Buzz
The food industry operates on a colossal scale, with global production and distribution reaching levels that are almost unimaginable. The quaint image of a local farmer selling goods at a town market has largely faded into history. Instead, a vast and complex system has emerged to feed billions of people worldwide. The surprising and often hard-to-believe facts that emerge from this industry are truly fascinating.
This list explores ten astonishing food facts that might seem too strange to be true—but they are. From apples preserved in wax for up to a year before hitting store shelves to the unexpected origins of PEZ candy, this collection covers a wide range of intriguing tidbits. By the time you finish reading, we promise two things: you’ll be amazed by what you’ve discovered, and you’ll likely be craving a meal!
10. Apples Aren’t as Fresh as You Think
The produce you find at the grocery store isn’t always as fresh as it appears. In fact, much of it is far from what we’d consider naturally fresh. Take apples, for example. Those apples you carefully inspect for bruises before adding to your cart aren’t just a few days or weeks old—many of them have been stored for up to a year before reaching the shelves.
Apples are typically harvested between August and November, depending on the variety. However, they are available in grocery stores year-round. For instance, we purchased some crisp Granny Smith apples in early May. Were these apples picked months ago and stored until now? Surprisingly, yes!
Apples are often coated in wax, dried with hot air, and then stored in cold facilities for extended periods. When grocery stores place orders months or even a year later, these preserved apples are shipped out. They may be old, but they’re still apples.
9. McSpaghetti Still Exists!
McDonald’s experimented with adding spaghetti to their menu in 1986 to broaden their food options. While the Italian-inspired dish didn’t gain popularity in the U.S. and was soon removed, it remains a staple in the Philippines. If you’re determined to enjoy spaghetti exclusively at McDonald’s—a quirky preference, but no judgment—you’ll need to visit Manila to satisfy your craving.
In the Philippines, McSpaghetti is a beloved menu item at McDonald’s. However, it’s not traditional Italian spaghetti but rather Filipino-style spaghetti. This variation dates back to the 17th century when American ships brought canned goods to the Southeast Asian nation, influencing its unique flavor profile.
Filipinos started experimenting with canned tomato paste and ketchup, eventually combining these with hot dog slices and pasta to create their unique version of spaghetti. This dish has become so popular that it’s now a McDonald’s offering in Manila. You can even pair it with a “McDo,” a piece of fried chicken, creating a Filipino twist on a dish reminiscent of chicken parmesan.
8. The Original 3 Musketeers
The 3 Musketeers bar was originally named because it came in three distinct flavors, unlike the single flavor available today. In the 1930s, the candy was sold as a trio of nougat bars: one vanilla, one chocolate, and one strawberry. The creators drew inspiration from Alexandre Dumas’s 1844 novel The Three Musketeers when naming their product.
However, the three-flavor variety didn’t last long. By the early 1940s, World War II and wartime rationing made it difficult to source ingredients for all three flavors. Faced with these challenges, the makers of 3 Musketeers decided to focus solely on the chocolate flavor, which remains the beloved version we enjoy today.
7. Cleaning Up with Corn Cobs
Before the advent of toilet paper, many Americans relied on corn cobs for personal hygiene after using the restroom. Dried corn cobs were surprisingly soft and effective for cleaning. Once the kernels were removed, they became sturdy and practical tools for wiping. This practice, though unconventional, was widely used by Native Americans and later adopted by settlers and colonists in the New World.
However, it was crucial to remove all the kernels first—unless you wanted an unpleasant surprise in a very sensitive area! Corn cobs weren’t the only option for early toilet paper, though.
Centuries ago, people often used publications like the Old Farmers Almanac for bathroom cleanup. They would read a few pages, tear them out, and use them for wiping. These pages were then left in the outhouse for future use. The Old Farmers Almanac even featured a pre-punched hole, allowing it to hang on a hook in outhouses for easy access.
6. Tea Time in Tanks
Every British military tank and armored vehicle comes equipped with the ability to brew tea. While it might sound amusing to imagine soldiers sipping tea in the tight quarters of a tank, it’s a practical feature. Each vehicle includes a “boiling vessel” designed for this very purpose, showcasing the British love for tea even in the most unexpected places.
The boiling vessel is a water heating system powered by the vehicle’s electrical supply, enabling soldiers to cook meals during combat. This feature is vital when crews are confined to their tanks for extended periods, ensuring they have food to sustain themselves. While practical, it’s also amusing that the vessel can brew tea, a fact that has become a running joke among British military personnel.
The boiling vessel’s origins trace back to the end of World War II, when the Centurion tank was designed with this water heating device installed in its turret. This innovation reduced break times, allowing soldiers to safely and efficiently prepare meals—and, of course, tea—without leaving the tank.
