Lifestyle

31 Cringe-Worthy Food Facts You Wish You Didn’t Know

By Hanna Lundgren at American University

Did you know that ranch dressing and sunscreen have something in common? Or that you can make your tonic water glow? The following food facts will satisfy your cravings for food-related Trivia Crack answers and will leave you skeptical of the next Big Mac your roommate decides to order.

1. No matter which Fruit Loop you eat, they all taste the same.

2. One 20-oz. bottle of Coke has more sugar in it than a large Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll, the equivalent of two full shot glasses of sugar.

3. One in every eight Americans has been employed by McDonald’s.

4. Subway chicken breast strips contain 25 additional ingredients other than chicken.

5. Consuming dried fruit lessens the antioxidant and vitamin levels by over 30% and increases the sugar concentration.

6. According to World Botanical, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are not classified as “berries,” but bananas, tomatoes, avocados, pumpkins, and watermelons are.

7. Grass-fed beef contains two to five times more omega 3’s than grain-fed beef.

8. Oysters provide more vitamin B than skim milk.

9. In 2011, 29.9 lbs of antibiotics were sold to the meat production industry, more than four times the amount sold to treat people that year.

10. The crystalline compound quinine in tonic water turns the liquid blue when placed under a black light.

11. Chipotle uses 97,000 avocados for an average day of guac production.

12. The antioxidants in cinnamon can prevent weight gain and diabetes.

13. Alaska produces more than half of all the seafood caught in the U.S.

14. One cup of air popped popcorn contains more antioxidants than a piece of fruit.

15. If the rate of fishing continues, the industry is predicted to collapse in 2048.

16. An average ear of corn has 16 rows of kernels.

17. Red food coloring found in Skittles and other candies is actually crushed up carmine, a type of beetle.

18. Chewing gum is softened by the additive Lanolin, which is an oily secretion found on sheep’s wool.

19. Most wasabi is actually colored horseradish.

20. Apples, pears and plums belong to the rose family.

21. The most expensive pizza in the world costs $12,000 and takes 72 hours to make.

22. The winner of the 2013 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest consumed 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

23. Tea bags were originally used to send tea samples until they realized it was a good packaging method.

24. McDonald’s sells 75 hamburgers per second, every day.

25. Each fast food hamburger can contain meat from over 100 different cows.

26. Ranch dressing contains the same whitening agent, titanium dioxide, as some paints and sunscreen.

27. Eating bananas can help fight depression.

28. The most expensive fruit in the world is the Japanese Yubari cantaloupe. Two melons once sold at auction for $23,500.

29. SPAM is short for spiced ham.

30. The popsicle was invented by an eleven-year-old in 1905.

31. Cucumbers are the most hydrating food comprised of 96% water.

Remember these strange facts the next time you visit the grocery store for “spiced ham,” a multi-purposed salad dressing, an array of Fruit Loop flavors and a $12,000 frozen pizza. You have been warned.

Interested in learning even more strange and unusual food facts? Check out these suggested reads:

• You Might Be Named After Food and Have No Idea
• 5 Facts You Didn’t Know About Fall Foods
• 8 Surprising Food Facts