Why are peanuts called "goobers"?

Almost every day, Daisy* and I encounter in the natural course of things a question that begs an answer. Whereas, long ago, simple folk like we might have shaken our noggins in dumbfoundedness at the eternal opacity of the matter, nowadays we invariably say to one another, "I'll Google it." Then, upon getting back to the homestead from wherever the question was inspired, one or the other of us will fire up the machine, point it toward Google, and learn 'til we can't learn no more. O, what a wondrous creation is Google.

The phenomenon has become such a ubiquity that Daisy even gifted me with a variety pack of Post-It pads last week, so I might have one near me always, and jot down these inquiries as they occur, so we'll not forget them before getting back to the Internet. Daisy is thoughtful in many ways like that one.

Tonight, this question burgeoned forth over our hamburger-steak dinners at Wade's: "Why are peanuts called 'goobers'?"

We have yet to stump Google, which brought us these two sources of the answer. First, this one:

Peanuts are sometimes called "goobers." The word goober comes from the Congo word "nguba" and gives us a clue about the peanuts' African heritage. During the Civil War, soldiers ate peanuts as snacks. In 1903, George Washington Carver began his research on peanuts and discovered more than 300 uses for them, including shoe polish and shaving cream.

Then, this one:

"Goober" is the African name for peanuts. Slaves being brought to America were fed goobers to keep them alive during the brutal crossings. Goobers remained popular with slaves, who ate them both for nutrition and for a small touch of their lost homeland.

See what interesting things come to mind when you have dinner at Wade's?

Now, as for Daisy's asterisk above: In a former life, Daisy was a Native American woman, probably one who studied after the herbs and potions of the tribe's medicine man on her days off. She likely memorized the stars then. In this present life, she has a Government Name like the rest of us. But she prefers to go by the name she was given in that former time, which in English comes to Running Deer. But in the Cherokee language, "Running Deer" is still Awi Adesi -- pronounced "AH-wee ah-DAY-see."

So that's Daisy.