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Nothing slows teamwork down faster than someone who selectively follows rules.

So, what would you do if a coworker urgently needed parts from your department to avoid delaying a time-sensitive test, but when you offered to swap parts, they cited a reason why that wouldn’t work? Would you give them what they need? Or would you turn their reason around on them?

In the following story, one employee finds himself in this predicament and decides to cite the same reason. Here’s what happened.

“Please use the proper channels” alright bet

A few days ago, Colleague Y approached me (Colleague Z).

“Colleague X has a time-sensitive test he needs me to run, we need parts, but dont have any in-house. If we order them, they’ll arrive too late and push back a lot of work, so Colleague X said I should ask you if you have any we could have?”

I tell Colleague Y that I will check my project area and bring him some if I have any. I then ask if Colleague X has ordered any yet.

He found the parts and sent an email.

He says, “Yes, but they will be arriving too late.”

One day later, I’m added to the email chain and add: “Colleague X, I have two of the parts you’ve requested, and I understand how time sensitive this test is. I’ll bring Colleague Y’s parts you need, and let’s swap? When your ordered parts arrive, you won’t need them anymore, so I’ll take them off your hands because the parts I’m giving you will then be useless after you’ve run your test.”

At this point, he couldn’t believe his ears.

Colleague X replies, “Thanks for the parts. As for the new parts, Im not responsible for ordering parts for your department, please use the proper channels.”

… What an interesting development.

I reply, “Hello Colleague X, Colleague Y informed me you needed 2 parts to run a test. Unfortunately, I’m not responsible for ordering parts for your department. Please use the proper channels – Good luck, Colleague Z.”

Too funny! The colleague didn’t see that coming!

Let’s check out if the folks over at Reddit have ever dealt with anything similar.

This reader thinks X should be fired.

Well, okay, then.

It sure does!

According to this person, X may not understand what inventory means.

He handled that perfectly!

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.

Pexels/Reddit

It’s always awkward when you overhear a conversation you weren’t meant to hear.

So when one woman eavesdropped on her father discussing her mother’s appearance to her buddies, she was completely thrown off.

Was this normal behavior, or a warning sign that the marriage was at risk?

Keep reading for the full story.

AITAH if I mention to my dad that I heard him talking to his friends about my mom

My mother has always been considered a very attractive woman. She’s very down to earth, but people have always complimented her on her looks, and I think as a result it became part of her identity.

Lately, though, her appearance has begun to change.

Over the last few years, she has had some weight fluctuation. Nothing major — 10 pounds or so, up or down from time to time. It’s bothered her and generally affected her mood, though.

My dad has been very supportive, saying he likes her at all weights she’s been.

He seems to know what to say to reassure his wife.

He’s mentioned that if she adds 10 pounds, she gets some extra curves in the chest and hips. If she loses it, she looks athletic and great.

But then she overheard him talking with his friends.

I overheard him having that conversation about her with two close guy friends of his on our deck the other day.

It was very matter of fact — talking about her body fluctuations and her emotional reactions to it.

His friends seemed to be supportive as well, but she still got the creeps from the whole ordeal.

His buddies were very open about it, agreeing she looks great at whatever weight, even mentioning how she looked in a swimsuit two weeks prior.

Openly talking her up and discussing her body.

Is this typical behavior for grown men talking about their wives?

AITA if I mention to my dad that I heard this? I honestly don’t know if this is weird or fully normal.

Revealing that you’ve eavesdropped on someone may not get the best reaction.

What did Reddit think?

This user seems to think she’s crossed a line here.

Much like asking for advice in an online forum, some people need input from their friends.

Maybe it’s best to mind her own business here.

Confessing about the eavesdropping could just make things unnecessarily complicated.

This conversation was still pretty wholesome by most people’s standards.

Sometimes you just have to leave well enough alone.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.

Pexels/Reddit

You know gifts are about the thought that counts…but what if the thought is “clean out my junk drawer”?

For her birthday (while 20 weeks pregnant, no less) she received a neatly tied Dollar Tree bag filled with what can only be described as questionable items: expired baby meds, half-used soap, a chewed-up baby gadget, decade-old lotion, and a bottle…without a top.

