How Caffeine Accidentally Took Over The World

Hey MinuteEarthlings! If you join us on Patreon this month (April 2023) at / minuteearth , we will draw you a custom MinuteEarth stick figure (that we could feature in an upcoming video) AND send you a custom coffee mug with your beautiful stick figure on it!
Plants don't make caffeine just for us, so what DO they make it for?
LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
- Alkaloid: any of a class of nitrogenous organic compounds of plant origin which have pronounced physiological actions on humans.
- Allelopathy: the chemical inhibition of one plant (or other organism) by another, due to the release into the environment of substances acting as germination or growth inhibitors.
- Caffeine: a crystalline compound that is found especially in tea and coffee plants and is a stimulant of the central nervous system.
- Pesticide: a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to plants or to animals.
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CREDITS
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Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director
Kate Yoshida | Narrator
David Goldenberg | Narrator
Henry Reich | Narrator
Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music
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OUR STAFF
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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke
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REFERENCES
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Tanti, A., et al. (2016). Allelopathic potential of caffeine as growth and germination inhibitor to popular tea weed, Borreria hispida L.. Current Life Sciences. 2. 114-117. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.163671
Brazier, Yvette (2016). “Adolescents drink too much caffeine”, www.medicalnewstoday.com/arti...
Brychkova, G., et al. (2018). “Formation of xanthine and the use of purine metabolites as a nitrogen source in Arabidopsis plants”, doi.org/10.4161/psb.6304
Ceja-Navarro, J., et al. (2015). “Gut microbiota mediate caffeine detoxification in the primary insect pest of coffee”, doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8618
Earth and Environmental Sciences (2015). “Coffee berry borer’s gut microbes detoxify caffeine”, eesa.lbl.gov/coffee-berry-bor...
Diel, P. (2020). “Caffeine and Doping-What Have We Learned since 2004”, doi.org/10.3390/nu12082167
Jayson, C. (2015). “Caffeine vs. Chocolate: A Mighty Methyl Group”, www.discovermagazine.com/health/caffeine-vs-chocolate-a-mighty-methyl-group
Lee, Y., et al. (2009) “Multiple gustatory receptors required for the caffeine response in Drosophila”, doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811744106
Lu, H., et al. (2016). “Earliest tea as evidence for one branch of the Silk Road across the Tibetan Plateau”, doi.org/10.1038/srep18955
Mustard, J. (2013). “The buzz on caffeine in invertebrates: effects on behavior and molecular mechanisms”, doi.org/10.1007/s00018-013-14...
Nall, A., et al. (2016).“Caffeine promotes wakefulness via dopamine signaling in Drosophila”, doi.org/10.1038/srep20938
Nathanson, J. (1984). “Caffeine and Related Methylxanthines: Possible Naturally Occurring Pesticides.”, doi.org/10.1126/science.6207592
Poole, R., & Tordoff, M. (2017). “The Taste of Caffeine”, doi.org/10.1089/jcr.2016.0030
National Center for Biotechnology Information (2023). “Caffeine”, pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/comp...
Sledz, W., et al. (2017). Influence of Exogenously Supplemented Caffeine on Cell Division, Germination, and Growth of Economically Important Plants. www.intechopen.com/chapters/5...
Smyth, D. (1992). “Effect of Methylxanthine Treatment on Rice Seedling Growth”, doi.org/10.1007/bf00198025
Sugiyama, A., et al. (2015). “Caffeine Fostering of Mycoparasitic Fungi against Phytopathogens”, doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2015...
Wright, G. A., et al. (2013). “Caffeine in Floral Nectar Enhances a Pollinator’s Memory of Reward”, doi.org/10.1126/science.1228806

[@gorgenfol]

They stepped up the art on this one, the stick figures look almost real

[@rubidot]

I'm not sure how I feel about this new wave of 3D animation.

[@rosiefay7283]

I don't mind the other aspects of the animations, but the stick figures are a plagiarism of Randall Munroe's style.

[@noytelinu3409]

Very good 3d modeling, must be using that tech Kson users

[@gorgenfol]

@@rosiefay7283 absolutely, someone should tell him!

[@tparadox88]

Astonishing lip sync.

[@CybeargPlays]

Is it weird that as a species we are willingly brainwashed by a few plants to propagate their species?

[@MinuteEarth]

Haha don't get us started on yeast, or bacteria

[@LimeyLassen]

They did it to bugs first, it's not their first rodeo lol

[@toolbaggers]

If aliens invaded our planet they would think that we were slaves to cats and dog

[@elkwolf2888]

​@@toolbaggers People say that, but what about all the animal abuse? Not to mention the street cats and dogs. They aren't doing so good.

