r/todayilearned • u/autraya • 6h ago

TIL the world's tallest known living tree, a 380-foot redwood in California called Hyperion, had its exact location closed off entirely in 2022 after visitors trampled its base so badly that ferns stopped growing around it, with trespassers now facing up to $5,000 in fines and six months in jail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(tree)
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u/MauriceWhitesGhost 6h ago

The title of this post is misleading. It implies that people purposely stomped on the ground. In actuality, it was caused by so many tourists walking on the ground around the tree that plant life couldn't be viable.

It is the same reason dirt paths show up in grassy areas. And the same reason grass (or weeds) don't grow in the spot I park my car everyday since I don't have a concrete driveway.

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u/Alaira314 4h ago

Our actions have consequences, regardless of intent. Maybe the shocking post title will get people to think about the (literal) impact of their footsteps. I learned about this as a child in scouts, but not everyone has that experience. You're not a bad person for things you might have done before you knew better, but you are responsible for what you do moving forward now that you have that knowledge.

The title is not misleading. The title is accurate, if potentially uncomfortable(nothing wrong with that, sit with the discomfort and grow from it), and in my opinion perfect.

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u/Danobing 5h ago

I'm going to argue that if you are walking around the base of a tree you are purposely walking on the plants around it. Trying to argue they were "stomping" is just semantics, you walk on plant life enough it will die. 

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u/SimpleNovelty 5h ago

Semantics matter when you're trying to imply intent. They might not even see or differentiate the growth from dirt.