Kudzu: The Vine That Just Won't Stop | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. welcome to stuff you should know a. production of iHeart. [Music]. Radio hey and welcome to the podcast I'm. Josh there's Chuck and Jerry's here too. and we're just hanging out in the South. here on stuff you should. know yep that's right and today. everybody we're going to be talking. about something I've wanted to do an. episode on for a little while but I. forgot about it but now keeping a better.

list and this was uh farmed out to Dave. ruse who helped us with this one about. Kudzu which if you're from the United. States you probably know what it is if. you're from the American South you. definitely know what it is but if you. don't it is a perennial Vine uh that. very much thrives in the American South. and it is known as the vine that ate the. South because it is an invasive plant. from Japan that has really really really. uh thrived in the American South yeah.

it's taken on monstrous proportions as. far as Legend and rumor and just how. people walking around the South. generally think about and talk about. cudu yeah uh it's become kind of a part. of Southern identity for better for. worse but uh yeah we we'll get into it. because recent scholarship has found. scholarship on Kudzu yeah who' have. thought yeah um has found like we. actually don't think kudu is nearly as. prevalent as you guys say yeah and uh.

yeah the south is just kind of ignoring. that stuff for now yeah because it's. ours yeah but originally like you said. it was Japan's and China's I think it. was actually it's native to China um and. its uh scientific name is purera Montana. which makes it really confusing because. it's not from Montana neither is. Hannah no turns out she's from Tennessee. yeah that's right uh it is a part of the.

uh oh boy I always forget and someone. always tells us when it ends in C AE. what is it. say f a b a c e AE family um which means. it's a legume uh just like a pee or a. soybean uh they are all nitrogen fixers. which we're going to get to uh in a. little bit but it's wait it's a good. thing that it's a nitrogen fixer because. it helps soil. fertility um and it's the kind of thing.

that can grow in the peak of summer when. things are really hot and humid and. rainy and steamy can grow a foot a day. is what you usually here and I think. that's probably confirmed uh or about. you know 40 to 60 feet through a growing. season uh and because Southern Winters. are not so harsh uh they almost you know. if you're a mature Kudzu Vine you're. going to live through that winter and. just keep on growing yeah and grow and. grow and grow and the way that they grow. um they have uh hairs on them like.

poison ivy does but it doesn't help them. climb instead the very ends the very. Tippy tops of the Kudzu Vine is long. like long and thin tendrils and it will. wrap those tendrils around anything it. can possibly get its hands on um it. loves fences it loves guy wires that. hold up telephone poles oh yeah it loves. tree limbs anything that it can use to. support itself it will and it just. eventually overwhelms and takes over.

whatever it's attaching itself to. whether it's a barn whether it's some. poor unfortunate tree who's like what. did I do um it it just spreads and. covers everything and that's one of the. reasons the way that it grows is uh one. of the reasons why the south is just. like see kudu it's everywhere it just. takes over it's going to kill us all one. day yeah can't even see that billboard. anymore nope which is a shame because if. you can't see a billboard what's what. how is life worth living I know all.

right so uh if you wonder oh yeah but. what about this nasty eroded soil that's. just like Barren uh nothing can grow. there Kudzu can grow there who's. wondering that yeah uh and the reason. Kudzu can grow there one of the reasons. is not because it just climbs so fast. and grows so fast but uh it has an. energy store uh via this humongous tap. rout um a mature kudu root can be like. 12 feet long and weigh 400 pounds and.

these things are underground just it's. it's almost like the engine uh like. lying beneath the spine yeah or the gas. tank even I guess sure all right one of. the two maybe both maybe a gas tank. engine in one yeah throw it in a. catalytic inverter in your business so. um one of the things about cudu Vines. one of the reasons they're so um stable. as far as once they start growing. they're hard to get rid of is because uh. every once in a while I think every foot.

or so um when the vine touches the. ground it sends out roots and it. establishes what are called root crowns. and that's where it eventually grows. from Once the new root Crown is. established it starts sending out more. Vines and more and more and more and the. when you have all these root crowns. sending out Vines they become Tangled. like a tangled mat yeah a Thicket of. kudu vines that can be meters deep. essentially like you could get lost in.