[@Tinil0]

That's just how nature works! We obviously share the vast majority of ourselves with other animals. Plants have used animals to propagate themselves for millions of years, and we are just one more way to do that...except massively better at it. Which obviously has it's own dangers. Heck, we do a similar thing. We brainwashed dogs over thousands of years to fulfill our various needs of them and make them loyal and loving to us. Your dog being happy to see you when you come home is just 30,000 years of selective brainwashing, he/she doesn't have a choice. Influencing another species' behavior in various ways seems like THE dominant strategy in this game of life, whether it is scaring off predators, attracting some other living things to help you propagate, all the way on up the ladder from symbiosis to mutualism to commensalism to parasitism.

[@alihasan6706]

MinuteEarth: Caffeine is the world's greatest molecule Water: am I a joke to you?

[@Lucarioguild7]

Or glucose for that matter

[@juhotuho10]

How come I can survive 3 days without water but I can't survive a day without caffeine? Checkmate, caffeine is way more important

[@oowo9323]

@@juhotuho10but your body is made of water???? 🎃🫦🪡

[@toolbaggers]

Water is the offspring of the burning passion of H₂ and O₂ molecules. Note molecules not atoms.

[@yankeedoodle6069]

@@oowo9323 r/wooosh

[@cosmicreciever]

Given the amount of tea and coffee that are produced now, you could say the plants propagation strategy of getting animals addicted to caffeine has been more successful than they could have possibly hoped for

[@alveolate]

it goes even further... caffeine has helped increase the mental productivity of some of the greatest minds in human history, thus helping to make some of the greatest scientific discoveries in modern history. there's a lot of crazy stuff about our history, but the impact of caffeine cannot be underestimated. there's the argument that psychotropic plants would've taken us to another different level... but we declared war on them instead, for some reason.

[@Abitibidoug]

Yes, evolution really does work in mysterious ways.

[@DaMastah2k]

some other plants & fungi seem to have noticed the winning strategy and adapted their strains. The war between drugs is just starting. Will it be psilocybin, Tetrahydrocannabinol or caffeine? :P probably it'll be a combination, one for single focus work & one for creative work + relax and one for community building / spiritual exploration.

[@davialmeida4442]

When you wing it in a test and get the best outcome

[@benthomason3307]

spicy peppers attempting to ward off herbivores: task failed successfully.

[@micahphilson]

I've always loved bees, but knowing they're just little caffeine junkies too makes them maybe my favorite creature!

[@Subsistence69]

Yeah somehow I feel much more validated in my caffeine addiction knowing that its not just humans 😂

[@johnwt7333]

Have you even seen a bee in person?

[@micahphilson]

@@johnwt7333 You mean me? Who hasn't? I love watching them do their thing!

[@DANGJOS]

​@@johnwt7333 Who hasn't?

[@j.d.cunegan302]

Now, if we could just get them to inject us with caffeine instead of venom when they sting us... 🤔

[@cheezey1402]

I love the new type of visuals! It's nice to be able to see the faces of some of the wonderful people who work on these projects!

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

Me too

[@Leonium797]

Me: Ha! I don't drink coffee! Meanwhile: my tea, chocolate, and Pepsi max addictions.

[@adamstanton5313]

Yup. Caffeine is in soda, tea, yeah.

[@Ascertivus]

I think the people behind this show connecting their names and faces to their work is a very humanizing touch to this already wonderful channel. You guys rock! Thank you for another quality video!

[@zenithparsec]

If caffeine was just discovered now, it would probably be prescription only. "Ask your doctor if coffee is right for you."

[@0x0michael]

Same with sugar and salt and I'm many other molecules our survival doesn't depend on

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

​@@0x0michael our survival does depend on salt and sugar tho. only not as much as is available to us. we really love sugar because i was rare to us when still living in the jungle.

[@theninja4137]

​​​@@theflyingdutchguy9870 salt yes - sugar we can definately do without (the body can break down complex carbs easily). While not recommended for most people, even complex carbohydrates can be very much reduced because protein is also broken down into glucose (an extreme keto diet is for example used to treat medication-resistant epilepsy)

[@michaelkirk4173]

As long as the AMA/Physician Cartel gets their cut, you are allowed to have it.

