The history of the world according to corn - Chris A. Kniesly

Trace the 9,000 year old history of the domestication of corn, or maize, and its effects on global agriculture.
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Corn currently accounts for more than one tenth of our global crop production. And over 99% of cultivated corn is the exact same type: Yellow Dent #2. This means that humans grow more Yellow Dent #2 than any other plant on the planet. So how did this single variety of this single plant become the biggest success story in agricultural history? Chris Kniesly investigates the rise of this wonder-crop.
Lesson by Chris A. Kniesly, directed by Artrake Studio.
Animator's website: www.artrake.com
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View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/how-corn-c...
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Dee Wei, Richard A Berkley, Tim Armstrong, Daniel Nester, Hashem Al, denison martins fernandes, Doug Henry, Arlene Spiegelman, Michał Friedrich, Joshua Wasniewski, Maryam Dadkhah, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Emilia Alvarado, Jaime Arriola, Mirzat Tulafu, Lewis Westbury, Felipe Hoff, Rebecca Reineke, Cyrus Garay, Victoria Veretilo, Michael Aquilina, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasquez, Mike Azarkman, Yvette Mocete, Pavel Maksimov, Victoria Soler-Roig, Betsy Feathers, Samuel Barbas, Therapist Gus, Sai Krishna Koyoda, Elizabeth Parker, William Bravante, Irindany Sandoval, Mark wisdom, Brighteagle, Beatriz Inácio, Mighterbump, Pamela Harrison, Maija Chapman, Liana Switzer, Curtis Light, The Brock, Dianne Palomar and Edgar Campos Barrachina.

[@guntherdoesaliltrolling5757]

Potato: *Hold up*

[@ayyappanchithambaram4575]

Irish potato famine be like

[@warsameadam5572]

Potato: Hold my peel

[@lordspotato5032]

Talking bout me?

[@doggydog490]

jacksepticeye: DING DING DING IRISH NOISES

[@ricardosanchez3025]

Michael pollan in "botany of desire", potatoes come from South America. We make America better.

[@justinemadigan9620]

"One standardized breed of corn." That makes it a...UNICORN! XD

[@aleksandarvil5718]

@Justine Madigan lol 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ClownDollThatHasContemptForYou]

EYYYYYYYYYYY

[@daisy_elle_]

you're a genius

[@HelgaCavoli]

Daaamn, that's good. That's actually a-maising. (@Saurabh, I was going for "Mais" as in "Corn". "Maiz" wouldn't do the trick).

[@randomhooman6685]

Rise and shine for our new god

[@thehorsesnamewasfriday8695]

Ted Ed is one of the best channels on KZbin. The production, animation and interesting videos they put out is so informational and entertaining.

[@welkina.7537]

Cant disagree on corn !

[@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe]

How did they make shirts and other things out of corn back in the day? What's the process? I'm profoundly puzzled by this.

[@Therongunner]

Side note: in many parts of Africa (mainly the Southern, East and Central) maize is a staple. I grew up eating mainly maize flour porridge and to this day I eat it once a week in the city.

[@Sl_Fl]

Ted-Ed: *tells a terrible pun* Me: **cultured laugh**

[@mabeltorres8069]

One thousand likes and no comments this is pretty rare

[@TheZiliuz]

I was an aMAZEing pun, though.

[@javindhillon6294]

I'm betting that is was a corny pun?

[@directiontonarnia]

@@javindhillon6294 😂😂this is great

[@MalekitGJ]

Oh hon, hon hon hon~

[@ThenThereThe]

Wheat. Rice. Corn, Potato... Long ago, the 4 nations lived in harmony...

[@manuelsaavedra8081]

one of those isn't like the others

[@zakaryloreto6526]

Manuel Saavedra glorious potato Union

[@sarahperkins3816]

Until the potato nation attacked...

[@paperdino8358]

The whole corn nation.

[@MarcelinoDeseo]

And then cassava came ...