Sure, there were clothes too, but not her style, not her size, and not exactly screaming “I picked this out for you.”

And the kicker? This isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a pattern. Read on for the story.

AITAH for being upset about receiving literal garbage as a birthday gift?

Background; have been with my husband for 6 years, and his mom hoards literal junk. Their house is stuffed full of junk that is never used and is just collecting dust.

My issue comes with my birthday being yesterday. Important to note i’m 20 weeks pregnant with my first baby.

She gave me a dollar tree bag tied up filled with various items. I didn’t get around to opening it until today, and i’m actually annoyed.

Uh oh…

The contents include, expired baby medications, a half used trial size of baby soap,a box of baby frida wind passer that looks like it’s been chewed on by a rat, at least decade old bottle of baby lotion, a tween perfume, and a dr browns baby bottle no top.

Oh and a V neck shirt (don’t wear v necks? she knows this) and a new hanes pair of shorts that were honestly probably for her based on the size (XL) and she didn’t like.

Literally everything but the clothes could be considered garbage. This isn’t a new thing, she is constantly giving us actual garbage.

Wowwww.

When my husband and I were sick she dropped off a bag of expired medications. Before this most recent blizzard she dropped off a box of old candy from her desk at work.

Am I supposed to be thankful for getting this stuff? because honestly it feels like a slap in the face.

My husband told me that her actions aren’t malicious and she’s just a cheap person and this is how she’s always been.

Doesn’t make it any better.

Is this some kind of mental disorder thing?

It’s probably because i’m pregnant that this is bothering me so badly, but it hurts.

I’m not a garbage can. That isn’t a birthday gift. AITA?

Many pointed out that intent doesn’t erase impact, and it’s reasonable to feel hurt when a gift feels more like discarded clutter than something chosen with care.

This person says it’s all mental and not personal.

This person agrees.

This person suggests just throwing it away and moving on.

Bottom line is if it belongs in the trash, it probably shouldn’t come with a birthday bow.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.

TikTok/@cvazzana

Well, this is…different.

A fashion influencer named Caroline took to TikTok and showed folks the cube jeans that she got…

And they are really something…

TikTok/@cvazzana

Caroline showed viewers her cube jeans and said, “They are literally a giant box.”

And she wasn’t lying!

TikTok/@cvazzana

Caroline added, “I’m not even sure how you put these on.”

She also showed viewers the belt that came with the unusual jeans.

TikTok/@cvazzana

Check out the video.

@cvazzana

They are like a big box!! #unboxing #maximalism #fyp #TikTokFashion #fancynancy

♬ original sound – Caroline Vazzana

And here’s a video of Caroline walking down the street wearing the cube jeans.

You gotta see this, folks!

@cvazzana

Outfit of the day!! #OOTD #maximalism #fyp #TikTokFashion #fancynancy

♬ original sound – Caroline Vazzana

Here’s what folks had to say on TikTok.

This person didn’t hold back…

Another viewer spoke up.

And this TikTokker was shocked.

That is one very unusual fashion statement!

Now that you’ve read that story, check out this one about a delivery driver who took a $400 grocery order back because she wasn’t given a tip.

Shutterstock, Reddit

When you work for a company for a while, they often don’t realize just how much value your experience brings to the table.

What would you do if your company fired you for no real reason, and told you that they would just hire someone new and move on?

That is what happened to the worker in this story, but then he got hired directly by the company’s biggest clients, causing them to lose a massive contract.

Got fired and was told that I’m easily replaceable. So I fixed that.

At my old company a guy was fired for harassment.

What is going on at this company?

The week after that, I was fired for harassment.

Someone put in a retaliatory complaint against me thinking I was the one that got the guy from the week before fired. I didn’t.

HR just wants to protect the company.

HR was very vague when they fired me and showed no proof. Said they would just replace the two of us and move on.

I handled our largest client. Did all their projects. After I got fired, client called me with some usual questions and I told them I was fired and didn’t work there anymore.

Not his problem anymore.

Heard through the grapevine my old company struggled to keep up on the work load, even though they hired one person.

Two weeks later I get a call from the client. They want to hire me in-house and stop subcontracting old company.

This is working out quite well.

