It's no secret that astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson can teach us a thing or two about the wonders of the universe. But on Thursday, he completely blew our minds when he dropped an awakening knowledge bomb on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Colbert was interviewing deGrasse Tyson about his new book Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization, when deGrasse Tyson challenged Colbert to imagine extraterrestrials' perspective of humans as they observe our world and the way we treat it.
The conversation eventually evolved to the topic of sentient plants. Due to the abstract nature of deGrasse Tyson's cranial wheel work, Colbert asked him:
"Speaking of sentient plants, did you smoke any baby plants?"
DeGrasse Tyson laughed and then suddenly made a revelation that shook Colbert and his audience:
"Oh by the way, did you know E.T. was a sentient plant, not an animal?"
Colbert wasn't buying it, singing:
"Turn on your heart light."
Before arguing:
"He's got a heart!"
Tyson claimed E.T. had a heart just so the audience could relate.
Then Colbert asked how deGrasse Tyson knew it was a plant, to which he replied:
"Do you remember E.T. would touch the plants and they would grow back? That's not an accident."
Still unconvinced, Colbert asked how he knew for sure, and deGrasse Tyson had pretty solid evidence:
"Steven Spielberg told me in my office."
You can watch the segment below.
The Twitterverse was shook.
\u201cBreaking news (and spoiler alert)! Neil deGrass Tyson on Stephen Colbert\u2019s The Late Show reveals E.T. is a sentient plant, claims Steven Spielberg told him.\n\n@neiltyson @colbertlateshow @SSpielberg93 \n\nhttps://t.co/wLwv3dtdAn\u201d— Ford Prefect (@Ford Prefect) 1663948987
\u201c@neiltyson E.T. Is a plant?\u201d— Roxy Review (@Roxy Review) 1663906907
\u201cSo @neiltyson will destroy your childhood by telling you E.T. Is a f*coin PLANT!!! \ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude28\ud83d\ude26\ud83d\ude35\u200d\ud83d\udcab #LSSC\u201d— Michael O'Donnell (@Michael O'Donnell) 1663907280
\u201cE.T. is not an animal but a non gendered plant-like creature.\u201d— Nick Thomas (@Nick Thomas) 1663908173
\u201cNeil deGrasse Tyson claims Steven Spielberg told him E.T. is actually a plant https://t.co/zft823fijw via @Yahoo ET a plantlike a carrot?\u201d— JOHN BESSLER (@JOHN BESSLER) 1663947180
\u201cNeil deGrasse Tyson makes shocking claim about E.T.: 'Steven Spielberg told me' https://t.co/K9GsKrIDhY\u201d— F.Nero (@F.Nero) 1663956414
\u201cNeil deGrasse Tyson Makes Shocking Claim About ET: \u2018Steven Spielberg Told\u00a0Me\u2019 https://t.co/cYXj5tBYEv\u201d— Dogs Of The World (@Dogs Of The World) 1663955215
\u201cOHhh......wow......so......visions of BIOLLANTE and GODZILLA EARTH.......stomping through my mind......\ud83d\ude32\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23.......\n\nNeil deGrasse Tyson makes shocking claim about E.T.: 'Steven Spielberg told me' https://t.co/xneRbvyLnW via @Yahoo\u201d— shi no BI (@shi no BI) 1663953156
However, to some, this isn't new information:
\u201cSo I'm reading that people's childhoods are being ruined because @neiltyson said ET was a sentient plant. This has been said publically before and explored in the sequel book \ud83d\udc47. None of this is new, some of you are just E.T. deniers.\u201d— The Saturday Morning Podcast (@The Saturday Morning Podcast) 1663941030
DeGrasse continues to open our minds to concepts and different perspectives to the world around us, even the fictional world.
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