[@Mr.ChaosPollensAllAround]

​​@@theninja4137 isn't most food made up of sugar tho? Fruit*** Also that was a stupid question I just made

[@cinfdef]

I used to be so addicted to it (drinking close to 5-6 mountain dews a day) and then one day decided to just cold turkey it. About a full week of constant caffeine headaches, but man am I glad I did it. Those headaches sucked and the cost of getting the soda was annoying, saving a lot more tho now

[@darkhelmet12e47]

You sure it wasn't the sugar?

[@Herio7]

@@darkhelmet12e47 It's mixed bag probably as mountain dew has nearly half the caffeine of average energy drink (135mg/L compared to 320mg/L).

[@cinfdef]

@@darkhelmet12e47 Nah it was diet

[@jaybingham3711]

​​@@darkhelmet12e47 There's enough individual variability that that has to be true for a few. The headaches may be even split (ahem) with contributions from both (for some). But headaches due to caffeine withdrawal are well documented. If I miss my daily pill (taken with water), I succumb to such headaches in just over 24 hours. Some won't experience any withdrawal headaches though. Lucky bitches.

[@JaniLaaksonen91]

Had to do some cleaning today, which I hate. I was also tired after work so I made the mistake of drinking coffee at 6pm for an energy boost for cleaning. I did clean and now am buzzing in bed at 9pm dreading for the night ahead. So this video came at the perfect time xD

[@cerosis]

Love the puns as always you nerds!

[@mrpicky1868]

Jesus, even bees are addicted on caffeine

[@thefaboo]

Really gives them a buzz 😊

[@DANGJOS]

​@@thefaboo good one

[@MatthewConnellan-xc3oj]

But I am not. My energy is natural.

[@RCynic75]

So getting the bees buzzed and maybe excited to come back to the same flowers again parallels my excitement to come back to our company's same coffee machines each morning 😂

[@DaveTexas]

Many people do not know that North America has its own native caffeine-containing plant - yaupon. Tea made from yaupon leaves contains roughly the same amount of caffeine as green tea. It’s tasty, too! Even better is that it’s easy to grow in the warm, humid climate of the U.S. Gulf coast, so you can harvest your own leaves for tea and save your Starbucks money for better uses.

[@jeffwei]

Cacao is native to North America…

[@arieltroncoso9088]

​​@@jeffwei No, it is very much not, lmao. North America has never had the climate for cacao trees, and the farthest they got was Central America. Has cacao been around in North America for a long while? Yes! Are they native to North America? No.

[@DaveTexas]

@@jeffwei no……. DNA studies of cacao show that its origin is most likely northern Peru or Ecuador. It was brought to North America - only as far as southern Mexico - later on, but it wasn’t native there.

[@jeffwei]

@@arieltroncoso9088 thanks for letting me know! I was told they had been cultivated in Mexico, but it seems @David is right-recent DNA analysis shows that it most likely was originally domesticated in South America and then brought up north to Mexico. TIL

[@minutemansam1214]

@@arieltroncoso9088 Considering it's lived in North America for about 5,000 years, I say that is long enough to say it is a native. It's well established in Mexico and Central America even outside of cultivars.

[@heartofdawn2341]

It says a lot about the world we live in that we need psychotropic drugs on a daily basis just to get by.

[@andrewgreenwood9068]

Yep. I hate it here.

[@michaelkirk4173]

Speak for yourself. It took work, but I'm completely drug free, including caffeine. I got addicted when hanging out with a devout Christian who showed me the pleasures of coffee. What seemed to be harmless took 11 years of trial and error to break.

[@alexanderstone9463]

I have known lazy nepo babies who were also caffeine addicts. So I find this idea that caffeine’s popularity is wholly derived from modern work schedules to be absurd.

[@toadster40]

You can quit anytime, I did.

[@etatsopa]

This is very interesting but where is the caffeinated honey those bees are making?

[@shivajoshi9068]

love your content guys keep it up!

[@Emerald_Stories]

Me: Yes if coffee didn't exist it would be a tragedy Me: *also precedes to sip tea*

[@deyesed]

What a coincidence! I'm wearing my caffeine molecule shirt today.

[@EmilyS-gk3st]

I've actually been trying to get off caffeine. I don't want to be dependent on anything that's not necessary. I've found I like how I feel with less better than I did before. With increased gradual decreasing, I'll be one of the few who doesn't have it regularly within a month. To answer your question on how I currently get my limited caffeine fix-Pepsi.

