These strange food facts will have you scratching your head and second-guessing some of your food choices. And before you say, “I’d rather not know,” some of these facts are just plain cool.
So go ahead and scroll through the list, you might be surprised at what you learn…
Pistachi-No
Large quantities of pistachios are actually flammable and can spontaneously combust.
Bananas: They’re Just Like Us
Bananas surprisingly share about 60% of the same DNA as humans.
Loud Music Drunk
Loud music is scientifically proven to make you drink more.
Peanut Butter Engagement
Because peanut butter is carbon-rich, geophysicists have actually made diamonds out of them.
Craving Chocolate Flies
You can thank flies for your chocolate cravings. The chocolate midge fly pollinates cacao trees in South America, Africa, and Asia.
Sugar Cravings: They’re Natural
Sugar is the only taste we’re born to crave because our bodies use sugar to create the energy we need to live.
Sticker Alert
The stickers found on fruit and veggies are technically edible, as they’re nontoxic, but they really shouldn’t be eaten.
Berry Confusing
In the botanical world, strawberries and raspberries aren’t really berries. They are derived from a single flower with more than one ovary, making them an aggregate fruit. True berries stem from one flower with one ovary—making bananas, but not raspberries, a fruit.
Going Nuts-Meg
Nutmeg contains myristicin, a natural compound that has mind-altering effects if ingested in large doses.
Bee Vomit
Putting it quite simply, honey is actually just bee vomit. Forager bees regurgitate nectar from their honey stomach (known as the crop) into a processor bee’s mouth. That processor bee then stores the nectar in its honey crop and regurgitates it to a bee that’s closer to the honeycomb for storage.
Pineapple Tenderizer
There’s a reason pineapple makes your tongue feel strange. It contains an enzyme called bromelain that is often used as a meat tenderizer because it can break down proteins. So, essentially, when you eat pineapple, it’s literally digesting the insides of your mouth.
Lemons -vs- Limes
Lemons float, limes do not. Why? While they’re relatively the same density, the skin of a lime is much thinner than thicker, more porous lemon.
Orange You Glad I Didn’t Sink?
Same goes for a peeled and unpeeled orange. While the unpeeled orange floats due to its rind being porous and filled with tiny air pockets, the peeled orange sinks without it.
Water Vegetables
Thirsty? Cucumbers and iceberg lettuce are 96% water, while celery, tomatoes, and zucchini are 95% water. You’ve got options.
Protect Your Pearls
Pearl lovers beware: These precious stones will dissolve and break down in vinegar.
Pringle Protest
There was once a lawsuit that sought out to prove that Pringles were not really potato chips. We admit they are kind of suspect.
The Cranberry Bounce
If you find a ripe cranberry, give it a bounce. Apparently, they bounce similarly to rubber balls.
Ketchup Cold
In the early 1830s, ketchup was actually used as a medicine.
My Tongue Got Stuck
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the top of your mouth. Yep, it’s a thing.
Bananas = Happiness
Consuming bananas can help fight off depression because they contain the feel-good chemical serotonin.
Is That an Ice Cream Cone in Your Pocket?
In the state of Kentucky, it’s written law that it is illegal to hold an ice cream cone in your back pocket. Let that sink in.
Popcorn Surprise
Beware of the popcorn in South Africa. It’s common for South Africans to roast termites and ants and call it popcorn.
Wax On, Wax Off
Gushers and fruit snack fans beware: these fruity treats contain wax, not too different from what you use to polish your car.
Color Me Confused
Once and for all, Fruit Loops, regardless of color, are actually all the same flavor.
A Mystery No More
While many think of SPAM as a mystery meat, it actually stands for spiced ham.
Popsicle Preteen
The popsicle was invented by an 11-year-old in 1905. What were you doing at 11-years-old?
Do You Accept Chocolate?
Chocolate was once used as a form of currency. As early as 250 A.D., ancient civilizations of Mexico and South America, specifically The Mayans and the Aztecs, used the cocoa bean as a system of money. Not surprising.
Let ‘Em Eat Meat
McDonald’s sells 75 burgers every second.Â
A Shiny Coat
While shellac is known most commonly as a top coat nail polish to prevent chipping, jelly beans are actually encased in it. Weird? Yeah. Definitely didn’t think that stuff was edible.