one of these things yeah have you ever. tried to get rid of kudzu for any. reason not Kudzu but other pernicious. Vines yes all right never tried my hand. at cudu sounds hard yeah it's hard but. you know I I think any pernicious Vine. is Pretty Tough so sure you probably. know what it tastes like you know but. not literally although what a time to. talk about that because if you want to. go back to kudzu's roots in China. literal Roots did not even mean that um.

it has been a part of uh Chinese. traditional Chinese medicine for a. couple of thousand years they call it uh. Co or koshou and that root they make uh. root tea out of it and in Japan they eat. this stuff like not only has it been. used for medicine but uh that that that. root powder that they can make is used. in a lot of different foods in Japan. yeah it's a thickener so if you've had. Mochi it's possible that they use kudu. powder kudu starch at to make it make it.

the thick little delicious treat it is. or they'll use it to make noodles with. um it's also used in traditional. Japanese and Chinese medicine um they'll. use tea for things like colds and uh. digestion and then also um because. there's actual like health benefits or. at least it contains flavonoids that. have been shown to have health benefits. um they use it for things like. inflammation um cardiovascular disease.

osteoporosis um to protect against those. things not not to cure them or anything. yeah uh and while I mentioned that it's. koshu in China it is kuzu in Japan uh. and you might have heard various stories. if you're in the South you know there's. it's not like we're sitting around. talking about kudu all the time uh. that's a bit of a outdated Trope uh but. at some point if you like literally were. raised in uh here and lived here your. whole life you might have heard someone. at some point say something about like. how cudu got here uh and I remember.

hearing a story that was brought over as. part of a like a World's fair or. something and it had to have been this. story from. 1876 uh when it was brought over from. Japan on display at the Phil uh. Philadelphia Centennial Exposition um. but that is a bit of a a false rumor. because they actually destroyed all of. those plants that's not when Kudzu. literally took root here no um and then. uh within a few decades the people who. who were at that exposition and saw it.

apparently fell in love with it kudu. display was a huge hit uh and So within. a couple decades you could order seeds. kudu seeds to plant at your house so. funny to think about now yeah and people. would plant it as a an ornamental Vine. because it has purple flowers they smell. it smells like grape candy and lavender. um it can be pretty I could see how old. timey turn of the century people were. like this is great um but even then with. people planting the stuff at their. houses across the South that still.

wasn't when Kudzu invaded because they. were mostly growing it upright on. trellises on porches and Kudzu is easily. controlled in that situation it's when. it's on the ground as a ground cover. that it spreads like crazy and is really. hard to get rid of yeah for sure um when. it really came in Earnest was in the. 1930s and it was very much purposeful uh. this was a time when the uh I guess.

Oklahoma and Kansas and you know other. areas nearby were being uh killed by the. Dust Bowl um in the Deep South uh we. didn't have the Dust Bowl but we had a. pretty bad agricultural scene after. decades and Decades of uh mon uh. monoculture farming with corn basically. um tobacco and cotton and so we've. talked about monocultures before and how. that's not the best way to take care of. your land and eventually that soil is. not going to be great it's going to. erode it's going to be depleted. nutrients and kudu was looked at uh by.

the soil erosion surface uh service. surface service which later became the. soil conservation Service as the answer. in. 1933 yeah because so first of all it. grows vigorously everybody knows that. about cudu and it doesn't matter how. terrible the soil is it will grow in it. and then as it's growing in it you said. that it's a nitrogen fixing Superstar. and it is um nitrogen fix fixing plants.

all all plants fix nitrogen they bring. sugars to their Roots they feed microbes. that that eat the sugars and then the. microbes convert nitrogen from the. atmosphere into usable nitrogen that the. plants then take up so all plants have. that relationship with microbes it's. just nitrogen fixing plants are such. powerhouses and have such thriving. microbial communities that they put out. way more nitrogen into the soil than. they use themselves so as they grow they.

restore the soil with nutrients that had. been depleted and that's what kudu was. initially used for yeah so they were. like hey this stuff's great it'll slow. your erosion you're going to fix that. soil so good it's GNA get fixed up and. they said here's what we're going to do. we're going to create a government. program because those always work out. great and we're going to encourage. people to grow these things uh they had. millions of kuduo seeds uh brought in. and they grewed those into Little. Seedling plant and they paid farmers in.