[@JoeJW89]

I swear, as a child, we use to buy corn from the grocer but it was a darker shade of yellow - perhaps the strain or variant - than the much lighter, sometimes sweeter, corn commonly sold in most grocers / supermarkets. Personally, I find the lighter, almost white corn to have a less robust flavor (albeit sweet).

[@practicalpen1990]

Wow! I was hoping you'd mention huitlacoche (also spelled cuitlacoche). It's a fungus that grows on corn and many farmers consider it a plague. However, it's edible, and it's a DELICIOUS dish! (Just ask any Mexican) Instead of burning crops for it, it could be sold as food.

[@jasmineexantus3475]

I never heard of that, thanks for telling!

[@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe]

How did they make shirts and other things out of corn back in the day? What's the process? I'm profoundly puzzled by this.

[@galladegamer6950]

They used the husks you know the brown strings that come out the top of the ear of corn

[@IdoNomb]

Yeah we even made a song about it. It was supposed to be a bird but the singer sang it wrong to say this hahhaa. El baile del huitlacoche hahah

[@duckyboi9363]

Mesoamerica? Nah. MAIZEoamerica!

[@TEDEd]

Nice

[@duckyboi9363]

@@TEDEd Thanks

[@HelgaCavoli]

Your comment totally matches your picture. 😂

[@MrMeme2006]

Actually, that makes a lot of sense

[@iseytheteethsnake6290]

ELOTL BLANCO ES BETJOR!!

[@bobibustudios1508]

"... has enough corn fields to cover _germany_ ..." *shows belgium flag* Gemans: say sike right now

[@JonManProductions]

what is this, Extra History?

[@warsameadam5572]

got me confused for a moment.

[@TEDEd]

Oops! Good catch! Sometimes our awesome community comes to the rescue. Looks like we did indeed make a mistake in this lesson, and we are working to fix it as quickly as possible.

[@1.4142]

It's belgium's revenge for the two world wars.

[@adriantoledanogarcia1620]

Also they take like half of Mexico when they show the map of the USA

[@scarletletter4900]

Fun fact: it's not corn itself that's the problem, it's how we've been growing it.

[@thatdude3977]

Whote people

[@PursuitofHistory]

Thanks for creating another awesome digital lesson! Love these videos full of information I wouldn’t normally discover in my day-to-day life - specifically the effects of wartime technology on corn production and the lasting effects on the environment, agriculture and health.

[@acomou3562]

Crazy

[@user-hb4zz4gh5e]

Apparently Belgium annexed Germany and nobody told me

[@pablodonner5213]

Yea those new blitz raids are really quiet

[@qianqianhu5741]

The tables have turned

[@ItsNoeI]

@@qianqianhu5741 Stopid

[@afromans170]

@@ItsNoeI I can't tell if you're being serious

[@underfire8411]

just to say, belguims is flipped

[@mj2980]

"A "maize" of unsustainability" I see what you did there 😏

[@ranigoud1942]

lmao

[@TGNXAR]

You beat me to it!

[@SonVu-ju5ko]

I don’t get it, can someone clarify this out?

[@spycrab3723]

Mais means Corn in our country.

[@spycrab3723]

And maize is also corn.

[@thesenate9564]

Eating popcorn while watching this is an aMAIZEing experience.

[@Victor-iq5rd]

It's a shame this joke is CORNY...

[@emilyvince8504]

50% of comments puns 25% of comments the “german” flag 25% of comments random

[@Xelaria]

2% hearted

[@creamclips2071]

1% of nerds saying this.

[@yuki-pj5vv]

“Only time will tell if it has led us into a MAIZE of unsustainability.” Was that a corn pun?

[@anonmouse6337]

I, too, found it corny.

[@shreeyamittal1771]

You had ta ask?

[@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe]

How did they make shirts and other things out of corn back in the day? What's the process? I'm profoundly puzzled by this.

[@moisesmunoz3844]

Mexico: You’re welcome.

[@sergueiignacinskybenitovic3025]

"Mesoamerica"***.

[@sergueiignacinskybenitovic3025]

México didn't even exist.

[@whathell6t]

Serguéi Ignacinsky Benitóvich I agree with that correction. We, Zapotecs, also cultivated the maize about 3,000 years ago.