[@deaththekid3998]

I went from 5-6 cups per day to 1-2 per day. The first few days are rough, but our brain is elastic enough that it gets used to the new regime pretty fast 😊

[@EmilyS-gk3st]

@@deaththekid3998 Yep! About 5 days in and I'm about ready for another decrease!

[@AtarahDerek]

Try getting off of high fructose corn syrup, and that way you'll metabolize caffeine better, allowing you to use it when you need it without being quite as addicted. Right now you're only really dependent on caffeine because HFCS drops you into a far worse crash than caffeine does, and leaves you to crawl back and beg for more. You think you're looking for a caffeine fix, but what you're actually looking for is a sugar rush. HFCS also blocks caffeine's ability to help you focus. Cutting out HFCS will cut out a far more toxic and addictive poison than caffeine could ever hope to be. Added bonus: You'll lose belly weight, which is sugar weight, and improve your overall endocrine health. Which means that if you deal with anxiety at all, cutting HFCS will work wonders.

[@EmilyS-gk3st]

@@AtarahDerek I actually don't have much high fructose corn syrup, if any. I'm not a soda drinker. (My Pepsi Zero is the only exception.) I don't really eat candy. I don't really eat canned fruit. I don't want to be on caffeine, either. I'm going to continue going off it. There are better things I can use to help me focus.

[@jackbrainwashar3756]

i loved the intro with the whole team introducing themselves!!! your videos have somekind of wholesomeness to them, and getting a greet from each one of you is so heartwarming, love your videos!!!

[@cerosis]

I love seeing all your faces!! Wasn't expecting that!

[@the1337fleet]

I recently started drinking coffee (with light caffeine) regularly. I resisted it for 37 years, but I figured it would help me keep up with my peers in productivity and energy. And it is addictive--which I wanted to avoid in the first place! It's free at my building, though, so in it goes every morning...

[@supersonictumbleweed]

As usual with the effect of it on life comes kind of responsibility to make some kind of personal connection with it. Coffee time is your coffee time!

[@GregoryDibb]

It's free for the bees too, of course they are slaves to the plant, just like you are now...

[@andrewgreenwood9068]

Caffeine is the only thing that allows many people to get through the crushing boredom of a 9 to 5 job. I just love living in a world where pretty much everyone needs drugs just to get through the day

[@tooichan]

Even where tea and cocoa weren't easily accessible geographically/economically, we've always had alcohol, the other extremely major and socially accepted drug. We've always been running on drugs.

[@the1337fleet]

@@shrekshyakhadka I feel like I gained some time and don't have to rely on willpower alone to stay awake on days I didn't get enough sleep. I am aware that caffeine merely masks the signaling of tiredness by blocking the receptors, but I can't help but indulge in the short-term benefits 😂

[@thegreenmercenary]

I have ADHD and caffeine has the opposite effect on me. I'd love if you guys would make a video explaining why it works that way.

[@kimaya.3563]

it makes you sleepy? I'm neurotypical and everytime I drink it I just fall straight asleep.

[@andrewcalhoon6624]

Maybe you are sleep deprived? I find that when I am too tired to fall asleep, a little caffeine helps me get to sleep.

[@YungPrince2k16]

Coffee calms me down a lot, I feel more happy and my brain seems to operate more efficiently. I can also drink it in the afternoon and sleep perfectly.

[@MayaPasricha]

Same! I wish I could know what most people get out of "the world's greatest molecule", it just makes me super nauseous, drowsy, and all my ADHD symptoms worse :/

[@leakingamps2050]

@@andrewcalhoon6624 Possibly, but this effect is known to be very common in those with ADHD

[@Josh-ks7co]

Reminds me that there is a theory floating around that caffiene being distributed widely happened slightly before the seeds of the industrial revolution. Did caffiene heavily contribute to humans making that leap?

[@andrewgreenwood9068]

Given how important tea was to Britian at the time I think there is a good possibility. Especially considering that work hours in the early factories were even more grueling than today.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@andrewgreenwood9068 plus the guys who invented steam engines and locomotives were fond of coffee houses. They served as breeding grounds for ideas because patrons would discuss their theories while waiting to be served and while drinking.

[@iamjustkiwi]

I wonder how many things wouldn't have happened were it not for humans love of altering our brain chemistry with various drugs, caffeine especially. I suspect there would be a lot less interesting art, for sure.

[@fltfathin]

allegedly yes, coupled with better night lighting since the old social drinks are alcohol which make you drunk and reckless, tea which make you relaxed and chill, meanwhile coffee make your sleepiness gone and up for discussion

[@gabork5055]

Even in games like Factorio you wouldn't go through the hassle of automatizing until there's a need for it. Coffee, tea, wars and the weakening of the Church (as a domino effect after the weakening of the Monarchies)probably contributed to this the most.