the South eight bucks an acre to plant. Kudzu and by the mid1 1940s there were. about 3 million Acres of purposefully. planted Kudzu growing on southern farms. that's on the farms you also had the. Civilian Conservation Corps which was a. FDR program with a new deal uh when we. talked about it before when they were. like hey if you're unemployed come work. for the Civilian Conservation Corps and. uh you know we'll put you to work doing. things like this like hey just go plant.

any anywhere along the roadway where you. see a washed out Gully or if we're. clearing out uh land for roadways and. it's just a Barren uh dirty mess like. plant this Kudzu and you'll be doing. America a favor same with the railroads. like you don't want your um the bed that. your railroad's built on to wash out so. if you plant kudu on every side it'll. keep it from eroding plus it looks. prettier than a bunch of gravel right so. yeah um yeah this stuff started getting. planted everywhere uh and in addition to.

the government saying you guys want to. plant this go ahead we'll pay you there. were some evangelist uh evangelist is. like the best word to describe them and. one the guy who's probably most. prominently cited as a kudzu evangelist. is a guy named Channon cop yeah maybe we. should take a break and cliff hang that. one let's hang it everyone's like who. the heck is chanting cope gotta know I. gotta know guys you're gonna have to. wait all right we'll be right.

[Music]. back well now when you're on the road. driving in your truck why not learn a. thing or two from Josh and Chuck it's. stuff you should. know all right.

so Chuck uh you really messed with. everyone's mind I'm going to fulfill. their wishes and tell them that Chan and. cope was a farm editor for the Atlanta. Constitution newspaper Farm editor. what's that so it was a guy who would. edit farms and then the paper would take. pictures of him editing the farm and. they would publish it that was from what. I understand what the farm editor did. back in newspaper times oh okay um and. this was the 1940s and this guy guy was. a really from what I could tell I didn't.

do any deep research on him but he seems. to have been a very at least outwardly. likable fellow yeah um he had a huge. jovial personality he was super Homespun. he had a radio show in addition to his. column Channing cop's Almanac um and it. was really popular he would just riff. he'd broadcast live from his front porch. and it it was unprepared and he would. fill a half hour or an hour just talking. about Farm stuff and people loved it but.

in these in his column and on the radio. show he would invariably talk about how. amazing cudy was yeah he said that and. reform we need some reform in our. government right uh so he's doing this. radio show he's beating the drum for. Kudzu uh basically saying everything. that we've been saying which is like hey. it's going to rebuild your soil your. cattle can graze on it uh you just. rotate that cattle around your fields. and they're going to be so full from. Kudzu and so happy and that kudu is.

going to grow back so fast and they're. going to have so much more food and. you're just going to be sitting pretty. basically um he actually started a kudzu. Club of America which had uh eventually. 20,000. members and said this is this is the. what's going to bring the South back. basically is uh Kudzu and about oh what. less than 20 years later uh actually. about 10 years later uh Southern farmers. were like we're in big trouble here. because because the cattle are eating.

this stuff and if they eat too much of. those leaves uh they're dying off. because they're not matured yet the. vines are not. cattle they're not mature cattle they. can't handle it uh and if they try to to. cut it back or something uh because it's. you know starting to invade other parts. of their farm and like bail it up like. hey um like I don't think I don't know. we're getting through what a twisted. mess this stuff is like it'll wrap. itself around any Machinery you have and.

just make a fool of modern machinery. yeah just I mean if you aren't familiar. just look up cud zooo and abandoned. houses or something like that and it. will it will just immediately deliver. the impression you need on what it can. do and how much it can take over and so. you had a bunch of farmers in the 50s. who'd planted this stuff on purpose and. stories are starting to come out like. these guys like they their their Farms. are just being overrun like not only is. it getting out of their Fields it's. starting to climb up their house The.

