These 60 Mind-Blowing Food Facts That Will Have You Say, 'You Gotta Be Forkin' Kidding Me

Eating food is an essential part of our lives, yet some of these foods hold some pretty fascinating secrets that we would never even imagine. Wait until you read these facts. They will blow you away. 1. The oldest evidence for soup is from 6,000 B.C. and calls for hippopotamus and sparrow meat. 2. Pringles once had a lawsuit trying to prove that they weren't really potato chips. 3. Pound cake got its name from its original recipe, which called for a pound each of butter, eggs, sugar, and flour. 4. Ripe cranberries will bounce like rubber balls. 5. An average ear of corn has an even number of rows, usually 16. 6. Consuming dairy may cause acne. 7. Most wasabi consumed is not real wasabi, but colored horseradish. Japan-Guide.com 8. Central Appalachia's tooth decay problem is referred to as Mountain Dew mouth, due to the beverage's popularity in the region. NPR 9. Apples belong to the rose family, as do pears and plums. 10. Oklahoma's state vegetable is the watermelon. Wall Street Journal 11. One of the most popular pizza toppings in Brazil is green peas. Pinterest 12. About 70% of olive oil being sold is not actually pure olive oil. 13. Real aged balsamic vinegar actually costs anywhere from $75 to $400 or more. 14. Store bought 100% "real" orange juice is 100% artificially flavored. 15. The most expensive pizza in the world costs $12,000 and takes 72 hours to make. The Daily Meal 16. The winner of the 2013 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest consumed 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes. New York Daily News 17. The Dunkin' Donuts in South Korea offer doughnut flavors such as Kimchi Croquette and Glazed Garlic. Serious Eats 18. Chocolate was once used as currency. 19. There is an amusement park in Tokyo that offers Raw Horse Flesh-flavored ice cream. ohmymag.com 20. The tea bag was created by accident, as tea bags were originally sent as samples. 21. A Cinnabon® Classic has less sugar than a 20-oz. bottle of Pepsi. Viralscape 22. Castoreum, which is used as a vanilla flavoring in candies, baked goods, etc., is actually a secretion from the anal glands of beavers. Queens Jewish Link 23. Humans are born craving sugar. 24. Radishes are members of the same family as cabbages. Fiveprime 25. The red food-coloring carmine — used in Skittles and other candies — is made from boiled cochineal bugs, a type of beetle. Pinterest 26. Casu Marzu is a cheese found in Sardinia that is purposely infested with maggots. Chef Mimi Blog 27. The softening agent L-cysteine — used in some bread — is made from human hair and duck feathers. BrightSide 28. The potentially fatal brain mushroom is considered a delicacy in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and the upper Great Lakes region of North America. oddstuffmagazine 29. If improperly prepared, fugu, or puffer fish, can kill you since it contains a toxin 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide. 30. It is almost impossible to find out what all the ingredients are that Papa John's uses in its pizzas. Insider 31. Coconut water can be used as blood plasma. en.mundo.com 32. Milt, which is a delicacy around the world, is fish sperm. 33. McDonald's sells 75 hamburgers every second of every day. Reference.com 34. 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. 35. Three plates of food at a Chinese buffet will net you about 3,000 calories. Livestrong 36. To make jelly beans shiny, shellac is used, which is made from Kerria lacca insect excretions. Food Envy 37. One fast food hamburger may contain meat from 100 different cows. Twitter 38. Ketchup was used as a medicine in the 1800s to treat diarrhea, among other things. viralscape.com 39. Fruit-flavored snacks are made with the same wax used on cars. 40. Peanuts aren't nuts, they're legumes. 41. No matter what color Fruit Loop you eat, they all taste the same. 42. The most expensive fruit in the world is the Japanese Yubari cantaloupe, and two melons once sold at auction for $23,500. 43. Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. 44. When taken in large doses nutmeg works as a hallucinogen. 45. Eating bananas can help fight depression. 46. Canola oil was originally called rapeseed oil, but rechristened by the Canadian oil industry in 1978 to avoid negative connotations. "Canola" is short for "Canadian oil." 47. Honey is made from nectar and bee vomit. 48. Yams and sweet potatoes are not the same things. 49. Chuck E. Cheese pizza restaurants were created by the inventor of the Atari video game system, Nolan Bushnell. 50. The twists in pretzels are meant to look like arms crossed in prayer. Once Upon a Spice 51. "SPAM" is short for spiced ham. Her Campus 52. To add nutrition, a lot of milk, juice, and yogurts enrich the food with EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids. In other words, your OJ contains fish oil. Know What's in Your Food - WordPress.com 53. There's an enzyme in pineapple called bromelain that helps to break down proteins and can also ruin your taste buds. 54. Apples float in water because 25% of their volume is made of air. Ohio Thoughts 55. The popsicle was invented by an 11-year-old in 1905. mom.me 56. Crackers, like Saltines, have small holes in them to prevent air bubbles from ruining the baking process. Curiosity 57. The reason why peppers taste hot is that of a chemical compound called capsaicin, which bonds to your sensory nerves and tricks them into thinking your mouth is actually being burned. 58. One of the most hydrating foods to eat is the cucumber, which is 96% water. Pinterest 59. There are 7,500 varieties of apples grown throughout the world, and if you tried a new variety each day, it would take you 20 years to try them all. 60. The most popular carrots used to be purple. Incredible Things (Source: BuzzFeed)