uninvited, but Italians are famous for welcoming everyone and their mothers to dinner. It was a recipe for disaster until they found the holy bulb.

                Ever wonder why Italy has crosses in every home? Why the Vatican formed there? Could it have been a long and storied history of the rise and fall of romans and religions? No. Vampires.

                It was more obvious when they all had big bellies, but have you ever noticed that the Pope sitting in his white outfit and hat looks like unpeeled garlic?

                Personally, I think both theories can be true. It is hard to corroborate dates for our records. Immortal bodies that burn away in sunlight pose some archaeological challenges.

                But consider this:

                What if Italy had a significantly higher number of vampires than normal? Before they learned the secrets of Allium, and faith, and a big wooden spoon always close at hand.

                1. A world where fast and foreign foods dot the Italian countryside. Faith has been abandoned, crosses discarded. Their traditions are forgotten. But their traditions have not forgotten them.

                Only one grandmother remembers the past. Cross on the mantel. Big wooden spoon. Garlic in the sauce. One big dinner, every week. Everyone’s invited.

                Coming soon to a theater near you:

                Nonna: No Blood Before Supper

              • Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world
                2·
                14 hours ago

                Not being a doctor of botanoanthropovampirology, it’s hard for me to say. A cursory search suggests garlic traveled along population centers as they developed throughout history. This makes sense as vampires would find it both easier to hide and feed. I suspect Romans first acquired garlic to address the vampire problem, but it’s now a vestigial phenomenon in Italian cuisine inherited from the Romans. It would be interesting to compile a list of cities by population density and filter out the ones that commonly use a lot of garlic. The remaining cities should be the most vampire-infested, if my theory is correct. Subsequently, the minority that commonly uses garlic in those cities should proliferate along with their garlic, leading to a garlic-rich new culinary culture.

                History of Garlic