Farmhouse um their tractor if they leave. it sitting for more than half an hour. it'll get eaten up by the Kudzu like. this is when the Kudzu Legend really. started to take off and again it was it. was based in a like a very real fact. that Kudzu had gotten out of hand and. everyone had a problem but it also was. the um rural southerners who were. talking about this so it was immediately. spun into Yarns left and right basically. yeah I mean it would you know if it got.

into the forest it would uh the timber. industry was affected so it was. genuinely causing problems and then. starting in. 1953 over the next um about 40ish years. uh the government just kind of one at a. time started saying things about Kudzu. like initially in 53 the USDA said uh. it's not an improved cover crop uh and. then 9 years later in ' 62 the soil. conservation service said uh you know. what you can you don't even plant this. stuff unless it's in a really remote.

location mhm uh 1970 comes along and. they say all right we're going to go. ahead and call a weed a weed and this is. a weed and then finally in '97 they said. that's not even good enough it is uh on. the federal noxious weed list yeah it. joined the sorry likes of goats R velvet. finger grass giant hog weed Maiden hair. creeper turkey Berry turkey Berry. tropical soda Apple that's just like. three words strung together that's. actually delicious it sounds like it but.

it's obnoxious weed as far as the USDA. is concerned with a little Jin and Ice. though it does sound pretty good yeah so. um one of the big problems is is not. just that like farmers were having. trouble with this eventually they they. figured this out they stopped planning. it they were able to kill it off uh. after you know some years of of. difficulty um and then it it mainly got. left to abandoned areas those railro. road tracks along the the edges of.

Highways like the forests along the edge. of a highway um that's basically where. kudu was left to just kind of go crazy. and that's not really great either. because during the last glacial maximum. in North America the um the ice sheets. came down and stopped just above Georgia. just above Tennessee just above the. South let's just call it that and a lot. of animals migrated Southward and. stopped where the ice sheet stopped and.

stayed after the ice sheet retreated and. as a result the South has one of the. most biodiverse ecosystems in North. America um and when you add something. like an invasive plant species it. affects all of that so it actually is a. big deal that Kudzu is so pernicious and. so fast spreading because it does affect. that biodiversity and reduces it. tremendously well yeah and you were. talking about it being nitrogen fixer. which is a good thing U when you need.

your nitrogen fixed uh the problem is is. there was so much Kudzu I think more. acreage in the South than even uh uh. soybeans so more than any other legume. which are the other nitrogen fixers is. the point M um it can actually disrupt. it can fix so much nitrogen that it can. disrupt the normal nitrogen cycle uh. because when excess nitrogen comes back. into the atmosphere uh it comes back as. two things nitric oxide and nitrogen.

dioxide and these are pollutants so if. you have an abundance of kudzu. eventually you're going to have an. abundance of um lung inflammation and. Asthma uh it's just it's not good for. the air so I looked into that and I. could find articles on one 2010 study. and they were all around the same time. and no followup whatsoever and the most. recent study I could find was from 202. three and it said essentially the.

opposite that a Japanese kudu growing. along roadways actually traps a lot of. the car emissions on that road in its. dense vegetation and prevents air. pollution in some ways. so yeah it's possible the 2010 study was. right it's possible the 2023 study was. right they they're not mutually. exclusive necessarily but um I didn't. see any followup whatsoever on that 2010. study and here in we have one of the big.

problems with talking about Kudzu people. just say stuff about it and no one says. are you sure about that uh that doesn't. sound quite right or uh where did you. get that fact from you know like it's. it's just that's how the South talks. about kudu because it's in some really. strange way very proud that it has this. this strange unique problem that nowhere. else in the world has so I don't think. the South really wants to know that kudu.

is not as big of a problem as it's been. saying all these decades you know yeah. because then we wouldn't be able to walk. around and talk about Kudzu to people. that could care less yeah and we. wouldn't be able to wear those shirts. that are dyed Green from Kudzu very. proudly outside of the south at like. family reunions and they say ask me. about my Kudzu dyed shirt oh is that a. thing not that part but yes the the. dying a shirt green with cudu to kind of. show your Southern bonafides never heard.

was thing that's super 90s they also. sold one that um was an horrible color. orange it was dyed with red Georgia Clay. uhhuh these are not things that anybody. should have been wearing but the kind of. goes to show like these are the weird. things that Southerners take some sort. of pride in yeah and when I was a kid I. remember seeing the uh and probably in. some parts of Georgia they still had. these shirts and bumper stickers uh lee. surrendered robery Lee Lee Sur I did not.

