Potatoes are Radioactive and Other Interesting Food Facts
Idaho produces more potatoes than any other state. That may not be a surprise but did you know on average in one year it provides over a billion dollars in revenue for the state?! That is a lot of potatoes.
The website 24/7 compiled a list of 20 things that will surprise you about food. I pulled what I thought was the most interesting. To check out the full list go to the 24/7 website here.
First we have to talk about the radioactive potatoes. Potatoes and Carrots it turns out are radioactive along with other foods like red meat, avocados and bananas. But don't worry it is fairly small amounts of radiation in potatoes. Even if you eat potatoes for 3 meals a day, it would take decades before you start showing any signs of radiation.
Did you know that tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and zucchini aren't vegetables? Technically, ft the seeds are on the inside instead of outside, it's a fruit. So next time your kiddo doesn't want to eat his or her veggies just tell them it's a fruit.
Did you know you can eat produce stickers? I am not saying I would recommend it and I have never done it myself but they're considered an indirect food additive. So they are not dangerous if you eat them.
Out of bouncy balls? Grab some cranberries. Yup it turns out they are the only food that bounces. Cranberry farmers even 'bounce test' to see if it is ripe or not.
Cheese is the world's most stolen food. This makes perfect sense to me. I have 3 people close to me that are vegan and I could never do it. I love cheese far too much. I don't know if I could do without meat, but I definitely know I couldn't go my whole life without cheese, real cheese. Cheese is also one of the most expensive foods, or it can be if you get the fancy kinds. It turns out just over 4% of the retail inventory of cheese gets stolen every year.
Next time you need to pay someone, try using salt and pepper. Ok, that probably wouldn't work out to well but salt and pepper were once used as currency.
Roman legions were paid partly in salt. According to historians, the lack of salt was one motivation for the French Revolution. Pepper came only from South Asia and was an expensive Europe import and peppercorns were used often as payment for rents and taxes.
Crushed lobster was used for farming fertilizer. It was so cheap and easy to come by that farmers plowed them right into their fields. Not quite the luxury food we think of today, they were served to prisoners, household servants, and farm workers.