17 Weird Food Facts That Will Make You Question Everything

Spoiler alert: Everything is a lie.

1. Bananas are berries.

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So are eggplants. Botanically speaking, for a fruit to be considered a berry it needs to have seeds on the inside (two or more) and to be derived from one flower with only one ovary.

2. But strawberries aren't.

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And neither are raspberries. My life is a lie.

3. Sylvester Graham invented Graham Crackers to quell sexual urges.

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Turns out, Sylvester Graham really had a thing against sexual desire and thought whole wheat could help control it.

4. Flamin' Hot Cheetos were invented by a janitor who was working in the Frito-Lay plant.

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Richard Montañez pitched his idea to Frito-Lay's CEO in 1976 and went on to become an executive vice president at PepsiCo North America. Fox Searchlight Pictures is making a movie about his life.

5. Pizza Hut used to be the biggest purchaser of kale in the US, until the kale craze took off in 2012.

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Pizza Hut used them as a garnish for their salad bars.

6. The US government banned sliced bread for a couple of months in 1943.

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The ban was "aimed at effecting economies in the manufacture of bread and in the use of paper", according to a New York Times article at the time. But many housewives complained and the savings weren't significant enough, so the ban was lifted.

7. Baby carrots are actually good old regular carrots that have just been cut down.

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Which I guess makes sense when you think about it.

8. Honey never goes bad.

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Bacteria and microorganisms that spoil food need moisture to survive and honey contains very little water. To make sure it doesn't get spoilt though, you need to store it sealed and in a dry place.

9. According to its creator, Spam was actually named after "spice" and "ham".

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Makes sense, makes sense.

10. Pineapples do not grow on trees but in bushes.

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The more you know.

11. In the 14th Century, the Aztecs and the Mayans would use chocolate as currency.

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They used cacao beans, to be more accurate, since those were considered precious.

12. Raw oysters are still alive when you eat them. And if they aren't, you should be worried.

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Dead oysters have a high number of bacteria and if you eat them raw when they're dead, you could get sick.

13. Ketchup used to be sold as a medicine.

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Tomato ketchup used to be considered a type of tonic, some recipes were even concentrated into pills and then sold as medicine.

14. Hawaiian pizza was actually invented by a Canadian.

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯

15. White chocolate is lying to us: It's not even chocolate.

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It contains cocoa butter but not chocolate solids and therefore doesn't technically qualify as chocolate. Which really shouldn't come as a big surprise since it doesn't taste at all like chocolate.

16. George Washington is the author of an eggnog recipe.

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His version is heavy on the booze but hazy on the details since he forgot to say how many eggs should be used.

17. Green, yellow, and red bell peppers are actually the exact same vegetable, just at different stages of development.

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Here's more info about this deceit.