Over the years, the design has evolved and improved, and today, the boiling vessel is a standard feature in nearly all British military vehicles. Some even consider it the most essential piece of equipment in an armored vehicle. After all, when it’s tea time, who can dispute its importance?
5. The Original Purpose of PEZ
Today, PEZ is known as a playful candy dispensed through whimsical plastic characters. However, its original purpose was far more serious. Invented in 1927, PEZ was created to help cigarette smokers quit their habit, serving as an early alternative to modern nicotine patches or gum.
Eduard Haas III, the inventor of PEZ, aimed to help smokers break their habit by replacing cigarettes with his candy. Initially launched in Austria and Germany during the late 1920s, PEZ was sold as round mints in tins, a far cry from the iconic cartoon dispensers that later made it famous.
Haas named his candy “PEZ,” derived from the German word for peppermint, “pfefferminz.” He highlighted three letters—P, E, and Z—to create the brand name. While its success as a smoking cessation tool was limited, it gained praise as a delicious candy. By 1952, PEZ had expanded to the United States.
Since then, PEZ has become a favorite among children, who adore both the candy and the quirky dispensers. Its pop culture status was further cemented by a memorable Seinfeld episode featuring a PEZ dispenser. What began as a tool to help smokers quit has evolved into a cultural icon.
4. Oreos Are Surprisingly Vegan
While indulging in your 100th Oreo of the day (let’s be honest, who stops at just a few?), you might not realize that Oreos are vegan. Marketed as “milk’s favorite cookie,” they contain no animal products unless paired with dairy milk. Opt for plant-based milk, and they remain entirely vegan, making them a popular example of “accidentally vegan” foods.
When Oreos were first created, they weren’t designed as a vegan alternative to other cookies or sweets. However, by chance, they ended up being vegan. Oreos contain no milk, eggs, or other animal-derived ingredients. Instead, they are made with enriched flour, palm oil, sugar, and either soybean or canola oil, depending on the production batch. Despite their creamy filling, they are entirely free of animal products.
This makes Oreos technically vegan. While the term “vegan” often brings to mind healthier options like fruits and vegetables—or even the infamous kale—Oreos also fit the criteria. However, some strict vegans debate their inclusion since Oreos weren’t created with veganism in mind and aren’t marketed as health food. Still, by definition, Oreos are vegan.
Next time you’re dining with your outspoken vegan friend, you can casually mention this fact. Pull out a pack of Oreos, start munching, and proudly declare that you’re enjoying a vegan snack!
3. The Explosive Side of Peanuts
Surprisingly, dynamite can be made from peanuts. Peanuts contain an oil that can be processed into glycerol, which is then used to create nitroglycerin—a key ingredient in dynamite. By extracting oil from peanuts and converting it into glycerol, you can produce a highly potent explosive.
Of course, the process is far more complex than it sounds. Extracting oil from peanuts and converting it into a substance suitable for dynamite involves numerous intricate steps, making it impractical. As a result, dynamite is typically produced using glycerol transformed into nitroglycerin through more efficient methods, bypassing peanuts entirely. However, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to create an explosion and peanuts are your only option, it’s technically possible.
2. Space Food: Paste in a Tube
The first meal consumed in space was beef and liver paste, eaten straight from a tube. This historic event took place on April 12, 1961, during Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s groundbreaking journey as the first human to leave Earth’s atmosphere. Orbiting the planet aboard Vostok 1, Gagarin not only made history but also worked up an appetite. With no way to cook in the cramped, primitive spacecraft, he relied on the tube of paste for sustenance.
Gagarin’s meal consisted of beef and liver paste squeezed from a tube, much like toothpaste. For dessert, he enjoyed chocolate sauce, also dispensed from a tube. While it may not sound appetizing, it served its purpose perfectly in the zero-gravity environment of space.
1. Illuminating the Dark
Peanut butter has a surprising property: it glows in the dark! Often considered a nutritious and beneficial food, peanut butter can help reduce cholesterol, support weight loss, provide healthy protein, and even lower the risk of type 2 diabetes as a low-carb, hunger-satisfying option.
While many peanut butter varieties include added sugars, honey, or chocolate flavorings, making them less healthy, plain peanut butter remains an excellent snack choice. If you shine a bright light on a jar of peanut butter in a dark pantry, you’ll notice it emits a faint glow.
This phenomenon is due to phenolic compounds present in peanut butter. These compounds, common in many plant-based foods, act as a protective layer for the oils in peanut butter. When exposed to laser light, the phenolic compounds produce a brief but noticeable afterglow in the dark.
The phenolic agents absorb ultraviolet light and energy from the laser beam, causing the peanut butter to fluoresce and emit a green glow. This same fluorescent effect can also be observed in other plant-based oils.