I never sent them an application or interviewed with them, they just asked me to come in to discuss an offer.

This client was my old company’s highest paying client. About $60k in billables a month. And since client hired me, they lost that contract.

Sadly, the old company still won’t learn their lesson.

Gladly took the offer and now old company doesn’t have to worry about replacing me.

If companies knew the value of their top employees, they wouldn’t fire them so quickly.

Let’s see what the people in the comments say about this story.

Yes, so kind!

These policies hurt everyone.

Sorry HR, that’s not how this works.

HR is just there for the company.

I hope he could too.

So much for being easy to replace.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.

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The universe is a remarkable place. Not just because it is so big or because it contains so many things (including us), but also because it is able to sustain life.

Here on Earth, it is easy to assume that life is nothing special. We see it all over the place. Life even thrives in vastly different conditions here on our planet, ranging from very hot to very cold, on the surface to deep underground, and everywhere in between.

For life here on Earth to be possible, however, the conditions in the universe itself must be such that life could be possible. This is where the scientific and philosophical idea of a ‘fine-tuned’ universe comes in.

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At this point, scientists only have evidence that life can exist in a place where there is water, carbon molecules, energy, and certain other factors. While it is possible that there are other scenarios where life can evolve, it is not known.

There are a variety of cosmological ‘constants’ that would make life as we know it (and quite possibly, life in general) impossible.

For example, if the strength of electromagnetic interactions were just slightly stronger or weaker, stars would not create carbon (or many other elements), which would eliminate all known types of life.

If the strength of gravity were a little different, the universe would either collapse in on itself or planets would never come into an orbit around the sun, which also dramatically reduces the chances of life developing.

There are quite a few other ‘settings’ for the universe that indicate that it is fine-tuned for life as we know it, and perhaps, for life itself.

But what does that really mean? What is the explanation for this?

There could be quite a few.

For many, the fine-tuned concept is evidence that there is a god or some type of higher entity that created the universe in such a way as to ensure it can support life. This could be any number of gods, a completely unknown god, an extra-cosmic being, or even a kid playing with an advanced simulator that set up our universe in a game.

Another potential explanation comes from the multiverse theory. If there are a massive or even infinite number of universes, each with different configurations, then even if our universe is fine-tuned for life, it wouldn’t mean much. There may be one universe that can support life out of every trillion.

Since no life could be in the other universes, nobody would be there to ask why.

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A related explanation is that universes spawn other universes through black holes. If a universe can create both life and black holes, the ‘sub-universe’ it spawns would be able to as well.

In the end, while the concept of a fine-tuned universe is interesting and important, it doesn’t give us any definitive answers. It does, however, prompt the asking of many new questions, which in the world of science can be just as important.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.

Pexels/Reddit

Some people just can’t keep their opinions to themselves, no matter what.

So, how would you react if you were ringing up groceries and speaking to customers as you always do, when a random lady suddenly starts lecturing you about not saying thank you the “right” way? Would you brush it off? Or would you feel the need to rant because you can’t understand the behavior?

In the following story, a young woman finds herself in this situation and can’t believe the nerve of the woman.

A rude entitled customer tried to teach me a lesson when I didn’t need it (it was unnecessary) and she tried to make a big deal out of it

So I’ve been working at a grocery store for over 4 years, and I would say I’m pretty good at my job.

I am very introverted, but when it comes to work, I try to be more extroverted.

I would say my conversations with customers are pretty normal, with a “Hello,” “How are you?” “You’re welcome,” “Thank you,” etc…

As a cashier, it sometimes gets tiring because you’re basically doing the same thing over and over.

Apparently, this woman didn’t like her interaction with a customer.

So this middle-aged lady came through my till. She seemed polite and such, so I thought this transaction with her would be the same as the others.

As I was finishing with another customer (let’s call them Mark), Mark said, “Thank you,” and I replied, “You’re welcome.”

All of a sudden, she comes up to me and says, “You don’t say thank you to your customers? You know this business is a customer-driven business, right?”

In my mind, I’m like, “Welp, this shift just turned into a bad shift,” but I replied, “I will keep that in mind, thank you,” and I continued ringing up other customers’ stuff.

She came up with her own comeback.

