You’ll never guess what the Random Object Randomogrifier gave me to draw this morning!
Sketch & Coffee, Live! is streamed daily at 5:30am, Texas Time, at the YouTubes
It was broccoli. Or as I like to call it, yuckoli. We started with the obvious, my deep mistrust of little green trees and my firm belief that people who claim to love broccoli are just in it for the cheese and or sauce.
The science didn’t help its case. Broccoli is no wild child of nature; it’s a cultivated member of the mustard family, bred into existence thousands of years ago alongside other bitter relatives like cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, and collard greens. The Romans were making mustard long before broccoli showed up, grinding seeds into paste with grape juice. I DO like cabbage rolls and bierocks, but broccoli is where I draw the line.
We also dove into the “supertaster” story from the 1930s, when chemist Arthur Fox discovered that some folks taste bitterness far more intensely. There’s even evidence linking this to Neanderthal DNA, which I’ve happily claimed as my excuse. President George H.W. Bush famously declared his dislike for broccoli, and the numbers back me up: China consumes 10.5 million metric tons a year, India 9.5 million, while the U.S. only manages 1.3 million. The math says it’s population, not palate, that makes them eat more. So no matter what the stats say, I’m still keeping my no-broccoli rule at home.
Click here to watch the Broccoli episode
Also, if you or a teacher friend are in need of a 20-30 minute lesson on broccoli, feel free tu download this free lesson plan
Leave a Reply