FOOD

What we eat, why we eat it, and the strange stories behind your favorite snacks.

50 facts

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The world's oldest cookbook is about 4,000 years old.

The world's oldest cookbook is about 4,000 years old.

Ancient cooks wrote recipes for stews and bread on clay tablets in what is now Iraq - long before paper existed.

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49 facts

French fries are probably Belgian.

DID YOU KNOW? French fries are probably Belgian. Belgians have been frying potato strips for at least 300 years - long before "French fries" got their American nickname. 2 min read

Croissants are originally from Austria, not France.

DID YOU KNOW? Croissants are originally from Austria, not France. The famous flaky crescent pastry was created in Vienna and only travelled to France a century later. 2 min read

Pretzels are shaped like a monk's praying arms.

DID YOU KNOW? Pretzels are shaped like a monk's praying arms. A medieval monk supposedly twisted leftover bread dough into the shape of arms folded in prayer - and the pretzel was born. 2 min read

Curry travelled around the world and changed in every country.

DID YOU KNOW? Curry travelled around the world and changed in every country. From its Indian roots to British curry houses and Japanese curry rice, the word "curry" now means something different almost everywhere. 2 min read

There is a McDonald's in over 100 countries.

DID YOU KNOW? There is a McDonald's in over 100 countries. From Iceland to India to the smallest Pacific islands, the golden arches are nearly everywhere on Earth. 2 min read

The TV dinner was invented because of leftover turkey.

DID YOU KNOW? The TV dinner was invented because of leftover turkey. A frozen food company had 240 tonnes of unsold Thanksgiving turkey - and a clever salesman saved the day. 2 min read

Sliced bread was invented in 1928.

DID YOU KNOW? Sliced bread was invented in 1928. Before that, every loaf was sold whole - and you had to slice it yourself, often unevenly, with a knife. 2 min read

White Castle was the world's first fast food chain.

DID YOU KNOW? White Castle was the world's first fast food chain. Decades before McDonald's existed, a small Kansas chain was already serving identical little burgers on a production line. 2 min read

The hot dog was originally a sausage from Germany.

DID YOU KNOW? The hot dog was originally a sausage from Germany. German immigrants brought their long, thin sausages to America in the 1800s - and put them in a bun to make street food history. 2 min read

The sandwich is named after an actual earl.

DID YOU KNOW? The sandwich is named after an actual earl. An 18th-century English nobleman wanted a snack he could eat without getting his cards greasy - and gave his title to a whole food category. 2 min read

Modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy.

DID YOU KNOW? Modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy. People had been eating flatbreads with toppings for thousands of years, but pizza as we know it was born in 1700s Naples. 2 min read

Root beer was originally made from the bark of a tree.

DID YOU KNOW? Root beer was originally made from the bark of a tree. The classic American fizzy drink got its sweet, spicy flavor from the root of the sassafras tree. 2 min read

Astronauts on the space station drink their own recycled sweat.

DID YOU KNOW? Astronauts on the space station drink their own recycled sweat. Water is too heavy to launch into space, so every drop on the ISS is filtered and used again - and again. 2 min read

People have been drinking lemonade for at least a thousand years.

DID YOU KNOW? People have been drinking lemonade for at least a thousand years. The first lemonade-like drinks were sold in medieval Egypt - long before lemons even reached Europe. 2 min read

Red Bull is based on a Thai energy drink for truck drivers.

DID YOU KNOW? Red Bull is based on a Thai energy drink for truck drivers. The original was a syrupy yellow tonic called Krating Daeng, sold to keep long-distance drivers awake. 2 min read

Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s.

DID YOU KNOW? Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s. A tea shop manager dropped tapioca pearls into iced tea on a whim - and accidentally invented one of the biggest drink crazes of the modern world. 2 min read

Around the world, people drink milk from many different animals.

DID YOU KNOW? Around the world, people drink milk from many different animals. Camels, yaks, reindeer, donkeys, and even moose all give milk that humans drink. 2 min read

A champagne bottle holds about three times the pressure of a car tyre.

DID YOU KNOW? A champagne bottle holds about three times the pressure of a car tyre. All those bubbles are trapped carbon dioxide gas, and they push against the bottle hard enough to launch the cork like a bullet. 2 min read

DID YOU KNOW? The world's oldest soda brand started fizzing in 1783. Schweppes has been making sparkling water for over 240 years - back when most of the world had never heard of bubbles in a drink. 2 min read

Coffee was discovered by a goat herder, according to legend.

DID YOU KNOW? Coffee was discovered by a goat herder, according to legend. A 9th-century Ethiopian goat herder noticed his goats getting jumpy after eating red berries from a certain bush - and the rest is history. 2 min read

Tea is the most popular drink in the world after water.

DID YOU KNOW? Tea is the most popular drink in the world after water. Humans drink more cups of tea each day than coffee, soda, and juice combined - and it has been our favorite drink for thousands of years. 2 min read

Most orange juice is artificially flavored to taste the same all year.

DID YOU KNOW? Most orange juice is artificially flavored to taste the same all year. After being stored for months, juice loses its flavor - so companies add "flavor packs" to make every carton taste identical. 2 min read

The Coca-Cola formula is locked in a bank vault.

DID YOU KNOW? The Coca-Cola formula is locked in a bank vault. The exact recipe for Coke has been a guarded secret for over 130 years - and is kept inside a giant vault in Atlanta. 2 min read

The first chocolate bar was made in England in 1847.

