If you know anything about apple genetics, you know that Johnny Appleseed had no way of knowing what apples would come from those seeds. But genetic studies suggest he, or people like him, may actually have helped apples maintain their genetic diversity up to the present day. Hosted by: Olivia Gordon SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It's called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at www.scishowtangents.org ---------- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: www.patreon.com/scishow ---------- Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever: Kevin Carpentier, Eric Jensen, Matt Curls, Sam Buck, Christopher R Boucher, Avi Yashchin, Adam Brainard, Greg, Alex Hackman, Sam Lutfi, D.A. Noe, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, Charles Southerland, Patrick D. Ashmore, charles george, Kevin Bealer, Chris Peters ---------- Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet? Facebook: www.facebook.com/scishow Twitter: www.twitter.com/scishow Tumblr: scishow.tumblr.com Instagram: instagram.com/thescishow ---------- Sources: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/apples-breeding-experimental-orchard-fruit-growing exhibits.mannlib.cornell.edu/apples/station.htm www.bbc.com/future/story/20160523-kazakhstans-treasure-trove-of-wildly-flavoured-apples medium.com/plant-cell-extracts/to-breed-or-not-to-breed-self-incompatibility-prevents-inbreeding-in-flowering-plants-6877f44a7784 www.plantcell.org/content/30/5/1023#ref-38 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3349737/ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24290193 bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.3732/ajb.1400297 www.actahort.org/members/showpdf?booknrarnr=484_1 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24381071 www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-evil-reign-of-the-red-delicious/379892/ www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/oldest-mcintosh-apple-tree-descendant-cut-down-1.1001566 www.farmflavor.com/us-agriculture/americas-favorite-apple-variety/ mentalfloss.com/article/52587/short-history-apple www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/03/something-rapidly-killing-young-apple-trees-north-american-orchards-scientists-are www.nwpb.org/2017/05/03/want-to-grow-an-apple-tree-dont-start-with-apple-seeds/ treefruit.wsu.edu/orchard-management/pollination/ www.extension.iastate.edu/news/yard-and-garden-examining-pollination-apple-trees www.gardenfocused.co.uk/fruitarticles/apples/variety-jonagold.php IMAGE SOURCES: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnny_Appleseed_1.jpg commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnny_Appleseed.gif commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malus_domestica_unriped_fruit.jpg commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malus_sieversii_in_Zhongar-Alatau_NP-2.jpg