[@mikebrennan7331]

Good video and I love that vintage camera equipment in the background. I never knew caffeine had an inhibitory effect on other nearby plants and fungi.

[@laureeeee]

My family and I love caffeine so much that we used to drink it three times a day (now just two lol). When I used to visit my grandmother as a child they would give me coffee and milk everyday at breakfast and then when I grew up I learned the wonderful world of dark coffee (love it, specially when it's so dark it tastes like gasoline). Maybe because of it, it doesn't have any effect. I don't get jittery or even focused and, in fact, I feel it calms me down. Thankfully I can go days without coffee and I don't have any withdrawal symptoms

[@svenjaschulz4618]

Sounds like you might have some variant of adhd ;) like everyone these days 😂

[@Eoin-B]

Weasels love coffee beans! That's where weasel coffee comes from. I still can't even imagine what was going on in the mind of the guy who saw the poop and decided to roast the beans inside and try it :D

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

I feel like someone else originally brewed it as a prank, and their unsuspecting victim liked it...

[@AtarahDerek]

That's not a weasel, it's a species of civet. Specifically the Asian palm civet. Civets are viverrids, not mustelids. They're from a different branch of the carnivore order; the same one as cats, hyenas and mongooses, actually.

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

@@AtarahDerek Wait, I thought mongooses were mustalids?! :0 I am shook...

[@AtarahDerek]

@@Amy_the_Lizard You thought incorrectly. 😁 But it's a pretty common mistake. Mongooses, meerkats, civets and genets are all viverrids.

[@jaybingham3711]

​@@AtarahDerek Viverrids...on vivarin. Very vivacious!

[@prettypic444]

as someone who drinks coffee to manage my adhd, I deeply relate to these bees

[@Itsshaunbewarned]

same issue here bud

[@frozenjune83]

The animation at the beginning looked like real life people. Wow!

[@manjensen1710]

Yeah, it's funny how those people look so much like the Minute Earth group, they even have the same names.

[@MinuteEarth]

Posing for each frame to be sketched was the hardest part of production on this one.

[@paradox...]

*TEA SQUAD, BEST SQUAD!*

[@liangyanzhang7379]

3:48 His ears LITERALLY PERKED UP when he said that! I love it!

[@Thiago100Zwetsch]

I LOVED THIS INTRO! Awesome, outstanding!! Video is just as amazing!! Keep on, guys!!

[@Gothead420]

Consume _one_ psychoactive substance, and be left alone to your own devices, but consume *another,* and get thrown in a cage by your loving fellow humans...🙄

[@tylerbryanhead]

As a former avid caffeine drinker you have more energy without it. Its a lot like smoking. When you first start its great, but as your body builds up a tolerance, the positives fade, and the negatives stay. I started drinking coffee hard for work, I drive 8 hours a day. But at the end of the day I was slapping myself awake. Since I quit drinking coffee I can blow through the entire 8 hours in one stretch. I might feel a little tired at the end, but that's good because I need to sleep after. When I was drinking coffee I'd have to choose between a caffeine crash near the end or being too jittery to sleep. At the end of the day if you're that tired its much better to adjust your schedule than to self medicate with various stimulants, you'll feel a whole lot better.

[@w01dnick]

I drink coffee only on ocassions, cause it lowers my blood pressure and makes me sleepy.

[@marycubillos]

I have never considered ordering merch until now.. years ago my husband bought me a caffeine molecule travel mug...that was years ago ...he since passed...I wore the molecule off..I am now on a fixed income.. mobility issues.. don't need or can afford one...lol..I was so excited that a paused the video.. decided to commit now because apparently I do need to watch the whole video... I will do my best to focus on the video no matter how excited I am...wish me luck because I will hopefully figure it out

[@papascorch5215]

Sometimes I’m really happy I have ADHD. Caffeine makes me really tired, so I can’t even really drink coffee

[@benbookworm]

Don’t forget yerba mate from the Rio Plata area!

[@FairMiles]

Indeed! There are at least a couple of countries surviving on that! 😵‍💫

[@WhiterunGuard11998]

oh my god, the person who drew the coffee borer beetle deserves a GIANT COOKIE

[@woufff_]

Great to see you all 💚 I prefer my coffee hot and black ☕ PS: Henry, I miss your great minutephysics videos!

