Then an organic bean sprout farm in northern Germany - the centre of the outbreak - was thought to be responsible.

BBC: E. coli: Germany says worst of illness is over

But in a nod to ingenious evolutionary survival, overcooking also releases an unpleasant-smelling sulphur compound from the sprout's core, an olfactory offense that is the reason many people thumb their noses at this vegetable.

NPR: Turning a New Leaf on a Misunderstood Sprout

Obviously, less than half of them are seeing the so-called green shoots of an economy looking to sprout some life into this economic desert.

FORBES: China's 'Green Shoots' Wither Fast, Markets Hold Tight

Scientists in Belfast want to establish if the genetic blip that saw an 18th Century Irishman sprout to more than seven-and-a-half feet is widespread in the area he was from.

BBC: Scientists testing for Northern Ireland 'giant gene'