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Weird Food Facts You Won’t Believe Are True

Aishwarya Swamy

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Ever wondered... how your favorite food truly came to be? And discovered that bananas were cloned? Or heard the story behind how tea bags were created?

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Read on, as we dish out some bizarre food facts that you’ll surely remember the next time you spot these foods!

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#1 Ketchup was used as medicine & was made from shark innards.
It makes perfect sense now, as to why ketchup bottles are specifically labeled ‘Tomato Ketchup’. From serving a medicinal purpose since the year 534, ketchup has had quite a long make-over journey.
It was Mr. Henry John Heinz, who completely revamped the game of Tomato Ketchup. So the next time you dip those fries in ketchup, you know whom to thank!

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#2 Honey contains bee vomit.
This delicious condiment, that also works as an excellent moisturizer and healing agent is a combination of nectar and bee vomit!
While some debate the validity of the word vomit, but honey is indeed made from the contents stored in a bee’s stomach.

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#3 You can hear Rhubarb grow.
Rhubarb, native to central Asia, grows quickly when placed in warm blacked-out sheds, resulting in the plant growing so fast that you can actually hear it popping when it lengthens.

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#4 A vanilla flavoring substitute is procured from a Beaver’s butt.
Like most animals, beavers too scent mark their territory to ward off other animals, and for this they use Castoreum mixed with urine.
That same Castoreum is used as an alternate vanilla flavoring which is acquired from the anal glands of a beaver.

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#5 Tonic water glows in the dark.
This discovery will surely help upgrade your party nights! The reason for tonic water glowing in the dark is that it contains a chemical called Quinine.
The science behind the drink glowing is that when an ultraviolet light shines on it, the quinine absorbs the light energy and emits its own energy.

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#6 Popsicles were actually invented by a ‘Pop’ but when he was 11 years old.
Frank Epperson was a kid when he discovered that mixing sugary soda powder and water makes for an awesome treat. He combined his own last name with ‘icicles’ and named them epsicles.
By the time Frank applied for a patent in 1920, he had his kids, who chose to name their pops creation, 'popsicles'!

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#7 Bananas are genetic clones.
Common bananas were wiped out in 1960’s because of a plague. Bananas that we eat now were an outcome of a genetic accident that resulted in this seedless variety.
That is why these infertile bananas can only be produced by transplanting tree cuttings.
#8 Honey was once used in mummification.
Honey was a key ingredient in embalming the deceased. Holy men nearing their death consumed excessive honey until their body started leaking it from every orifice. That’s how the dead bodies were preserved in honey inside-out

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#9 Tea bags were an accident.
Around 1908 Thomas Sullivan a tea merchant sampled out his tea in little silk bags which resulted in his customers insisting on the special packaging for every delivery. Eventually he realized gauze bags work much better!

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#10 There is a maggot filled cheese variety in Sardinia.
Also known as Casu Marzu, this cheese has been declared illegal by the EU!
And rightfully so, given its requirement to be considered ripe is to have maggots wiggling into it, because, if the maggots were dead, the cheese was considered too decayed!