[@frankunderbush]

*Me watching this while sipping my coffee* Hmmm, interesting

[@MinuteEarth]

How do you prefer to get your caffeine fix? Let us know in the comments! As for us, we can't decide - Cameron prefers coffee, while Henry says he only likes tea.

[@johnburn8031]

Coffee ☕ with a dash of whisky 🙋🏻‍♂️

[@MrMartinBigger]

@MinuteEarth I'd love to see a video on why caffeine sometimes has the opposite effects in humans. When my friend drinks caffeine, he's %1000 drowsier than I've ever seen. With even 1 cup, his body essentially shuts down and forces him to sleep it off. He had a cup on a hike and felt like he was chemically struggling to keep hiseyes open and lift his feet. I heard it might be related to the bodies rate of metabolism of caffeine.

[@marcofilho]

Coffee, black! Also, are these mugs US exclusive?

[@CaMallmann]

​@@marcofilho wondering the same

[@alamrasyidi4097]

i like tea, but i don't like coffee, though i always wondered how different are they in their caffeine content

[@Appetite4Rose]

Such a nice guy, Jeff… always a pleasure to watch your videos

[@nickvinsable3798]

About your mugs, I recommend watching/reading _Monster Musume_ . There is an episode, a story arc where the spider girl drinks a super black coffee & goes around drunk. Thus, something synonymous to that episode of _Futurama_ where a monster alien eats a hippie (hence a mug that reads: “Monster Alien Advice: Never Eat a Hippie”), maybe a mug that warns giant sentient insects to not drink from the coffee mug…

[@ZombieBarioth]

There wasn't anything special about the coffee, Rachnera just didn't think to say anything and nobody thought to ask. Don't remember if it actually happened but tea will do it too apparently. I vaguely remember her ordering it instead of alcohol though. Nice life hack I gotta say.

[@nickvinsable3798]

I have the manga as well as the english dubbed collector box, @@ZombieBarioth. Definitely coffee. As for her behavior, yeah, she was drunk. Anyways, caffeine is still caffeine & its what the mug should say is what is important to me, not debating the finer details of that specific manga/anime…

[@MietoK]

Caffeine is quite interesting for me at least. I used to drink Coffee daily for 30+ years since 7 years or something and I was confident that caffeine has no effect on me. For a fun I stopped drinking it for 2 years and now the situation is that if I even drink one cup of black tea then I am not able to sleep at all for 16 hours. Coffee is like super energy drink and I get hyperactive 😅 So basically now I avoid the stuff as much as I can. At morning I just roiboos as all the normal stuff are way to funky for me 😅

[@kennethmoses4900]

Glad to see Bees share my coffee addiction.

[@shashanksam]

awesome video, as usual , funny and informative

[@HS-pm1ro]

Amazing animation, Sarah! 🐝

[@Warriormon87]

It is crazy to me how little difference there is between a molecule i have an adverse reaction to (gives me migraines and upsets my stomach) (theobromine) and one I am dependent on (caffeine).

[@brucewilcox4135]

Wrong on the Meso-American cacao drink - Xocolatl, the drink made from cacao by the Aztecs, did not contain enough caffeine for an effect to “experiment” with. Cacao, then and now, has very little caffeine. It contains large amounts of theobromine, which acts much differently than caffeine.

[@IamTheHolypumpkin]

I wanted to re-join the patron anyway, now where I'm no longer broke. Having a nice unique mug at work is just another bonus.

[@Kyleplaysgames567]

Some people are so addicted to caffeine that they literally ingest it up their rectums using coffee enemas.

[@Dorfjunge]

Coffee Borer Beetle lifestyle sounds just like a regular day in the office for me. Challenge accepted!

[@windywendi]

It was great to finally see the faces of the team behind this awesome youtube channel!

[@matteo8087]

damn you're all majestic af

[@lanawright1353]

Bees be getting jazzed!

[@CinJyxxe]

Wait now I'm wondering if other species do specific things to avoid sleeping when they don't want to. I always just assumed that humans were the only ones who deliberately choose to stay awake when they're tired, whether it's to play video games all night or because they need to write that essay. But you're telling me that bees enjoy caffeine for nearly the same exact reason humans do? Like, what if birds are constantly just using tremendous willpower to stay awake mid-flight?

[@Bailark]

I started drinking coffee in college, but it wasn't a daily habit. Once, at home on break, I had a week of headaches, and my mom explained that it was a coffee/caffein migraine. From that point it became a daily habit. Now, many years later, I began using creatine monohydrate daily in weight training. I noticed that use of the creatine has diminished the headache from lack of caffein use. My question is, am I imagining this, or does creatine monohydrate ameliorate the caffein withdrawal symptoms?

