Nice to know you're still a condescending asshole

Welcome
If you have lately been pondering the origins of Black pepper, today is your lucky day. While having lunch with a friend Thursday we wondered this same question. So here it is folks, all you never wanted to know about our friend Black Pepper . . .
Black pepper (Piper nigrum), the king of spices, is one of the oldest and the most popular spice in the world. It is a perennial, climbing vine indigenous to the Malabar Coast of India. The hotly pungent spice made from its berries is one of the earliest spices known and is probably the most widely used spice in the world today. It was mentioned as far back as 1000 BC in ancient Sanskrit literature. In early historic times black pepper was widely cultivated in the tropics of Southeast Asia, where it became an important article of overland trade between India and Europe. It became a medium of exchange, and tributes were levied in black pepper in ancient Greece and Rome. In the Middle Ages the Venetian and the Genoese became the main distributors, their virtual monopoly of the trade helping to instigate the search for an eastern sea route. The name pepper comes from the Sanskrit word pippali meaning berry.
Apart from India, black pepper is widely cultivated throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, tropica Africa, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China also. It is a branching vine with a smooth, woody, articulate stem swollen at the joints. A woody climber, it may reach heights of 10m by means of its aerial roots. Its broad, shiny green, pointed , petiolate leaves are alternately arranged. The sessile, white, small flowers are borne in pendulous, dense, slender spikes of about 50 blossoms each. The berry-like fruits, or peppercorns, are round, about 0.5 - 1.0 cm in diameter and contain a single seed. They become yellowish red at maturity and bear a single seed. The odour is penetrating and aromatic; the taste is hot, biting and very pungent.
The plant requires a long rainy season, fairly high temperatures, and partial shade for the best growth. Propagation is usually by stem cuttings. The cuttings are set out near a tree or a pole that will serve as a support. Black pepper plants are sometimes interspersed in tea or coffee plantations. They begin bearing in 2 to 5 years and may produce for as long as 40 years. The berries are picked when they begin to turn red. The collected berries are scalded with boiling water for about 10 minutes, which causes them to turn dark brown or black in an hour. Then they are spread out to dry in the sun for three or four days. The whole peppercorns, when ground, yield black pepper.
I recently changed my superpower. It use to be that if I was ever granted one superpower, I would fly. I mean how freaking cool would that be? Ya, it would be bitchin. But after a random Saturday of searching the web at work study, I have decided to make the change. Now if I were granted one superpower it would be to speak and understand every language in the world. I randomly found this website that listed all the recognized languages in the world. HOLY SHIT. I thought that going to Europe was hard because there were like 10 different languages in a close area. You should check out Africa or the South Pacific. It\'s will blow your mind. While being able to fly would be super cool, I think that I would get more benefit out of this one. Plus, I think that there are too many things that could go wrong if I were to fly. I mean I would be labeled a freak every time I took off or landed. Plus people would want free rides, and the exact speed that I would be able to travel is still unknown. I am confident in my new choice. I can't wait till the genie arrives.
I have come to recognize that the second most annoying type of person is the story topper. The Chicken Finger People still rank #1, but the ST's are a close second. I don't get why people assume that just because they heard someone tell a story that they have to chime in and not only tell a story somewhat relevant to the previous one, but beat it. I could tell someone that I just got back climbing K2 and that I had the most amazing time and I learned how to underwater basket weave while there. And they would be like, 'well, I just climbed Everest, and I made all of my own clothes out of Alpaca wool. Then I rescued my team members who were stuck at the top. So I carried them, just 3 of them, on my back down 29,000 feet to safety. All without breaking a nail.' - OK a bit unreal of an example, I mean Alpacas are indigenous to South America, I doubt they would be hanging around Everest, but the point is that they are a ruthless breed of people. At times I just want to ask them why they feel that it is necessary for them to toss their 2 cents in. Why must it always be about you story topper? Most of the time their stories have nothing to do with what was previously said. I could mention a piece of poo I saw on the street that looked like John Wayne and they could start talking about a bad hair coloring job. It makes no sense, the dots do not connect in their heads. Please story toppers, have mercy on our ears.
With that said, I think that I am going to bed now.
Have a good one kids.