Food is diverse and interesting. Some are delicious, some are poisonous, some are made up of the weirdest components and some help us in the most amazing ways.
Tomorrow Wednesday 16th of October 2019 is World Food Day. World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honour of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.
Here are some of the unbelievable food facts that you should know.
1. One of the most hydrating foods to eat is cucumber, which is 96% water.
2. Apples float in water because 25% of their volume is made of air.
3. Eating bananas can help fight depression.
Bananas help overcome depression due to high levels of tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin — the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter.
4. Peanuts aren’t nuts, they’re legumes.
5. Ketchup was used as a medicine in the 1800s to treat diarrhoea, among other things.
In the early 1800s, tomatoes were believed to have medicinal qualities. A doctor in Ohio in the 1830s claimed that tomatoes could treat diarrhoea and indigestion, publishing recipes for a kind of tomato ketchup that he soon turned into a concentrated pill.
6. Chocolate was once used as currency.
The Aztecs may be known for their love of chocolate, but according to the International Cocoa Organization, they also used cocoa beans as currency. People under Aztec rule could use cocoa to pay their taxes.
7. White chocolate isn’t actually chocolate.
Despite its name, white chocolate doesn’t actually contain any real chocolate components. According to Bon Appetit, the item is made up of a blend of sugar, milk products, vanilla, lecithin, and cocoa butter — no chocolate solids.
8. Potatoes can absorb and reflect Wi-fi signals.
When Boeing wanted to test out their wireless signal on new planes in 2012, they placed giant piles of potatoes on seats. Because of their high water content and chemical makeup, potatoes absorb and reflect radio and wireless signals just like humans do.
9. Honey will never ever go bad.
Honey in its natural state is very low in moisture and very acidic: two primary defences against food spoilage. In a low-moisture and high-acid environment like a sealed jar, bacteria will die almost immediately.
10. People once thought tomatoes were poisonous.
In the 18th century Europe, the tomato was nicknamed “the poison apple,” because aristocrats would oftentimes get sick and die after eating them.