[@michaelbennett7561]

If you never start using caffeine to wake up, and never use it in a way that you depend on it like a crutch, it turns out you never actually need it. Once you are addicted, then you need it.

[@joeybroda9167]

Nice bait-and-switch promo. All joking aside, actually one of the better patreon promos that I have seen.

[@krispy1298]

Some poor intern is about to make millions of stick figures from grainy photos

[@sarahjberman]

haha, Sarah here (full time illustrator and video producer) - happy to report that everyone has been uploading beautiful well-lit and clear portraits of themselves. can't wait to draw all of your stick figures!

[@Deemongamer]

I love Kate's voice, she should read audio books lol

[@RaulSalazar-xe6po]

People with anxiety disorders must stay away from caffeine because it will becomes worse,i only drank coffee for 8 years before i discovered that it gave me a stronger anxiety spike.

[@LavenderLushLuxury]

I always look forward to your, Science realted topic videos..!! 💚☕🫖👩‍🔬

[@diesel4338]

Him : It's hard to imagine a world without caffeine ... Me : What is caffeine? 😂

[@thomashenden71]

This just in - caffeine consumption also increases the amount of Dad Jokes… 😄

[@Justgoodvids]

Blink twice if the caffeine has you hostage

[@gideonpaulalcaide]

This is amazing!

[@SilntObsvr]

I drink coffee, tea, and Diet Mountain Dew. The latter five days a week (at work, because tea at work is difficult and the coffee I can get there sucks), the others seven days a week. On a weekend, I'll have five or six cups of tea and likely two or three of coffee; weekdays two cups of tea, one of coffee, and three big bottles of Dew. I've been drinking Mountain Dew (switched to Diet in 2002) since 1967, coffee since about 1974, and tea (on a regular basis) since about 2019.

[@tobinsparling]

Hi! I am a biologist doing an experiment on invertebrate response to caffeine and I feel conflicted about your statement: “but our underlying physiology is similar enough”. The ancestral state of an arthropod/insect brain is similar to that of a nematode’s (Smith et al., 2017) Nematodes actually respond** differently to caffeine than arthropods Tardigrades respond to caffeine more similarly to nematodes than their sister clade of arthropods (my own, unpublished work) This indicates that the ancestral state of arthropod and tardigrade responses to caffeine is more similar to nematodes. Therefore, insect response to caffeine appears to be convergent with our own, rather than a shared trait from our common ancestor. Thought you might enjoy this perspective! I love your channel:) **response is measured in a change in locomotor activity And i also found that nematodes and arthropods show signs of substance addiction when exposed to caffeine, so there seems to be some similarities Mustard, J. A. (2014). The buzz on caffeine in invertebrates: Effects on behavior and molecular mechanisms. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS, 71(8), 1375-1382. doi.org/10.1007/s00018-013-1497-8 Smith, F. W., Bartels, P. J., & Goldstein, B. (2017). A Hypothesis for the Composition of the Tardigrade Brain and its Implications for Panarthropod Brain Evolution. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 57(3), 546-559. doi.org/10.1093/icb/icx081 Urushihata, T., Takuwa, H., Higuchi, Y., Sakata, K., Wakabayashi, T., Nishino, A., & Matsuura, T. (2016). Inhibitory effects of caffeine on gustatory plasticity in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 80(10), 1990-1994. doi.org/10.1080/09168451.2016.1191327

[@raphlvlogs271]

can you also smoke plant materials containing caffeine to prevent drowsiness?

[@noytelinu3409]

AHHHHH FLESH TUBERS! Oooo stick figure...

[@sticktotheextreme]

Just stopped drinking caffeinated drinks 4 days ago god the first 2 days sucked I was so tired but the third wasn't too bad and today I'm feeling fine

[@chenoaholdstock3507]

I prefer the normal format. That's not hate, that's feedback

[@katetoolate234]

Gasp! The voiced stick figures.. they have FACES!!!

[@WizardOfDocs]

okay, now I'm sure we don't have that kind of historical record for yerba mate or yaupon holly, but I'm curious how far they go back compared to, say, their neighbor cacao. And how convergent evolution developed caffeine in all these different plants in such different places.

[@LucVNO]

ARE WE JUST GONNA IGNORE EPHEDRA????

[@jerrysstories711]

2:18 How did you NOT make a joke about "get the bee buzzed"?