I guess she didn’t like my reply, and she had to come back and say, “You never learn, do you?”

At this point, I am annoyed because I know what I am doing, and I don’t need her lecture (if I wanted a lecture, I would’ve asked my professor for it).

I replied, “Ma’am, everyone has their own way of doing things.”

Now, she just can’t understand why people act like this.

She walked off, and for some reason, she walked back into the store, which im guessing was to complain to one of my coworkers or something.

How is it okay to talk to someone like this when they are working?

I honestly find it fascinating how this lady got the courage to give me a lecture on how I should act. Like, do they have nothing better to do than to find the mistakes of others and try to teach them a lesson?

Before the shift, I was praying that I wouldn’t get any rude customers, but turns out today was the day that I got a bad egg lol.

Yikes! It sounds as if she likes putting her nose where it doesn’t belong.

Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit think about the customer.

This person doesn’t like customers like that either.

A lady yelled at this woman when she was pregnant.

As a cashier, this person would get yelled at, too.

These are nice words.

There will always be people like that.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.

Pexels/Reddit

Easter candy has a way of disappearing fast, but usually not straight into a parent’s room without asking.

When a teen’s mother helped herself to her daughter’s entire jar of sweets during a family gathering and the teen simply took it back the next day, what followed was an explosive argument that could have been avoided altogether.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITAH for eating my own Easter candy

I am 17, and all the adults are over 50.

So over Easter, we had a braai, I baked a cake, and my father and grandparents brought me some Easter goodies — some gummies and chocolate.

Things got a little rowdy.

During the braai on Saturday, all the adults got really drunk (I don’t and never will drink), and of course, we were eating all the sweets and chocolate.

My mother decided she was going to bed early, and she took my entire jar of sweets — I didn’t notice until the next day.

But when she took the jar back, her mother had a very extreme reaction.

So in the morning, I saw my jar of sweets on the table, so without thinking much of it, I took it and went to my room to munch and watch some YouTube while I recovered from the previous night.

My mother came in with a rage, insulting me for eating my own sweets, commenting on my weight, and complaining about how I took the jar.

She begins questioning if she’s really in the wrong for eating something that was rightfully hers.

To me, this is not that big of a deal — I would’ve shared today if she had asked.

I shared yesterday, and the sweets were already stated as mine.

I feel bad now. I don’t think I’m the AH, but she is hungover and upset, and I did take it without asking, and I said sorry a few times.

AITA?

This isn’t the way adults should be behaving.

What did Reddit think?

It seems very clear to this commenter where the blame lies.

There are clearly much bigger issues at play here.

A simple jar of Easter candy is not worth screaming about like this.

This commenter has a word of advice to the mother.

It’s hard when things don’t go like you planned!

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.

Shutterstock, Reddit

When you get hired for a job, as long as you can perform the job well, your boss should be happy.

What would you do if your boss fired you and said that it was because you were too fat, even though your job was as a secretary sitting at the front desk?

That is what happened to the woman in this story, and she is upset that she lost her job when she was performing it well.

I got fired for the way my body looks

Here’s some relevant information, I’m a 22F, my boss is 40sM.

Ok, this shouldn’t matter at work.

I am 5’2 and weight approximately 200 lbs. I wear a size 14-16 for reference. I am definitely overweight.

My job? Administrative assistant.

She can definitely perform the job duties.

I sit at a desk, answer phone calls and emails and help with the day to day functions of the company.

Has my size inhibited by ability to do my job? No. Absolutely not.

Is this even legal?

His reasoning?

I just don’t have the look and he doesn’t want me representing his company with the way I currently look.

I really doubt that this is legal, depending on where it is located. She should look into getting an attorney.

Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say about the situation.

Sadly, bad managers get away with a lot.

This is so hurtful.

Wow, I can’t believe this is legal.

Yup, he is a horrible boss.

If she’s doing the job well, she doesn’t deserve to be fired.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.

Pexels/Reddit

Some workplaces can really eat up your energy!

This guy shares how he got into trouble at work for auditing his boss’s son.

Check out the full story. 

AITAH for auditing my boss’s son and his best friend?

