We eat on a daily basis. The question is, how much do we know about what we eat? There are some mind-blowing things about food that you may not have known.
#1 Russia only classified beer as a type of alcohol in 2011!
For the longest time, Russia had listed beer and other alcoholic drinks under 10% ABV as soft drinks! The recent legislation was introduced to limit and ensure control of how beer was sold due to an increase in underage drinking and health issues.
#2 Cheese happens to be the most stolen food in the world
I know this comes as a total surprise! Cheese is actually the most stolen food in the whole world. It is reported that about 4% of cheese that is made worldwide is stolen. Did you know there was a black market for cheese?
#3.Rhubarb – you can actually hear it grow!
There is a method of encouraging rhubarb growth which involves placing it in a dark shed, causing it to grow at an unnaturally fast pace. It is so fast that you can actually hear it pop as it grows.
#4. Bananas are classified as berries, but strawberries aren’t!
The berry family includes bananas, kiwis, and cucumbers. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are not in it. Someone needs to speak with the scientists in charge of these things!
#5. Fruit stickers are edible! What?
If you forget to peel the sticker off before eating the fruit, don’t worry. They are made with nontoxic materials in case someone eats one by accident.
#6.Healthy food costs as much as up to ten times more than junk food
America, in particular, faces an obesity crisis due to this fact. It takes a seriously savvy shopper to bring down the price of a cart of healthy food.
#7.The sandwich invention
The story goes that John Montagu was on a 24-hour gambling spree and could not leave his cards to go and eat. It was that day the sandwich was born. Did he actually invent it or is he taking the credit for someone else? We may never know.
#8. Black pepper was considered a luxury in the middle ages
Pepper has not always been as easily available as it is now. The spice was rare in the Middle Ages. Vasco Da Gama actually sailed around Africa to go to India to get pepper and other spices! That’s somewhat longer than our average trip to the grocery store to pick some up.
#9. Pistachios can spontaneously combust
The oily and fibrous materials used to carry pistachio nuts can actually cause them to break into flames. Don’t store too many of them together!
10# Lobsters and oysters used to be a part of common everyday meals
Lobster wasn’t always the most expensive thing on the menu. As bottom feeders, they were considered an unworthy food and were sold for much less than what we are used to today.
#11 You can’t overcook mushrooms
Mushrooms have a polymer in their cell walls that makes overcooking them nearly impossible.
# 12 Voyage to space? A corned beef sandwich made this trip
Astronaut John Young brought a corned beef sandwich onto a spacecraft without anyone knowing. Unfortunately, he could not have a bite due to effects of zero gravity and he put it back in his pocket. Do you know floating debris could have put the shuttle in danger? NASA has since then ensured no other sandwich has made this trip.
#13 Nutella owns a quarter of the world’s hazelnuts
Nutella is so popular globally with 1 out of 4 hazelnuts around the globe making their way into the jars of chocolate and hazelnut goodness. Demand for hazelnuts has skyrocketed and universities are even trying to grow them in the lab.
#14 The upper class used to serve a surprise pie
Surprise and food go hand in hand. I guess we all love a surprise, especially if it is attached to our favorite food. In 16th century England, they brought it to a new level. When the pie was opened, a live animal would often jump out.
#15 Loud music can make you drink more
An experiment done in France came up with this conclusion. It turns out that the music in some bars can lead patrons to drink more and at a faster rate.
#16 Peanut butter can be used to make diamonds
So, what is the catch? You need to recreate conditions of the lower mantle of the earth for a couple of weeks to get a 2-3mm diamond. That is some very burnt peanut butter!
#17 There would be no chocolate without flies
Think twice before you swat one, especially a very small one. There is a certain microscopic midge needed for pollination of the cacao plant from which chocolate is produced.
#18 Burgers from McDonald’s don’t rot!
The surface area of the burger allows for it to lose moisture quickly. Without moisture, no mold grows. If you leave a McDonald’s burger untouched on a shelf, that burger will look almost the same next year as it did this year.
#19 McNuggets always come in four shapes
The next time you have nuggets, see how many shapes are in the box. They are made in four specific shapes to ensure that they are all cooked evenly.
#20 Hot dogs that are eaten on 4th July can stretch from Washington DC to LA 5 times over!
This translates to a 36-day walk without stopping! Doing it for five times would take you half a year. That’s a lot of hot dogs.
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