25 Food Facts That Will Feed Your Curiousity
1.
When you're born, you don't have fully developed taste buds. However, there is one taste we crave as infants anyway: Sugar.
2.
In a process called triboluminescence, Wint-O-Green Lifesavers give off little sparks when they are eaten in the dark. If you didn't know they could do that, try turning off all the lights in the bathroom and testing it out.
3.
Pringles will do anything to prove they aren't really potato chips. In fact, they even took the matter to court.
4.
Most wasabi consumed is not actually wasabi, but a bit of colored horseradish or mixture of pure wasabi and horseradish.
6.
One of the most popular pizza toppings in Brazil isn't pepperoni or sausage, it's green peas.
8.
For the Aztecs, chocolate was a delicacy and used as currency. They couldn't grow cacao, so they often traded the Mayans for it, as well as demanded it as tribute.
9.
The red food-coloring carmine, which is used in Skittles and other candies, is actually made from boiling a certain kind of red beetle.
10.
If improperly prepared puffer fish can actually kill you: Certain parts of the fish contain a toxin that's 1200 times more deadly than cyanide.
11.
Coconut water is identical to blood plasma, and can therefore be used as a "universal donor." It was even used as an IV drip during World War II.
13.
Ranch dressing contains titanium dioxide, which is used to make it appear whiter. The same ingredient is used in sunscreen and paint for the same effect. Let's face it: Tanning could be much more delicious than it is right now.
14.
One fast food hamburger may contain meat from 100 different cows. Think of it this way: every time you bite into a Big Mac, you're bringing the cow community together.
15.
In the 1800s, a concoction similar to ketchup was used to treat diarrhea as well as other medical maladies.
16.
When taken in large doses nutmeg works as a hallucinogen. But remember, kids: Good friends won't let you do nutmeg.
17.
The twists in pretzels were created to resemble how arms look when they are crossed in prayer.
19.
The popsicle was invented by an 11-year-old in 1905. His name was Frank Epperson, and he left some juice and a stirrer out overnight in the cold. When he returned to it in the morning, he realized it was frozen, ate it, and called it an Epsicle. He then sold them around the neighborhood, and when he was all grown up he patented the idea.
20.
Why are peppers hot? It's due to a chemical compound called capsaicin. The compound interacts with your sensory nerves and tricks them into thinking you're being "burned."
21.
When cranberries are ripe, they bounce -- and not just a little bit, either. These guys can bounce as well as rubber balls.
23.
Biting a wooden spoon whilst chopping an onion will stop your eyes from watering. We didn't believe this one worked, but it really does.
24.
There are more than 600 pasta shapes produced worldwide -- for a fun little exercise, try to see how many you can name.
25.
Twinkies originally had banana flavored filling, but switched to vanilla when World War 2 stopped the banana trade in its tracks.
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