[@mewsingsbynatk]

De Nada.

[@youngsavag666]

Serguéi Ignacinsky Benitóvich Mexico IS mesoamerica.

[@user-ci2lg1lw5b]

옥수수의 역사에 대하여 배웠습니다. 옥수수가 이렇게 역사적으로 대단한 것임이 놀라웠습니다. 한 식물이라도 역사가 있다는 것을 배우는 의미있는 시간이 되었습니다. 감사합니다.

[@abhirajbhokare1989]

I truly love your channel. Keep doing the best work. Such creative videos you’ve on this channel. Just subscribed! Officially the first viewer of any video on this channel. I’ve never witnessed such awesome editing as this one. Following your channel from the last two years, interesting content! You’re working so hard, may all your wishes come true. Congratulations on your first 10K followers, may you reach 100K soon. Whoever is reading this, never give up. God is with you. When watching your videos, I accidentally hit ‘like’ and never knew when. The moment you came here is at 05:17. Love this video, I think I’ve watched it four times.

[@aleksandarvil5718]

I just wanna say this is *CORNY* Video.

[@paulrussell1207]

aMAIZEing pun.

[@neilprice4915]

don't you like watching corn?

[@playergameplayfan6154]

@@neilprice4915 I watch it on Kornhub

[@judekanawati7467]

😆😆😆

[@mannamedjared]

I shall use corn to remove your liver

[@ranigoud1942]

"There is every reason to believe that corn has succeeded in domesticating us." that is deep and funny

[@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe]

How did they make shirts and other things out of corn back in the day? What's the process? I'm profoundly puzzled by this.

[@thetaaaa]

​@@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe they didn't use the seeds, they used the fibrous leafy husk which they wove together

[@thetaaaa]

​@@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe also. Vriska pfp.

[@Thecoolesttdy]

I am in love with all of thier animations it’s amazing

[@Sofia-pi3td]

I don't know why but I red this as "the history of corn according to corn" and i was like".......is Ted Ed okayy?!?! "😂😂😂

[@turvoid1352]

*read

[@Sofia-pi3td]

@@turvoid1352 yk it's not that hard to just ignore some mistakes. There's a thing called typo. Ever heard of it?? 🙄Tryna act over smart

[@unwantedmacguffin5611]

I guess you could say *puts on sunglasses* that we're all children of the corn.

[@NabPunk]

Nonsense With Jessie *Korn

[@readynow3987]

☠

[@cinnabonbon]

oh no

[@jessicajayes8326]

He who walks behind the rows!

[@thomash4950]

YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

[@justinemadigan9620]

4:57 "It has led us into a MAIZE!!" XD ahh corn puns

[@spycrab3723]

More like... CORNY PUNS!

[@rododog19gaming69]

Hey Chris or Ted-Ed pls who ever animated the “the history in the eye of a chicken” do more animations in videos. It was hilarious and I loved it. Ty!

[@bethanysmith5856]

I remember hearing about a story of the corn mother and about the 3 sisters (corn, beans and squash) that more Northern natives grew

[@yolandagrabowski6043]

Everytime I crock my beans, I add corn juice in it. I heard a comment that it smells like tacos in my house.

[@ekn_38]

0:15 Tfw Belgium annexes Germany but loses Belgium to the Dutch

[@alejandromendez488]

Wait I thought that was the German flag?

[@jk-gb4et]

It is German flag, Ekn _38 does not know sadly.

[@hahalord7294]

It was a Belgian flag, but Ted-Ed actually changed it into Germany.

[@alejandromendez488]

hahalord oh ok I was so confused cuz I watched the video a day late and saw everyone complaining about it no being the German flag. :p

[@arelyhd3821]

Mexico is taking care of the native corn by saying NO to transgenic plants in order to keep the diversity of our Maíz 🌽 ♥️🇲🇽

[@dzikijohnny]

You are a transphobic

[@jjyo3353]

And Colombia as well corn was also tamed here

[@mstevens832]

In time of maize Shortage Kenyan always get from Mexico so greeting from UK.

