Children were asked to 'bully' a plant. Here's what happened

Children who are bullied often suffer mental, emotional and physical abuse, impacting their self-esteem and sense of self.

In order to demonstrate the damage bullying can have, as well as the importance of being kind to one another, IKEA used two plants.

The Swedish retail giant bought two plants and installed them in a school in the Middle East.

Both plants were given the same amount of soil, water and exposure to sunlight. They were identical, apart from one key difference.

One plant was subject to a recording of positive comments, while the other listened to nothing but unkind words and phrases.

This went on for 30 days.

How did the plants fare?

The results were strange: the plant that had the positive comments grew tall and healthy, while the plant that got played negative comments wilted.

There are a number of theories and studies on the theory that talking to plants helps them grown. Scientists say speaking to them produces carbon dioxide, which plants can convert into oxygen, which helps them grow.

However there’s no proof that the content of the words have an effect on growth.

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