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NUTS: A History
Although hard to imagine, there once was a time when NUTS did not exist. About 1,3 billion years ago the first fungi came into existence on earth. They were shortly followed by plants. Though shortly is a very relative term here; The first plants on earth emerged about 700 million years ago. Some scientists speculate that this might have been 500 million years ago. With the existence of plants, came the existence of nuts. From this time on, nuts have spread around the world, in all kinds of sizes, shapes and tastes. The genetic tree below will give you an idea of all different family branches of nuts that have come to exist since the first nuts.
Only in 2005 scientists discovered the newest branch on the genetic tree (marked by the red line). Deep down in the urban jungle of Amsterdam, a small group of students was found. This particular group, at the time of discovery, consisted of no more than 8 – 10 persons. After several weeks of intense observation, the group was labeled NUTS by Dr. Professor Stencil E. Johnson. He had two very strong reasons to label the group as nuts;
- they shared an extraordinary fascination for frisbees and the game played with these flying discs: Ultimate Frisbee.
- although they appeared to operate in a group, the group somehow consisted of very diverse individuals.
Since the discovery of this group, now known as “the first generation nuts”, the group has extended significantly. Only a few months after their discovery in late 2005, the number of members of the group had increased to ± 20, a very large number considering the small size of groups in which nuts are usually found. Over 2006 and 2007 the group was extended even further to a staggering 35 members. This is the largest growth of a group of nuts over such a short period of time ever registrated.
It was also during these years that the group got recognition from the W.A.O.N. (World Association Of Nuts), the W.F.D.F. (World Flying Disc Federation) and the N.F.B. (Nederlandse Frisbee Bond). Although Stencil E. Johnson had recognized the group as nuts upon discovery, it took another year and several publications in Nature Magazine and on Ultivillage.com before NUTS finally got the recognition they deserve.
Now, several years after their discovery, studies and observation have learnt us a lot about this magnificent group of students. Of all different species of nuts, they are the easiest to approach; They are very open minded, bright spirited and always welcoming new members into their group. Also they are well known for their great ability to adapt to their environment; On grass their behavior can be best described as “willing to win, but not at all cost”. But when put in any other surrounding they will soon switch to “party mode”, creating madness all around and spreading nuttiness wherever they go.
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