[@user-sv4ev5qg1u]

@@dzikijohnny lol 😂

[@shinkisaragi4369]

The Zapotecs Were the first to domesticate corn approximately 10,000 years ago in the modern state of Oaxaca

[@TriNguyen-mp8lz]

It's amaizing how a single plant cornquored the world.

[@reluga225]

"Come down today and try some corn, or we will sacrifice your newborn, AAAAA" -Colonel Cornelius Cornwall

[@abthedragon4921]

Ah, a Ted Ed video on corn, Finally! I hope soon they do a video on Vanilla.

[@user-pz6kq2tv9m]

YEAH!

[@jo__anna6252]

“how corn conquered the world” *asians choke on rice* asians: say SIKE right now

[@Mr-Ad-196]

Dang dats true.......RICE POWWWAAHHHH!!!!!!

[@edukid1984]

But corn DID conquer Asia. China's the world's 2nd largest producer. And import huge amount to feed livestock for meat. Just sayin'.

[@tarafderpriyam1509]

@@edukid1984 China is also workd's largest producer of rice

[@haroldreginald970]

Beans: say sike rn

[@vidhatrimysoor9385]

@HGB 1 India is in Asia??

[@OrlandoMGarcia]

Some historical fact that may be not being read but i hope those who do like it : In México arround 1880s Eulogio Gregorio Gillow (archbishop) had a estate in Chautla and as a well cultured man introduced several machines to produce and extract corn and wheat on his fields, between those machines there was an industrial corn sheller (desgranadora?) that was prized in the 1876 Philadelphias Centennial world expo, unfortunately when he tried to put it to work in his estate the machine broke and was abandoned in a barn. Few years later a group of 80 or so high caliber american tourists arrived in Veracruz and to give them a proper welcome who better that the multicultured Eulogio Gillow, he talked about everything of México specially agriculture and lifestock also his british accent make it all more entertaining. He convinced abouth half of them to visit his estate in Chautla where he would treat them as proper guests, between them there was a producer of agricultural machines and equipment. Who was baffled on why he wouldn’t use the corn sheller in the barn that would make the work hundreds of times faster that by hand. He was informed that the machine didn’t work and so he insisted on repairing the machine. He put his mechanic clothes and worked on the machine, but then even if it was fine it didn’t work; the reason, the grain in México was to thick and didn’t pass throught the rollers of the machine. After that situation Gillow was very happy because of the lesson he would give to those tourists that think they could judge México by the American Standards he said -Gentleman not everything that works in US gives results in México. I will gift this sheller to the Smithsonian Institute, but i want you to put a big sign over the machine that says in big letters: “This machine, Prized with golden medal in the Exposition of Philadelphia, results extremely useless for México”-. This story is featured on the prologue of “México tierra de volcanes” by Joseph H.L. Shlarman

[@thatdude3977]

So a white dude bragging about Native land and Native taught agriculture 😂 right... cool story bro, stay humble

[@OrlandoMGarcia]

@@thatdude3977 i dont understand what are you trying to say, could you pls expand on it :D

[@jannettelancasterjones4541]

Congratulations !!! what an amazing videos I love them

[@Alkalus]

Britain 🇬🇧: 1/4th of the world is mine! Corn: Allow me to introduce myself...

[@flawyerlawyertv7454]

Loll

[@w4nn4-cry58]

Every other plant we farm: “excuse me?”

[@jeffreyfletcher1780]

1:01 I am learning that dude's dance moves to use at the first party once the Pandemic is over.

[@CeaselessWatcher5818]

The puns at the end, tho. Also the maize of tiem :v Well done, Ted ed, well done 👏🏼👏🏼

[@user-zw4uu7bb9t]

the title should've been "How Corn CORNquered The World"

[@flickeey]

Yeah it should have! 😂

[@ahistoryfanatic5683]

@Owen Tuggle corny indeed

[@carolinagamezcadena4372]

It would've been perfect

[@domib.3924]

No.

[@ispeakforthetrees69]

This pun was freaking a-MAIZE-ing.