I so not surprised it never occurred to. me as a kid I was like what are they. what are they saying like they're are. they still fighting the Civil War mhm. like they didn't surrender I I saw a. check once from a guy this is not a joke. and he he wasn't this wasn't ironic his. address said for the state the occupied. state of Georgia this was in the 21st. century who's it occupied by the the. Yankees Yankees yeah yeah the union the. federal.

government oh boy I'm not kidding and he. was serious about it. too so um a couple of other problems. with Kudzu uh is money um utility. companies spend literally spend hundreds. of millions of dollars annually hundreds. of millions of bucks trying to keep. Kudzu from overtaking their Utility. Systems uh the highway doesn't spend. quite as much but they spend millions of. bucks uh trying to kill Kudzu along the.

highways and then there's the matter of. the kudzu bug which is a a stink bug um. it's Japanese M first spotted here in. 2009 um they're good in one way because. they they eat the Kudzu and they can. kill a mature Kudzu stand in two or. three years sometimes but they are. invasive they are stink bugs and they. eat other things and they're stink bugs. yeah and you can't really say stink bugs. enough um they are stinky and that oil. will stain your clothes and when it gets.

cold out they like to go into the warmth. of your house and sometimes they'll just. stay even after it gets warm outside. again yeah it's not something you want. and they're fairly new they showed up. they think that one of them or some of. them hitched a flight or hitched a ride. on some flight back in the early 2000s. and they were first uh described in 2009. in the South um and at first people were. like this is awesome they're going to. get rid of the cudu and then somebody. melled one of them and was like oh no.

still again something else yeah I see. stink bugs around but uh our house but I. don't think they're kudu bugs these look. like a a overfed tick in a lot of ways. same color same shape and size yeah like. you could see very easily mistaking it. for a huge tick yeah totally a blood and. Gorge tick yeah those are the worst. should we take another break yeah let's. all right we'll take a break and we'll. talk a little bit about what Josh is.

talking about is Kudzu overblown right. after. [Music]. this well now when you're on the road. driving in your truck why not learn a. thing or two from Josh and Chuck it's. stuff you should know. [Music].

all. right all right uh if you have are not. from the south and you've like Road. tripped through the South or something. and you're you've heard of kudzu and. you're driving along the interstate and. you see the Kudzu that is just you know. swallowed up a a a billboard or a. telephone line or something yeah and you. just think to yourself the poor poor. South what did it ever do to anybody I. know but if you drive around you might. think oh my God that stuff really is.

everywhere one of the reasons you're. seeing it a lot there is because it. really thrives along interstates and. stuff these like big wide open areas. where they can get plenty of Sun and. stuff like that so it's not like because. you're driving down the highway and you. see a ton of you know something eating. up an exit sign that is just like that. everywhere uh and like you said there's. a lot of sort of uh hinky stats around. how much Kudzu there actually is right. yeah for sure um I think in the 90s very. frequently cited statistic was that.

Kudzu covered 7 million Acres of the. South that is an enormous amount of land. yeah but I was reading a Smithsonian. article by a naturalist named Bill Finch. and he said that it seems that those. stats came from a garden Club guide a. kudu craft book and a culinarian healing. guide yeah have that like just like with. everything else with Kudzu the academic. Community cited statistic without any.

incredulity at all and that it just. spread like cudu essentially yeah I. think more reasonable stats uh the US. Forest Service says that they uh they're. about 227,000 aces of kudzu in the. forest um that does not count roadsides. and stuff so it's certainly a lot more. but I do think that 7 million was just. one of those sort of errant stats that. was thrown out and then copy pasted yeah. I mean these things are being discussed.

among people who are have like friends. of their their cousins friends have done. some amazing stuff over and over again. yeah so um like you said one of the. reasons why Kudzu seems to be taking. over everything is just where it grows. so I think Chuck that would be selection. bias yeah so yeah if you just it's where. you are but if you were in the forest. you'd be like oh this is this is fine I.

mean eventually the cudu would eat. through a forest I guess because it's. eating the outside part of and and. killing off the trees and then it would. need the next stand of trees to grow on. but I don't see anywhere that that's a. huge problem it seems that it's just. not as big an issue as anybody says that. it's really not a huge problem yeah. apparently in Alabama there's way more. uh if you're talking about invasive. species there's way more Chinese privet. and and uh oh have you had a problem.

with that dude have you ever had a. Chinese private. problem I definitely haven't but I'm now. looking it up to see if I even recognize. it a lot of people just treat them like. shrubs because they're just so prevalent. and it's they're not exactly badl. looking but if you don't want them there. they're a problem they're hard to get. rid of and they're sturdy they grow. really thick interesting I like the. white flowers yeah like I said some. people are just like whatever I have. this this like shrub that I didn't ask. for but now I'm just gonna keep it yeah.