I am the state director of compliance for our company. I got a quarterly report from one of my compliance managers, and the scores for training for a couple of the sites were pretty bad.

I called her and asked what had happened, and she told me she had asked for training files for employees, it took them days to get them to her, and when she tried to ask about why there were issues, the trainer couldn’t really give her an answer about what was going on.

This is where it gets bad…

I asked her if she had talked to the training manager (boss’s son) and she said she didn’t because she didn’t really see him there.

I told her I would talk with him to see if we could get more information because it definitely seemed like something was going on, and I wanted to make sure we had the whole story.

She agreed.

I called him, explained the situation, and asked if we could go over the findings together to see what was going on before the report was finalized and sent out to everyone.

UH OH…

He initially agreed, but then every time I tried to meet with him, he bailed on me last minute, eventually just saying to send him a list of the issues and he would look into it.

I sent him the list, and he handed me the files to look at on my own.

The only thing wrong with her report was there were some things that weren’t filed yet because they were switching to an electronic record system, and they didn’t want to print and file something that was going to have to be uploaded anyways.

Which made complete sense.

He wasn’t expecting that…

I tried to follow up with the training manager about the issues that were there, and he just brushed me off, saying it is what it is, and he understood there were problems. We finalized our report and submitted it.

Later on, one of the other state directors asked me about a report that was done by the compliance manager I don’t supervise (his best friend).

I talked to my boss about it, and she asked me to look into it and get back with her. The complaint was right.

There were things they had until the end of the month to do, but she did her review in the middle of the month, and whatever they hadn’t done by that time, she hit them for.

That’s INSANE!

I called my boss and told her what I found, and she lost it. She went off about how I pick and choose what I want to pay attention to. She then brought up the issue with training, and said that no one talked to them about anything.

I tried to tell her what had happened, but she just kept talking over me about how it wasn’t done the right way. I just got off the phone with her as quickly as I could.

Ever since that conversation, just about every day has been a melt down over those two things. We had a regional meeting, and she had an absolute meltdown about the training situation in front of everyone.

She said it was our fault that they had deficiencies two quarters in a row, and we should be ashamed.

I honestly don’t know what I did wrong. But she is adamant that I am the problem. Am I the AH here?

YIKES! That sounds so frustrating!

Why didn’t he take any action against her?

Let’s find out what folks on Reddit think about this one.

This user suggests documenting everything as evidence!

This user knows that the boss knows something!

This user believes the boss is being really unethical

This user knows what boss’s idea of compliance is!

This user thinks this guy is at fault and not the boss.

The internet seems divided on this one!

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.

Pexels/Reddit

Food has a way of keeping people close long after they are gone, but only if someone bothers to follow the recipe.

When a woman’s mom took over her late stepdad’s signature Easter dish and quietly started changing everything about it, what was supposed to feel like a tribute started feeling like an insult to his memory.

Keep reading for the full predicament.

WIBTAH if i asked my mom not to make my stepdads recipe anymore

My stepdad passed away 2 years ago.

For Easter dinner, he always made his Italian family’s “secret” recipe for Swiss steak.

This had become a cherished tradition for her.

It’s always been a special dinner for me because he would make a big production about acting like he didn’t want to make it and making me ask for it several times.

It just became a way for us to have a small, close connection.

He also always made it a little sweet, because he knows I like sugar.

So when someone else started making the recipe, she wasn’t a fan.

My mom made it last year and this year, and it’s not the same.

She changes the recipe.

She hates sugar and thinks it’s bad, so she either uses stevia or puts less sugar in it.

Then her mom really strayed from the recipe.

And this year, she put bell peppers in it — she knows I don’t like bell peppers, and I know they aren’t part of his recipe.

She said she used the peppers because she didn’t have anything else, but I know she was at the store Thursday buying everything for the dinner — so why not get the right vegetables?

But that’s not all she despises about her mom’s recipe.

Finally, whatever she’s doing, the sauce is more thick like tomato paste instead of sauce that can be poured over the mashed potatoes.

I just don’t want to eat her version again next year.

Somehow, this unfaithful adaption of the recipe just makes her loss feel even more pronounced.

It makes me sad that he’s gone, and that this is the last thing we have left — and she just won’t follow the recipe.

