Durian Fruit

Our adventures now take us to Southeast Asia. Let’s say that you are sightseeing in Malaysia, and you get a hankering for a snack. Next, just for the sake of argument, let’s imagine your appetite is piqued by something for which the following can be said:

... its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia.

– Travel Writer Richard Sterling

Sound good?

If so, you will probably love the durian fruit. From Wikipedia:

The durian is the fruit of trees of the genus Durio belonging to the Malvaceae, a large family which includes hibiscus, okra, cotton, mallows and linden trees. Widely known and revered in Southeast Asia as the "King of Fruits," the fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and a formidable thorn-covered husk. Its name comes from the Malay word duri (thorn) together with Malay suffix that is -an (for building a noun in Malay), meaning "thorny fruit."

Ok, as someone with a background in Biology I did a little thinking. Why would the fruit smell like that? Probably to attract animals to eat the fruit. Why would a plant want animals to eat the fruit? Seed dispersal. Then why cover the fruit with a thorny husk? Probably to discourage tiny, inefficient agents of dispersal.

Animals I can understand. But why in the hell would any human want to eat something that looks like entrails and smells like pig shit?

I just don’t get it. Can you help me translate?

Beenzzz's Translation: "Shit flavored fruit sounds so tantalizing."