uh Japanese Honeysuckle is the other one. uh in Alabama at least is like way way. more I think uh honeysuckle three about. three million Acres Chinese privets. about a million acres and kudu and. Alabama is only about 60,000 acres in. the forest yeah so um in the United. States I think you said. 227,000 Acres of forest land right um. but that's just counting the forest land. yeah so we don't really know how much. Kudzu there is but again now the most.

recent scholarship people actually. looking into it don't seem to be. particularly worried about the whole. thing but if you have Kudzu in your yard. there's actually some things that you. can do to get rid of it if you want to. get rid of it and you probably do if. it's anywhere near your yard because. it'll eventually become a problem if. it's not already yeah we have a kudu uh. issue at the uh the East Lake Garden. that Emily operates mhm um there's a.

it's sort of an island of kudu and it's. almost like a a Swale like a depression. where there's like trees and shrubs and. stuff and the kudu is only in there and. I think we have both decided that trying. to eradicate it from there is like not. even worth the time yeah but we're. trying to keep it there and not let it. creep so so far so good uh with that. kudu but um I have English ivy that I. purposely grew um along one of my uh you. know yard fences my privacy fence and it.

looks great it's like wrigly field out. there and I'm so proud of it but it is. stacking up so high on this fence I know. that's not not good for the fence. because it's been you know I used to. manage it a lot better now it's been a. couple of years and it's also a mosquito. Haven I think yeah and it locks in. moisture in that you know behind it. which is where the fence is so if it's a. wood fence it'll eventually rot it. faster yeah that's it can issue it can. also take over Trees Too English ivy can. be a problem in the South as well yeah. you cut those at the bottom of the tree.

and uh and watch them die yeah so. there's a there's an extra step that I. found uh I don't know the vines that I. was dealing with but they are serious. Vines and they're hard to get rid of but. I have found one of the methods of. killing Kudzu also works for say like. Ivy or these vines that I'm working with. which is you cut the thing off like a. you find a thick um like part of the. kudu vine nice and sure cut it off very. close to the ground and then you paint.

it with the herbicide like using one of. those cheap wooden disposable brushes. and the herbicide I found works really. well is crossbow it's a southern egg. product and you just paint it on let it. dry paint on another coat let it dry. maybe do three times it will it will. work it will kill that that vine or that. weed or whatever it is you're trying to. kill pretty quick and it's not going to. come back I did last time I painted on.

crossbow in the like woods behind my. yard um it was probably two three years. ago and the stuff that I killed is not. grown. back yeah it does it I I don't know if. you can tell this or not but I'm kind of. proud of that one you should be you. killed it I killed it dead and then I. ate its. babies oh my God uh by the way if you. want to uh Emily started an Instagram. page for that Garden that I mentioned. before for it is uh eastcore lore Garden.

you want to learn a little bit more. about the story of her her uh. cultivating and sponsorship of this nice. little piece of land right here in the. middle of town very nice um but if you. want to keep talking talking about. killing Kudzu you know what I'll get her. to put a picture of the Kudzu up so. people you definitely should uh but one. thing you can do if it's on the ground. if it's not growing up things yet is you. can just mow the heck out of it h. because you know like the cowsy those. leaves could kill a not quite mature.

Vine uh if you cut those leaves off uh. it's eventually going to die if it's. like super super mature it's going to be. a lot harder but you just got to keep. getting in there and keep mowing low and. and just mowing it down and maybe it'll. take a year or two but it that will also. take care of it yeah for sure um you can. also dig up the roots remember those. root crowns that. grow it's going to be a pain but luckily. you just need to dig up the root crowns. which are fairly shallow you can leave. those giant 400 lb tubers behind because.

they're an energy store they're not. necessarily what it's growing from so if. you get rid of the crowns that tuber. will eventually die off too and it's a. pretty good way from what I can tell. it's a it's a very effective way to get. rid of your Kudzu immediately is digging. up the root Crowns if you are dedicated. in digging them all up yeah or if you. want to really go next level dig up that. route and use that thing. you can I don't know why this bothers me.

