The English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) is most famous today for his book, On the Origin of Species, published in 1859, which revolutionized evolutionary biology. He was also the world’s foremost authority on barnacles.

But did you know that Darwin had a lifelong interest in earthworms?

In the mid-nineteenth century, no one knew much about the role worms played in agriculture. They considered them pests in the garden. Darwin thought they were important to aerate the soil.

He conducted a series of earthworm experiments over the course of forty years, including having his son play the bassoon in front of them (he concluded they were indifferent to sound, but not to vibration).

His book The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, With Observations on Their Habits was practically a blockbuster. It sold 6000 copies in its first year–much better than his Origin of Species.