Invasion of the Funky Flower

"Invasion of the Funky Flower"

Cyberchase episode
Season 11, episode 7

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today Original air date
April 17, 2018

person Directed by
Jason Groh J. Meeka Stuart

person Written by
Adam Rudman

George Arthur Bloom

Joey Mazzarino

calculate Topic
Unknown

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"A Renewable Hope"

Characters

Main Characters

• Jackie
• Inez
• Matt
• Digit
• Hacker
• Buzz
• Delete

Minor/Recurring Characters

• Motherboard (not shown)
• Queen Mum (debut)

Places

• Grim Wreaker
• Gardenia (debut)
• Jungolia (debut)

Featured Flowers

• Dizzy Daisy (debut)
• Doofydil (debut)
• Happiolus (debut)
• Tutulip (debut)

Plot Summary

There is a gardening contest in Gardenia, and the Cybersquad are participating in it. Jackie is dismayed when her Dizzy Daisy can't do anything, saying that she doesn't have a green thumb.

The competition starts and Hacker arrives with his Doofydil. When Hacker doesn't win the award for Tallest Flower in Cyberspace, he is furious. He goes to Jungolia and retrieves the Funky Flower. His plan was to introduce the Funky Flower to Gardenia as an invasive species.

An invasive species is a species not native to an area that can affect the area's ecosystem negatively. They can affect the ecosystem negatively by taking all the nutrients and food, drinking all the water, blocking sunlight from other species, and crowding out the other species by taking all the free space. He sets Buzz and Delete to distract the guards to plant to Funky Flower in Gardenia. Hacker, Buzz, and Delete leave Gardenia before anyone notices what they did.

The Cybersquad sees the Funky Flower rapidly multiplying and negatively impacting Gardenia's ecosystem by making all the other plants wilt. They attempt to remove it by pulling it out of the ground like a weed, building a wall, and trying to destroy its roots. All attempts fail. They couldn't pull it out of the ground because of its thick roots, the flowers released seeds into the air that bypassed the wall, and the roots are unyielding. All hope seems lost as Queen Mum's health drains.

Jackie suddenly has an idea and takes a portal to Jungolia. She returns with the Funky Flower Beetles, a species that keeps the Funky Flower population in check in Jungolia. The Funky Flowers are quickly consumed by the beetles, and they were returned to Jungolia by Motherboard's portal. Everything is back to normal in Gardenia, and Jackie is awarded the highest award of Gardenia: the Green Thumb. The episode ends with Jackie saying that she does have a green thumb after all.

Plot Synopsis

Invasion of the Funky Flower (plot synopsis)

Trivia

• This is also the first episode that begins with "I" since the fifth season episode, Inside Hacker.
• The episode mentions the English idiom of someone having a "green thumb", which means that a person is skilled at growing plants.
  • The phrase was first recorded 1940-1945.
  • The phrase of having a green thumb may have originated from algae outside the flower pot staining the gardener's fingers (or thumb) from handling plants in pots frequently or from King Edward I of England's reign. The king was fond of green peas and had a dozen serfs (agriculture laborers) harvesting them during the growing season. The serf who had the "greenest thumb" was rewarded and given a prize.

Extras

• Math Topic: "Invasion of the Funky Flower" deals with using units of measurements and the effects of exponential growth.
• Science Topic: "Invasion of the Funky Flower" deals with invasive species and how they affect the ecosystem.
• For Real Segment: Harry learns about invasive species.

Transcript

Invasion of the Funky Flower (transcript)

References

1. Dictionary.com (2018, Date Unknown) Green Thumb. Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/green-thumb   
2. Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary: Cambridge Academic Press (2018, Date Unknown) “a green thumb”. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/a-green-thumb  
3. Reeves, W. (2011, Date Unknown.) Green Thumb - Origin of Phrase. Retrieved from http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/green-thumb-origin-of-phrase/  

External Links

PBS KIDS - Cyberchase Videos - Invasion of the Funky Flowers