[@SmthnIDK]

Having Cameron as the poster child, huh? Brilliant move by the marketing team.

[@PowerMacG14]

Oh no, I missed it Patreon oppertunity! Well done on the video though!

[@christinasornbutnark1208]

What a great idea 💡

[@fredriks5090]

when species thrive just as well or better in eachothers immediate proximity, we eventually end up with things like trees, eukaryotes, and moving species. codependence doesn't necessarily equal an increased cost of living, as sometimes a single compound will serve as an indicator for a whole band of reactions shared by the mixed species as opposed to a previous primitive task like making it taste good for the propagators of its seeds.

[@floramew]

ADHD folks like myself often don't feel the energetic buzz, or rather the sleepiness blocking, effect of caffeine. Idk if that's in your purview or not, but it seems relevant.

[@andrewgreenwood9068]

That explains why I can drink it at night with no problems.

[@TessaBain]

I don't have ADHD and I use caffeine to relax and sleep.

[@cyancoyote7366]

Yeah, same. I have ADHD. I don't even get the energetic buzz from my meds. I just go to sleep on them and forget to take them sometimes welp.

[@Itsshaunbewarned]

same, i have it too and i dont feel caffeine

[@admiral7599]

The sleep blocking mechanism isn't an ADHD thing. There are ADHD people(myself) who can stay awake on it. However the buzz is definitely not felt or not as much.

[@HolySoliDeoGloria]

I would not have expected that "more than 90%" of people drink some form of caffeine daily (2:55). I doubt that that number is that high. This requires more than 90% of people worldwide to have daily access to coffee, tea, or other caffeinated beverages. At any rate, if that number is true, I'm in a much smaller minority than I thought I was. I have caffeinated drinks once in a long while.

[@puffthecatpuff8931]

(1) Feed some coffee borer beetles lots of the leaves (2) Coat the beetles in chocolate (3) ??? (4) Profit!

[@ItsCairoHere]

I’ve been a fan of Minute Earth since 2016, love y’all!

[@vladislavvasilev4267]

I love this video ! ... wait how many cups of coffee did I have today?

[@sonicdude210]

as a water fan, I am appalled you would even consider caffeine as the worlds best molecule! hydrate or die-drate!

[@cubeofcheese5574]

I didn't know cola was a plant!

[@robertwidner9937]

When you hear someone's voice for a long time without a face, and then you see them talking, you almost don't believe it. It looks fake

[@Rakoo631]

What's the size of the mugs and are they dishwasher safe?

[@sarahjberman]

They're standard 11oz and dishwasher safe :)

[@RyanMartinezUkulelelessons]

We get giant mounds of used coffee grounds at our farm as compost. I realized that at least one-third of dumpster smell, is coffee alone. Other two-thirds? God knows

[@TheStonerKoala]

My own custom stick figure on a coffee mug? Sign me up fam

[@calenk8569]

do we get cameron with the mug?

[@stevenjenkins4334]

How do all of you have such perfect voices?

[@hanswoast7]

I love the graphic at 1:29 xDD

[@SunilKumar-nf7ft]

I read a book called Caffeine Blues, it made me realise how bad caffeine was. So I quit it completely 6 months ago. My sleep cycles have improved considerably. I used to feel tired without caffeine dose every few hours, now I go all day feeling energetic. Caffeine's effects are artificial because caffeine doesn't give you energy it just borrows some energy from the future and let's you use it now but everytime you borrow something you'll have to pay back with interest. So you will end up feeling even more tired when the caffeine weans off. Caffeine destroys sleep. Caffeine increases cortisol. Puts your body in stressed state 24 hours. Increases your heart rate. Gives you bad breath, and stained teeth.

[@Samantha_yyz]

Caffeine isn't what's straining your teeth out giving you bad breath. That's the other stuff in coffee. But also yeah caffeine is very easily abuseabe but if you consume it responsibly you won't really have any negative effects. Like all chemicals, dose matters. I drink a mug or too of black tea a day, I don't have any of the symptoms you mentioned. Cuz I'm not consuming enough caffeine to cause those symptoms

[@SunilKumar-nf7ft]

@@Samantha_yyz that's good you can keep your dose in control. I was drinking 7-8 cups of Chai everyday and the way we boil it for like 1/2 an hour I'm sure each cup had 70-80 Mg of caffeine. It surely affected my overall health. Caffeine pushes our bodies into the fight/flight response and if we spend every moment of our lives in that state it surely f's us up.

[@mrksaccount123]

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