but I find this really bothersome for. some reason that people would use this. plant for good things in in yeah I guess. so in the south in particular oh do I. mean is there any reason behind it or do. you want share no I I like I said I. can't put my finger on it it's something. about it bothers me it's I I just don't. understand why but the idea of chefs. like employing Kudzu and Southern you. know new Southern Cuisine or making.

crafts out of kudzu I I don't know why. but I I just it bothers me and it. doesn't matter like go ahead and do. whatever you want but me personally I'm. I'm going to think about it and maybe. one of these days I'll figure it out but. it bothers me okay well I love it I. think it's great uh I think if that. stuff is there like sort of with the. foraging uh that's so popular these days. just going out and and using what's in. the earth uh to put on your plate uh I. think it's a great thing and there are. southern chefs getting into that like.

you mentioned uh there's a lot of you. know like you said weird Pride around it. uh there been poems written about Kudzu. by very prominent poets uh it's been you. know mentioned in countless books and. movies it was if you're a we have to. mention the remm uh murmur album cover. um if you're a music fan and you're from. the south you're probably super into the. fact that the murmur album cover is one. of those train trestles completely eaten.

up by Kudzu uh and the fun little story. about that is is that thing had gotten. so you know um sort of rotted out I. guess after years and years of the Kudzu. eating it m uh it was tried to be saved. a bunch of times there were efforts over. the years uh finally in 2020 they were. like and this is you know outside of. Athens um they said we're going to have. to take this thing down uh so they did. but uh cherry on top of this story or I. guess Silver Lining rather uh it is now.

part of the Firefly Trail a very popular. outdoor hiking and walking trail and. they built a replica of the train. trestle that you can now walk over as a. bridge uh that opened just last year in. 2023 so it's it's back again great but. the cudu is gone yeah not covered in. cudu though but people make you know. their pil pilgrimage another RM Insider. joke uh to look and get their picture. taken or in the South you'll get your. picture made mhm where that train.

trestle is and then what was while. you're there you also want to go to what. was the soul food restaurant that that. just said automatic for the people was. like their slogan uh Weaver D's I lived. right behind there for a year man so. good uh yeah go there go to Weaver de. and then the um the church steeple where. Aran played their very first show they. tore down the church but they left that. steeple is now a historical monument yep. and if you open it up you let out the. people too right. that's true I feel like we need to close.

with a poem as we normally do close. stuff you should know episodes hey. please read it this is a poem by James. Dicky who was a poet but also a novelist. he wrote Deliverance that's right and in. 1963 this poem was published in the New. Yorker it's called. kudu Japan invades Far Eastern Vines run. from the clay Banks they are supposed to. keep from eroding up telephone poles. which rear half out of leafage as though. they would sh like things smothered by.

their own green mindless unkillable. ghosts in Georgia the legend says that. you must close your windows at night to. keep it out of the house okay dot dot. dot yeah it's a good poem and I read it. like amazingly yeah maybe we should get. Jerry dad some like you know like a. standup base and yeah you been like this. when I finished. [Music]. yeah okay uh maybe Jerry will let's find.

out or maybe that she can just sample me. doing that and just Loop it there you go. that's a great idea that's an even. better idea all right uh well we are. done with cudu right right that means. it's time for listener. mail uh I'm going to call this Brooklyn. 99 followup hey guys I was listening to. the Tom Slick episode and you guys were. talking about Andy Samberg uh and. tangential Adam Sandler and Josh said. that he had never been or maybe it was.

me actually he said he had never been in. Brooklyn 99 as far as I was aware uh. actually he had a cameo in one episode. that was quite funny and I've included a. link to enjoy uh which I'm going to. watch I also want to say thanks for the. insane amount of entertainment and. education you guys have brought to the. world I've been listening for a few. years and love learning while being. entertained and you guys have the. perfect combination her back and forth. style always feels like normal. conversation with friends because it is. MHM uh unrelated information and asides. included and that is from uh Victor and.

uh I'm going to check out that clip you. can go on YouTube and probably just type. in Adam Sandler brooklyn99 if you want. to see the clip very nice thanks a lot. Victor much appreciated thanks for the. link and for all the kind words and uh. if you want to be like Victor and get in. touch with this you can send us an email. too send it to stuff podcast. iheartradio.com. stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart radio for more podcasts my heart. radio visit the iHeart Radio app Apple.

podcasts or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows. [Music].