Oh, you think Brussels sprouts are a form of broccoli? Yeah, I guess I could see how you'd think that, given the florets, and the slender stem, and the... no, wait, that's not even close to what they look like.
They are round, they have layers of leaves, and have a small garbage patch of stem at the bottom. What does that describe? OH YEAH! THAT DESCRIBES A SMALL CABBAGE!
If you want a small version of broccoli, there's literally baby broccoli.
I do agree with you about it being horrible and evil, which is really just what reinforces my argument.
cut them in half, fry them open side down in a lot of butter until getting caramelized, just to the point that they're just, juuuust on the edge of burning (this may take a couple tries), flip, fry other side until that outer layer is well caramelized. be sure to use copious butter. never disrespect brussels sprouts again.
Since they're evil and disgusting, like broccoli, I have to go with the fact that they're foul, deformed, mutant broccoli. They are also given to small children as a form of punishment. The children then sneak them off their plates and feed them to the dog ... which is also why so many dogs bite kids.