[@itsashray4060]

You're amazing ted-ed. Keep this trend of infotainment continued.

[@rahuljosephkickyourass]

a-maize-ing

[@user-kl2zs3kp7d]

Amazing thank you

[@changedfornoreason8199]

One of the products of corn is chaff(silage)it's used to feed cows also harvesting it requires 1 special machine forge harvester,when it reaches special amount of height and growth it's harvested of course after it's harvested it's unloaded farmers cover it with najlon after some time chaff turns from green to brown and then they give chaff to cows also silage can be made with grass...

[@RamdomView]

Another factor in corn expansion is the fact corn fixes carbon differently than most crops. Maize uses the "C4" pathway of photosynthesis as opposed to the "C3" pathway the majority of plants use. This process is much more efficient in water usage - C4 plants lose/transpire about a third the water C3 plants do. The difference is that the majority of plants directly expose the carbon-fixing enzyme RuBisCo to the atmosphere to fix carbon dioxide onto a two-carbon molecule to make a 3-carbon molecule. This, however, also exposes RuBisCo to oxygen, which can also fit in the reaction site and cause photorespiration. Oxygen in RuBisCo causes the plant to *lose* carbon, with the benefit of being better able to internally cycle/preserve nitrogen. Maize by contrast, first has carbon fixed into a 3-carbon molecule to make a 4-carbon organic acid by a *different* set of enzymes that are more specific to carbon dioxide. This acid is then passed to different cells with active RuBisCo that have been somewhat insulated from oxygen, reducing photorespiration losses. Reduced photorespiration may be the reason corn has such a demand for nitrogen input.

[@welkina.7537]

Love it !

[@brinistaco1970]

That is a very informed comment. It isn't everyday that you run across a comment that is by an expert.

[@borhex]

4:28 this cow is looking into my soul

[@thesecret6019]

Here in India, corn is cultivated for making corn chips and roasted sweet corn seasoned with mixture of salt & chilli powder(non-spicy) & lemon juice. So sweet & soured 😋🌽👌

[@tragicallyhoney]

It originated in Mexico and corn chips are originally called tortilla chips.

[@ariquinn8052]

We need history teachers to show us videos like this

[@warsameadam5572]

I'm amaized !

[@flawyerlawyertv7454]

Lol

[@sergiovarela8724]

I remember when i was 4-12 years old and helped my grandma to "debullar" (separate the grains of corn using your hands) and i would end filling a basket with around 10 kg of it. After that i always put my arms inside until reaching the elbow and start removing them i loved that feeling.

[@kaisen531]

You sure did help me with my project

[@dustone8542]

1:30 No one: European: "BE GONE DEMON!!"

[@thestudygirl8302]

😂😂😂

[@benperkins5443]

I did not wake up today expecting to become invested in corn. Thank you TED-Ed, very cool!

[@blakedavenport827]

From the first 3 sentences, I’m hooked!

[@IMAVG]

Me: Sees this video “Hey interesting I’ll watch it later” Accidentally looks up just corn* *HI MY NAME IS CORN CORNELIOUS CORNWALL*

[@pougamer3]

come down to try some corn or we will sacrifice your newborn A

[@dominikdurkovsky8318]

🎵Come down today and try some corn🎵

[@saga2795]

Nobody: Me: reads title _And then the corn nation attacked_

[@Tatiana-jt9hd]

I read that in the avatar boy's voice

[@BigattckFirecat]

What we thought as a planet become a living being bent on ruling the world.

[@Kurorito]

Corn enter chat room: I CORNQUERED THE WORLD Potato: hold ma aquavit Rice: let them fight

[@haroldreginald970]

Beans: Amateurs

[@774game]

Nice video! Amaizing!

[@sparshshakya7203]

I wasn’t ready for the twist in the end😭

[@sakeriyasaleh4820]

I love the opening sound

[@antoniogonzalez4466]

Corns going to evolve and take over the world

[@evelyn-lr5kp]

*Video:* "A single virus could effect the worlds supply" *Also video:* posted Nov 26, 2019 a MONTH before corona was found

[@blandconcrete4950]

yikes

[@rueben524]

Wow

[@BlueMysteryGaming]

Looks like the world's supply of humans is going to drop

[@terner1234]

they meant a corn(a) virus

[@atruv2089]

4:42 2020: Wonderful idea!

