The myth of avocados' existence thanks to giant ground sloths is introduced and questioned.

• Avocados are thought to have been spread by giant ground sloths, a prehistoric creature.
• This idea has been popularized by various media, including SciShow in the past.

The sloth-avocado dispersal theory originated from scientific papers in the 1980s without concrete evidence.

• The theory began in the 1980s with papers suggesting big animals as seed dispersers but had no direct data on sloths or avocados.
• The idea became popular despite the lack of evidence.

There is no scientific evidence to support the hypothesis that sloths ate avocados.

• No studies have found evidence of sloths eating avocados.
• For proof, scientists would need to find fossils or coprolites indicating that sloths and avocados coexisted and interacted.

Research on sloth diets and habitats indicates no relationship with avocados.

• Fossil records show sloths lived in South America, while avocados originated in Mexico.
• Studies of sloth diets reveal consumption of grasses, shrubs, yucca, and agave, not avocados.

Human cultivation and selective breeding in Mesoamerica likely led to the current form of avocados.

• Avocado pits were originally smaller, suggesting no need for giant animal dispersal.
• Mesoamericans may have selected avocados with bigger pits for agricultural reasons.
• Cultivation techniques and genetic diversity suggest a complex domestication process.

SciShow acknowledges past inaccuracies and emphasizes the importance of evidence-based information.

• Previous SciShow content on the avocado myth has been unlisted due to reliance on weak sources.
• The channel is committed to spreading scientifically supported ideas.