Tag: Strange

Food, Suprising Facts

Slide 1 of 80: “Fact is stranger than fiction” is a saying that definitely applies to some of the weird and wonderful things you’ll find out about food and eating when you dig a little deeper. Indeed, some diet-related facts seem so strange you’ll wonder if they’re true. Here are 79 fact-checked food nuggets that will entertain and surprise you, compiled by loveFOOD's nutritionist Angela Dowden.

Bananas are radioactive and other surprising food facts that are actually true

Honey pretty much never goes off

A glass of orange juice is almost as sugary as a glass of cola

Almonds have twice as much calcium as milk

Red peppers have almost 2.5 times more vitamin C than oranges

Sugar doesn’t make kids hyperactive…

…but brightly colored foods might make kids cranky

Chocolate really doesn’t give you spots

There’s no rule that you have to drink eight glasses of water a day

Beyond 30 your bones don’t get any stronger no matter what you eat

Darker drinks come with more of a hangover

You can still be driving under the influence (DUI) in the morning

Eating late doesn’t make you pile on weight

Your hay fever symptoms can predict food allergies

Plain old vegetable is as good for your heart as olive oil

Around 400 million Tim Tams are sold per year

Potatoes don’t always count towards your five-a-day

Eating cholesterol-rich foods doesn’t raise your blood cholesterol

Just one carrot gives you all of your daily vitamin A

Cucumber is 96.5% water

Washing your greens won’t remove E. coli

Pasta in a salad is less fattening than pasta eaten hot

Some sweeteners can make you poop

A lot of popular fruits belong to the rose family

You can hear rhubarb grow

Cheese is the most stolen food in the world

There are a million bubbles in your glass of Champagne

The sandwich is named after an Earl

Mushrooms are virtually impossible to overcook

Oysters were once a poor man’s food

Lobsters were fed to prisoners

How bees produce honey is extraordinary

You can make chalk from eggshells

Only some countries sell eggs refrigerated

Brazil nuts are super-rich in selenium

White chocolate isn’t really chocolate

Coconut oil has more saturated fat than butter

RC Cola is the most acidic soft drink in America

Guinness World Record eating feats: chocolate eating

You can pay for $214 (£132.64) for grilled cheese in New York

The biggest ever biscuit weighed about the same as a Dalmatian dog

Tea bags were an accident

Tomatoes shouldn’t be kept in the fridge

A bag of potato chips has as much vitamin C as an apple

Mushrooms make vitamin D in sunlight just like we do

Fast food fries often have a dip in sugar water before being cooked

The red food color cochineal comes from crushed insects

Large amounts of nutmeg can cause a hallucinogenic high

A 600ml (20floz) Pepsi and three chocolate-iced Krispy Kreme donuts with sprinkles have the same sugar content

Humans and guinea pigs don’t make vitamin C

Blood can substitute eggs in recipes

Watercress helps your body detox

Americans eat 22lb of onions a year

Hot and cold water sound different when you’re pouring them into a glass

Apples contain a lot of air

Greens should be boiled from hot; potatoes from cold

Carrots can turn you orange

Are those wood shavings in my cheese?

Cream’s fat content varies massively around the world

Eating pulses helps the environment

A humid oven makes softer-crusted bread

Soya milk is one of the few non-dairy milks with a good amount of protein

Bananas are radioactive

Weird Words, Continued

Autotomy

Not “autonomy,” which means the right to self-govern, “autotomy” is a zoological noun that describes the bizarre defense mechanism of an animal in the wild (like a lizard) who detaches a part of its body to escape a predator. More specifically, Merriam-Webster defines autotomy as “reflex separation of a part (such as an appendage) from the body,” or “division of the body into two or more pieces.”

Borborygmus

A technical noun, “borborygmus” is a word that describes a certain embarrassing sound made in your gut. Cambridge Dictionary defines “borborygmus” as “a continuous low sound made by the movement of liquid and gas in the body.” Let’s be honest, the word sounds as weird as the noise it describes.

Catawampus

Also written as “cattywampus,” this unusual word has several meanings, including as a noun for “an imaginary, fierce wild animal.” More commonly, “catawampus” is used as an adjective that Dictionary.com defines as “something that’s askew or awry” (like a teenager’s bedroom) or something that is diagonally across from something else.

Curmudgeon

“Curmudgeon” is a fun way to call someone a cranky jerk. The Oxford Dictionary definition of this noun (which we swear was written about our great-aunt Alice) is “a bad-tempered person, especially an old one.” The thesaurus lists “sourpuss” and “grouch” as other amusing variations of the word.

Weird Words/Did You Know?

Aa

As an abbreviation, “aa” can mean a lot of things: anti-aircraft, administrative assistant, Alcoholics Anonymous and even a specific battery. The short, vowel-only word, which originated in the Hawaiian language, is one of the first entries in the Oxford Dictionary and is a geological noun describing a type of basaltic lava. This specific lava is known for its frothy, foam-like texture and jagged segments.

Absquatulate

This is a fun word. A verb, “absquatulate” is considered a humorous verb that has a few meanings, including “to flee or abscond,” according to Dictionary.com (which regularly flexes its word nerd muscles on Twitter). However, it most often means to leave with something or someone, much in the way a robber takes off with your valuables.

Agelast

Have you ever met someone who seemed to never crack a smile? Or maybe you know someone who lacks a sense of humor. Either way, Merriam-Webster thinks you should call them an “agelast,” a noun that describes someone who is absolutely no fun to have at parties.

Argle-Bargle

Someone that drones on and on, seeming to love the sound of their own voice, is guilty of “argle-bargle,” or “copious amounts of meaningless talking or writing,” according to Oxford Dictionary. The noun originated in the 19th century and once meant “to argue” but today more accurately describes someone who just can’t get to the point.