No Such Thing As Uncle Egg

My fact this week is that wild oats sow themselves.

Ooh.

Yeah.

So basically, they're plants that look a bit like oats, and they have seeds at the top of them, uh, that come in a little cluster that's called a panicle.

But they don't panic.

They very calmly-

[laughs]

... have two spikes sticking out of them called awns, and they look a bit like very long, hairy legs.

And basically, when the seeds come off, they go onto the ground.

And when they dry out, they twist one way.

And when they get moist, they twist another.

So as the moisture goes up and down, they twist back and forth.

And it reminded me a bit of one of those moves you used to do in gym where you lie on your back and splay your legs out and roll around.

[laughs]

[laughs]

But, um-

You're not allowed back in that gym anymore, are you? [laughs]

We just sort of did the bleep test and stuff at my school.

Yeah, our teacher was sacked actually.

[laughs]

But, um, they sort of...

It makes them sort of crawl around, and then they'll find a crevice eventually.

They'll fall into a crevice.

And once they've fallen into a crevice, this motion makes them drill down into it, so they literally bury themselves.

It's the closest-