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James M. Cook: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from James M. Cook, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• Almost every fig species has exactly one wasp species that alone can pollinate it

  Fig trees and fig wasps have co-evolved in pairs for tens of millions of years: a female wasp squeezes into a fig so tight she often loses her wings and antennae getting in, pollin…

  — James M. Cook, Jean-Yves Rasplus, Mutualists with Attitude: Coevolving Fig Wasps and Figs

• A British expedition sailed to Tahiti just to watch a dot cross the sun

  In 1769, Captain James Cook's first Pacific voyage carried a specific scientific mission: observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti as part of a worldwide effort to triangulate the …

  — James Cook, The Journals of Captain James Cook

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