Fun Food Facts

Last week, as I sat at the American Club's monthly Business luncheon, the man sitting next to me, leaned in and whispered:

" Did you know that the Strawberry is the only fruit or vegetable with seeds on the outside?"

And as I waited for, what was to be, a very delicious and informative lunch at the Hotel Melià, I thought to myself... "How true!  What other fun food facts can I dig up?"

Here is a short list of what I was able to find on the internet.

• Americans eat an average of 28 pigs in a lifetime (I wonder how many pigs the Spanish eat)
• Cast iron skillets used to be the leading source of iron in the American diet!
• Large doses of coffee can be lethal. Ten grams, or 100 cups over 4 hours, can kill the average human.
• Per capita, the Irish eat more chocolate than Americans, Swedes, Danes, French, and Italians.
• Each American eats an average of 51 pounds of chocolate per year.
• The FDA allows an average of 30 or more insect fragments and one or more rodent hairs per 100 grams of peanut butter. (Hmm.. from the age of 3 to 30, I ate an average of 1kg of peanut butter a week - there are no mathematicians reading this, I hope!)
• The largest item on any menu in the world is probably the roast camel, sometimes served at Bedouin wedding feasts. The camel is stuffed with a sheep's carcass, which is stuffed with chickens, which are stuffed with fish, which are stuffed with eggs. (...and I thought the TurDucken was a crazy idea)
• Vanilla is the extract of fermented and dried pods of several species of orchids
• Among older men, vanilla is the most erotic smell.
• In Japan, Gerber's top selling baby food is a sardine dish!
• A hardboiled egg will spin. An uncooked or softboiled egg will not.
• An egg will float if placed in water in which sugar has been added.(I remember trying this in science class!)
• An apple, potato, and onion all taste the same if you eat them with your nose plugged.
• Apples are actually part of the rose family and Almonds are a member of the peach family. 
• Bananas aren't fruit! They are a type of herb.
• Bananas contain a natural chemical which can make a person happy. This same chemical is also found in Prozac.
• Bacteria that cause tooth decay, acne, tuberculosis, and leprosy can be cured with cashews.
• By partially filling saucers with vinegar and distributing the saucers around a room, you can eliminate odors.
• Placing a piece of dried-out bread in your fridge is more effective than Baking soda to eliminate bad smells (in your fridge)
• Chewing on gum while cutting onions can help a person from producing tears.
• Coca Cola was originally green.
• Coconuts kill more people in the world than sharks do. Approximately 150 people are killed each year by coconuts (presumably, falling on their heads).
• Coffee drinkers have more sex than non-coffee drinkers
• Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave (so do unbroken eggs - trust me - and no amount of vinegar will get rid of that smell in your house)
• If you put a raisin in a glass of Champagne, it will rise and fall continuously
• McDonald's salads contain up to 60% MORE fat than their burgers
• Most alcoholic beverages contain the basic 13 nutrients necessary to sustain human life (I knew there was a good reason to drink!)
• Pearls melt in vinegar
• Pepsi was originally called "Brad's Drink" (which begs the question - Who's Brad?)

If you know of any other Fun Food Facts and useless food trivia, please send it to me.

Fun Fact sources:  
http://www.funfactz.com/food-and-drink-facts/ 
http://www.bitoffun.com/fun_facts_food.htm