[@luqmanwaqiuddin7543]

"A single virus could infect the world's supply of this ubiquitous crop" Southeast Asians who eat rice: Huh... Okay...

[@3452te]

Ah yes...Corn. The most invincible and powerful grain known to all. It is in cereal, syrup, and popcorn. Nothing cannot stop its tastyness.

[@gabrielahanrahan2382]

Corn is important to the world we need, I like to eat popcorn and canned with buttered with it, yum!

[@ramyakiran5610]

love your videos

[@lizapiashko9105]

*This* is the video that I chose to watch at 4am

[@akat3628]

For more info on corn, I recommend the documentary King Corn.

[@shitlordflytrap1078]

corn

[@snowcold5932]

0:15 Belgium: REVENGE IS SWEET

[@SMARTAgriTech]

It's a great information...

[@AufWiedersehen550]

Awww! Thank you!

[@nikkola84]

1:54 The flag is like: woowo weeee!

[@zur137]

I was going to make a joke, but I don’t want it to be corny.

[@creamclips2071]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAA

[@lari393]

I loved the ending 😂

[@fragolegirl2002]

1:33 lol 😂 change of heart now they like corn

[@claudiaplazas]

Omg the cheese puns 😂❤

[@jojojonine]

Wait I‘m from Belgium so am I suddenly from germany now?

[@juanlasthope3847]

That was a nice pun at the end, king ;)

[@norainnoflowers1551]

“The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan goes into great detail about the history behind corn domestication. (or rather, corn’s domestication of humankind) definitley recommend his book to walk you through the in-depth history of corn’s development in agriculture. how legal and fiscal policy changes to accommodate corn until it got to a point where US farmer’s livelihoods were crippled without gov subsidies for growing excess corn.

[@Tapanitseini]

Thanks for the History of 🌽

[@i_smoke_ghosts]

this was actually aMAZEing really tho it was

[@kaitouknight3428]

Everyone: Jokes about corn Me: Where is Rob from SMG4 at?

[@ScatSRT]

this is helpful a lot

[@AlexMartinez-dc4pe]

Should you eat corn that has fallen off the stalk? Maize well!

[@unwantedmacguffin5611]

I just wanna say *Maize Maze*

[@wesleycook6311]

I love the different styles of artwork for dif sections like the ancient mesoamerica

[@combatwombat2679]

The history of food series is great

[@Julses12]

En México todavía hay una gran variedad de maíz local.

[@ogreboi2954]

Im a CORN-querer! Haha! Get it!!? Kill me

[@chanquanpham3216]

Great corn video, i corn wait to get the corn out and treat myself to a basket of yellow corn :))))

[@nosyposy7448]

this video is amaizeing!

[@shrug1250]

0:46 this means corn maze, maze corn, maze maze, and corn corn are the same thing. *Woah*

[@shrug1250]

I know I spelled maize wrong, it’s a *joke*

[@YouzACoopa]

you're high, mr potato

[@LIP.]

So interesting! Thanks for giving me a lot of information about corns, it helps a lot!

[@Little-rb6rb]

[@Uncle228]

Very interesting

[@gih7991]

so good

[@ruben4788]

Not to mention that u can make Arepas out of corn flour, that's one of the principal reasons why corn is the best crop.

[@noahramirez8501]

And tortillas, gorditas, tlayudas, tamales, mulitas

[@HugoSanchez-eb2pz]

Gorditas>arepas

[@shahusardar2762]

Remember everyone's favorite animation HISTORY THROUGH EYES OF A CHICKEN

[@pmp91193]

I want that corn clock. seriously.

[@cerafiejohnguibang-guibang8535]

Ted ed: *Uploads this at 3am* Me: *I DONT NEED SLEEP, I NEED ANSWERS*