It is National I Love Food Day!! And of course, at Cooks Innovations, we absolutely LOVE food! (who doesn’t right?) But instead of giving you another recipe, we decided to give you something a little bit more interesting! Here are a few fun food facts that just might blow your mind!
1. Ketchup as Medicine
Yes, you read that right! Back in the early 1800s, people used the delicious condiment as medicine! Because of the vitamins and antioxidants in tomatoes, Dr. John Cooke Bennet decided ketchup would was the perfect cure for things like indigestion, diarrhea, and jaundice so he had it made into a pill! Sadly, this was very short lived because there were so many false claims attached to it.
2. Chocolate as Money
Ancient Mayan civilizations used the cocoa bean as currency! Civilizations, like the Mayans, did not use coins. Instead they mainly traded. Evidence has shown that chocolate became a lot like coins in the form of dried cocoa beans!
3. A Kid Created the Popsicle
Sounds crazy, but it is, surprisingly true! In the early 1900s, an 11-year-old boy named Frank Epperson created the frozen treat by mistake. On a cold night, he mixed soda powder with water and left it out. The next day, the concoction was frozen, but he decided to eat it anyway. He loved it so much, he decided to name it the Epsicle and began selling it around the neighborhood. After selling rights to his creation in the 1920s, it became the Popsicle.
4. Honey Last Forever
This sweet and sticky food can actually last forever! The fact that it has no water, its acidity levels, and the presence of hydrogen peroxide, come together to allow this sticky treat to have an eternal shelf life.
5. A Bunch of Bananas is a “Hand” 
This one is pretty funny! While many people refer to a group of bananas as a ‘bunch’ or even a ‘cluster’, the actual term used is a ‘hand.’ And, of course, going along with this term, an individual banana is formally referred to as a ‘finger!’ 🤔
We hope you enjoyed these fun food facts and, don’t worry, we have plenty more facts where that came from! Join us on Instagram for some more food facts, cool kitchen gadgets, delicious recipes, and amazing deals!
References:
- https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/ketchup-was-once-used-as-medicine/
- http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/maya-civilization-used-chocolate-money
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/07/22/425294957/how-an-11-year-old-boy-invented-the-popsicle
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-science-behind-honeys-eternal-shelf-life-1218690/
- http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/07/the-formal-name-of-a-cluster-of-bananas/
