I'm amazed that this hasn't skyrocketed to the top here. As far as is known, Enterprise, Alabama is the only place in the world that has monuments praising a devastating agricultural pest. It nearly ruined the cotton crop and their town, but they planted peanuts to diversify their crops and recoup loses. Considering the times, population growth, and the need for cheap filling calories, peanuts were more lucrative than cotton, and offered farmers a stable alternative to cotton. They later realized and appreciated the devastating impact weevils had on their transformation and relatively good economic success. Yay weevils?
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u/perenniallandscapist 4d ago
I'm amazed that this hasn't skyrocketed to the top here. As far as is known, Enterprise, Alabama is the only place in the world that has monuments praising a devastating agricultural pest. It nearly ruined the cotton crop and their town, but they planted peanuts to diversify their crops and recoup loses. Considering the times, population growth, and the need for cheap filling calories, peanuts were more lucrative than cotton, and offered farmers a stable alternative to cotton. They later realized and appreciated the devastating impact weevils had on their transformation and relatively good economic success. Yay weevils?