She knows how much it meant to both of us.

So, WIBTAH if I ask for something else for next year’s Easter dinner?

She can’t stomach even one more botched Swiss steak recipe.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter suggests she should just start making it herself.

It’s time for a little heart-to-heart with her mom.

Practice makes perfect — especially with something like cooking.

There’s a way to go about this delicately.

Maybe it’s time to accept that, with her stepdad gone, this dish may never be exactly the same again.

A different dish could save a lot of grief at the next Easter gathering.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.

Freepik/Reddit

Some customers can’t handle bad news in a professional way.

In this story, an employee who works in a call center sometimes has to deliver bad news to customers.

She noticed a pattern in what certain female customers do, thinking this tactic would change the news.

But no matter what they do, she stands firm on giving the same news.

Check out the full details below.

“I’m going to give you to my husband”

Does anyone else work in a call center environment and find it kind of funny when you call and speak to a woman?

And you are actually giving her bad news?

You tell her what she does not want to hear.

This employee would sometimes be stopped mid-conversation.

Then, she just stops talking mid-conversation and says:

“Hold on, I’m giving you to my husband.”

He then gets on the line and talks violently to you in a threatening manner as if you are going to cave and give him what he wants.

But that’s fine, because she doesn’t tolerate it.

You can put your husband, your daddy, your grandpappy, whoever on the line, ma’am. Whatever I am telling you remains the same.

If you need to get your husband on the line to raise his voice and talk over me, I am a woman.

That is fine. You may tolerate it, but I certainly will not.

Let’s see how others reacted to this story on Reddit.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

This person can relate, too.

Here’s a valid point.

Lol. Here’s an idea…

Finally, just keep doing your job, says this person.

Putting your husband on the phone doesn’t magically change the news.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.

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In many ways, evolution is pretty random. There are genetic changes throughout generations of species due to untold numbers of factors, which can cause some results that nobody could predict.

On the other hand, evolution is really good at ensuring that the traits that survive are useful in some ways.

This is especially true when there are examples of convergent evolution, which is when a specific trait evolves in more than one species entirely separately.

For example, eyes have evolved in most animals. The ability to see had to evolve in mammals separately from, for example, insects.

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In this example, it is easy to see (pun intended) the benefits. Just about every species of animal will have an advantage if it is able to visualize the world around it.

When it comes to mushrooms producing psilocybin (the chemical responsible for hallucinations), however, the evolutionary benefit is not as clear.

The ability to make psilocybin has been documented in at least two entirely unrelated types of mushrooms, however, which is very strong evidance that it isn’t there by ‘mistake.’ Instead, it is almost certain that this trait developed to provide the mushroom a very significant survival advantage.

Scientists who study mushrooms have widely agreed that the survival advantage has to do with deterring the insects that would otherwise eat the mushroom.

Some have suggested that the psilocybin caused a reduced pupation rate for flies, which meant fewer of them eating the mushrooms. Others have said that since the chemical likely causes hallucinations in insects, it may make them more vulnerable to their predators, which also helps to keep their population under control.

A new study, which has yet to be peer reviewed, however, calls much of this into question. The study is available on bioRxiv.

The team of researchers found that wild-growing ‘magic mushrooms’ had RNA sequences for hundreds of different insect proteins, which meant that the insects were all over them, and certainly didn’t avoid them as a meal.

In addition, the bulk of the protein sequences came from fungus gnats, which are known to be a big problem for mushrooms. If the chemical really was a defense mechanism, it wasn’t doing a good job.

They also took Psilocybe cyanescens (a species of mushroom that produces psilocybin) and put it in a jar. Then they had a non-psilocybin-producing mushroom and put it in another jar. The mushrooms were collected from the same area.

After a few days, the team noticed gnat larvae in the jar and then adult flies emerging after about two weeks in both cases.

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While this is a small sample, it does indicate that the psilocybin is not reducing the reproduction rate or survival rate of one of the most significant threats to its survival.

If it turns out that this chemical does not serve as a deterrent, researchers will be back to the drawing board when it comes to figuring out why it has evolved at least twice in mushrooms.

If you found that story interesting, learn more about why people often wake up around 3 AM and keep doing it for life.