DID YOU KNOW? The first chocolate bar was made in England in 1847. For most of history, chocolate was a drink - it took an English company to figure out how to mould it into a solid bar. 2 min read

Fortune cookies were invented in America, not China.

DID YOU KNOW? Fortune cookies were invented in America, not China. The little folded cookies served at Chinese restaurants in the US are almost unknown in China - and were probably first baked in California. 2 min read

Milton Hershey gave his chocolate fortune to an orphanage.

DID YOU KNOW? Milton Hershey gave his chocolate fortune to an orphanage. The man who built America's biggest chocolate company left his entire fortune to a school for poor children - and it still owns the company today. 2 min read

Gummy bears were invented in Germany in the 1920s.

DID YOU KNOW? Gummy bears were invented in Germany in the 1920s. A German candy maker named Hans Riegel created the first "dancing bear" candies - and the company he started is still selling them today. 2 min read

Lollipops may be named after a famous racehorse.

DID YOU KNOW? Lollipops may be named after a famous racehorse. The modern lollipop got its name in the early 1900s - and a popular legend says the inventor named it after his favorite horse. 2 min read

People have been making ice cream for over 2,500 years.

DID YOU KNOW? People have been making ice cream for over 2,500 years. Long before freezers, Persian kings ate frozen desserts made from snow carried down from the mountains. 2 min read

Cotton candy was invented by a dentist.

DID YOU KNOW? Cotton candy was invented by a dentist. A dentist co-invented the machine that spins pure sugar into fluffy clouds - the same sugar that rots teeth. 2 min read

Bubble gum is pink because that is all the inventor had left.

DID YOU KNOW? Bubble gum is pink because that is all the inventor had left. The first bubble gum got its color by accident - the factory only had pink food coloring in stock. 1 min read

Marshmallows were originally made from a real plant.

DID YOU KNOW? Marshmallows were originally made from a real plant. Ancient Egyptians made the first marshmallows from the sticky sap of the marsh mallow plant - sugar wasn't even involved. 2 min read

White chocolate is not actually chocolate.

DID YOU KNOW? White chocolate is not actually chocolate. It contains cocoa butter, but none of the dark cocoa solids that give chocolate its color and flavor. 1 min read

Chocolate is poisonous to dogs.

DID YOU KNOW? Chocolate is poisonous to dogs. A chemical in cocoa called theobromine is harmless to humans, but dogs cannot break it down - and it can make them very sick. 2 min read

The Aztecs used chocolate beans as money.

DID YOU KNOW? The Aztecs used chocolate beans as money. Cocoa beans were so valuable in ancient Mexico that you could trade a handful for a turkey or a slave. 2 min read

Kiwifruit used to be called Chinese gooseberries.

DID YOU KNOW? Kiwifruit used to be called Chinese gooseberries. New Zealand growers renamed the fuzzy green fruit in 1959 to make it easier to sell in America. 2 min read

Cranberries bounce when they are ripe.

DID YOU KNOW? Cranberries bounce when they are ripe. Farmers sort cranberries by dropping them down a wooden ramp - only the bouncy ones make the grade. 2 min read

Mangoes are the most eaten fruit on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? Mangoes are the most eaten fruit on Earth. Forget apples and bananas - humans eat more mangoes worldwide than any other fresh fruit. 1 min read

Falling coconuts hurt more people than sharks every year.

DID YOU KNOW? Falling coconuts hurt more people than sharks every year. A ripe coconut weighs over a kilogram and falls 25 metres from the top of the tree - that is a serious thump. 2 min read

Durian smells so bad it is banned on Singapore buses.

DID YOU KNOW? Durian smells so bad it is banned on Singapore buses. The spiky tropical "king of fruits" tastes like custard and onions and can be smelled from a block away. 2 min read

Lemons sink in water, but limes float.

DID YOU KNOW? Lemons sink in water, but limes float. They look almost the same, but a lime is hollow enough inside to float while a lemon sinks like a stone. 1 min read

A pomegranate can have over a thousand seeds.

DID YOU KNOW? A pomegranate can have over a thousand seeds. Crack one open and you find hundreds of jewel-like seeds packed inside - the count varies wildly from fruit to fruit. 2 min read

Watermelon is 92% water.

DID YOU KNOW? Watermelon is 92% water. Bite into a watermelon and you are basically drinking - there is barely any "fruit" left once you remove the water. 1 min read

Apples float because they are 25% air.

DID YOU KNOW? Apples float because they are 25% air. Bob for apples without sinking - about a quarter of every apple is empty space inside its cells. 1 min read

Avocados are berries with the world's biggest seed.

DID YOU KNOW? Avocados are berries with the world's biggest seed. That huge stone in the middle of an avocado is one giant seed - making it a single-seeded berry. 2 min read

A pineapple takes about two years to grow.

DID YOU KNOW? A pineapple takes about two years to grow. Each pineapple is made of dozens of tiny fruits fused together - and the plant only produces one fruit at a time. 2 min read

Tomatoes are technically a fruit, but legally a vegetable.

DID YOU KNOW? Tomatoes are technically a fruit, but legally a vegetable. A US Supreme Court case in 1893 ruled that tomatoes are vegetables - for tax reasons. 2 min read

Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not.

DID YOU KNOW? Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not. Botanists sort fruit by how it grows, not by what it looks like - and the bananas in your lunchbox pass the test. 2 min read

Honey is one of the very few foods that almost never spoils.

DID YOU KNOW? Honey is one of the very few foods that almost never spoils. Honey is one of the very few foods that almost never spoils. 1 min read

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