Power to the Greeks
Greek yogurt has twice as much protein as your standard go-gurt and Yoplait options.
What’s in a Name?
M&M’s stands for Mars & Murrie, the names of the two people who invented this famous chocolate candy.
Infinitely Sweet
Honey is the only food with an infinite shelf life. It will never go bad or rot.
A Rose By Any Other Name is an… Apple?
Apples come from the same family as the rose.
Moon Fruit
Canned peaches were the were fruit to be eaten on the moon.
A Pound of This, A Pound of That
Pound cake got its name from its original recipe that called for one pound of butter, eggs, sugar, and flour. Whoa.
Sushi Imposter
Most wasabi is actually not wasabi at all, but colored horseradish.
Easy to Peas
In Brazil, one of the most popular pizza toppings is green peas.
Not So Olive, Olive Oil
About 70% of olive oil sold is not actually pure olive oil.
Care for a Sample?
The tea bag was actually created by accident as tea bags were originally sent as samples.
Bug Guts
The red food-coloring carmine is made from boiled cochineal bugs, a type of beetle.
Quack Attack
The softening agent L-cysteine, used in breads, is made from human hair and duck feathers.
Death By Puffer Fish
If improperly prepared, fugu, or puffer fish, can kill you since it contains a toxin 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide.
No Thank You
Milt, a delicacy around the world, is fish sperm.
Sunscreen Salad
Ranch dressing contains titanium dioxide to make it appear whiter. This chemical is also used in sunscreen and paint as well.
Beans and Cracker Jacks
Peanuts actually aren’t nuts but are actually scientifically considered legumes.
The Wrong Idea
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.”
Settling the Debate
PSA: Yams and sweet potatoes are NOT the same things.
Prayer Twist
The twist in soft pretzels has religious symbolism, as they are supposed to look like arms crossed in prayer.
Breathable
The holes in crackers actually have a purpose. They help prevent air bubbles from ruining the baking process.
It’s All in Your Mind
Peppers are hot due to a chemical compound called capsaicin, which bonds to your sensory nerves and tricks them into thinking your mouth is actually being burned. Mind over matter.
Twenty Years Doctor Free
If you ate one a day, it would take you 20 years to try all of the different varieties of apples grown throughout the world.
Beaver Bottoms
Castoreum, which is used as a substitute vanilla flavoring, is actually taken from the anal glands of beavers. The real question is, who discovered this?
Gela-Skin
The reason vegetarians and vegans can’t eat gelatin is that it’s made from the skin, connective tissue, and bones of animals, such as cows and pigs.
Coffee Lovers are Radical[free]
Coffee happens to be the biggest source of antioxidants in an average Western diet. This means that early morning cup of Joe is, in fact, helping you to fight free radicals.
Spittin’ Seeds
Almonds are not nuts. They are actually the seeds of a flower and they’re directly related to orchids and roses.
 Nature’s Way
A natural cure for dandruff is to boil beetroot in water and then wash your hair with that water.
Banana Hands
A cluster of bananas is called a ‘hand’ and a single banana is known as a ‘finger’. Get it?
Vitamin D-elicious
Egg yolks are one of the few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D.
Hot in Here
If you run hot water while you slice onions, it will help with the inevitable onion tears. It’s thought that the steam helps dissipate the vapors.
Raiders of the Lost Chocolate Bar
Twix Bars were previously known as Raiders before 1991.
Once You Pop
The first food that was ever microwaved was popcorn. Pretty safe bet if you ask us.
Store With Care
Water bottles have expiration dates, not for the water, but for the plastic bottle, because the chemical composition, if left open to the air, will change as it absorbs carbon dioxide.
The Club is Lit
If you put tonic water under black light it will shine bright blue thanks to the chemical quinine.
Live Contents Inside
A raw oyster is likely to still be alive when you consume it, but boy are they delicious.
Sinking in Sweetness
Diet Coke will float while regular Coke will sink. While the ingredients are pretty secretive, it’s thought that regular Coke sinks because it has more sugar.