Still a good joke as we're mammals, but peppers's spice is so that birds, and not mammals, eat their seeds and poop them out far away as birds aren't bothered by capsaicin.
lending purpose to an evolutionary trait is a mistake. It is possibly that mechanism by which they attained some degree of success, but evolution doesn't 'think' unless youre into predeterminism like that.
Totally. Perhaps a better way to phrase it would be, the successful result of the adaptation was that birds spread their seeds instead of mammals. Until us.
And it would have worked flawlessly if it weren't for humans, the single most metal species to have ever graced this planet, that likes to subject itself to mild and moderate suffering for amusement and recreational purposes.