Interesting Information About the History of Skunks

Everyone can pick out a skunk within a crowd and not just by it's odor. Shockingly, skunks are unique animals in their own way. Their DNA was recently decoded and scientists learned that skunks derived from a common ancestor 30-40 million years ago. The animal's name, squunk, was from a southern New England language dated back to the 1630s. Crazily, someone to be called a skunk was an actual insult in 1881.

Even with their horrible smell, skunks have been used in throughout society. There is a plant that is named after a skunk called a skunk cabbage which is a North American plant that has a flower with a very unpleasant smell. Then who can forget Pepe Le Pew. This poor animal was only trying to look for love in the famous Looney Tunes cartoons. Johnny Depp stated that the Pirates of the Caribbean Captain Jack Sparrow's character was an imagined blend of Keith Richards and Pepe Le Pew through all the movies.

It seems when we hear the word skunk or minds automatically think negative, to take us to an animal that stinks and has a white strip down it's spine. On the contrary, these creatures have been around for a very long time and has contributed to help define our society to how we are today which is really positive.