Today I found out the microwave oven was invented by accident by a man who was orphaned and never finished grammar school. The man was Percy Spencer. At the age of just 18 months old, Spencer’s father died and his mother soon left him to his aunt and uncle. His uncle then died when Spencer was just seven years old. […]
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Embed This Infographic Source: Today I found out How to Make Maple Syrup Ever find yourself sitting there enjoying a stack of pancakes dripping with melted butter and maple syrup (getting hungry aren’t you?) and find yourself wondering, “I wonder how maple syrup is made?” …. Ya me neither. However, on the off chance you’re out of maple syrup and […]
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##EMBED## Iodine and an anti-caking agent, typically calcium silicate, are typically added to table salt. The former is added to help prevent thyroid disease, such as enlargement of the goiter, and the latter so that the salt won’t get lumpy in humid areas. This anti-caking agent won’t dissolve in water though, so salt containing an anti-caking agent makes a poor […]
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Myth: Peanuts are nuts. Peanuts are a food with an identity crisis. While most people think of peanuts as nuts, they are actually legumes. What is a legume? It is a type of plant with seeds that grow inside pods such as peas or beans. Unlike nuts, which are grown on trees, peanuts grow underground. Peanut seeds flower above ground […]
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##EMBED## Graham crackers were invented by Sylvester Graham in 1829. Graham was farm-hand and a teacher who turned Presbyterian minister due to poor health. During his time as a minister, Graham developed a unique system for maintaining health. He recommended hard mattresses for sleeping; keeping your bedroom windows open at all times for fresh air; cold showers; loose clothing; consuming […]
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Myth: Pasta originally comes from Italy. Worldwide, pasta has become synonymous with Italian cuisine. Italian immigrants themselves brought pasta everywhere they went. While it is true that the most famous varieties and recipes of cooking pasta really do come from Italy, surprisingly, the actual origin of pasta lies elsewhere! So how did pasta make its way to Italy? One of […]
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Myth: Your body uses more calories to digest certain types of foods, called “negative calorie” foods, than the actual calories contained in them. The concept of negative calorie food has recently been popularized by the media, around on Internet discussion boards, and from publications, such as “Foods that Cause You to Lose Weight: The Negative Calorie Effect“, by Neal D. […]
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##EMBED## Apples weren’t typically eaten previous to the 20th century. Before then, apples were generally used to make alcoholic drinks. It wasn’t until around the early 1900s, thanks to groups like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, that people popularly stopped using apples for drink and decided they should eat them. At this time, the WCTU was campaigning against the evils […]
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Today I found out that the largest item on a menu in the world is whole camel which is often stuffed with a lamb which has been stuffed with chickens which has been stuffed with fish or eggs; the whole lot also tends to have rice and other fixings mixed in at each stuffing stage. As you might expect, cooking […]
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##EMBED## Click Here to Learn Why Crackers Have Holes The first cracker was made in 1792 by John Pearson in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Pearson was looking to make a type of biscuit that would last longer than traditional sailor’s biscuits without spoiling. He eventually mixed just flour and water, baked it, and called his invention “Pearson’s Pilot Bread”. This later became […]
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##EMBED## Click Here to Learn Why Milk is White Lactose intolerance is caused by a lack of the enzyme lactase, which resides in the small intestine. Once a baby is born, their lactase levels slowly diminish unless milk is consumed on a regular basis. When the lactose is passing through your small intestine, it will become attached to the lactase […]
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Today I found tofu was popularly eaten as far back as the 2nd century BC in China. Tofu’s flavor is not the same as cheese but it is processed in a similar way by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft blocks. Often called ‘bean curd’, ‘bean cheese’, or ‘soy bean cheese’, tofu contains a low […]
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##EMBED## Click Here for Sources and to Learn Why Crackers Have Holes The name “cracker” comes from a fateful day in 1801 in Massachusetts when Josiah Bent accidentally burned a batch of what we now call crackers. As the crackers burned, they made a crackling noise, which inspired the name. Bent was also the one who pioneered the cracker as […]
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Today I found out why red meat turns brown when cooked. This is thanks to a protein called myoglobin, which also is what makes the raw red meat look red, not blood, as many people think. Myoglobin is a protein that stores oxygen in muscle cells, very similar to its cousin, hemoglobin, which stores oxygen in red blood cells. This […]
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##EMBED## Click Here for Sources and to Learn What the Color of Bread Twist Ties Indicates Text Version The sour taste of sourdough bread comes from lactobacillus, which lives in symbiosis with yeast, feeding on byproducts of the yeast fermentation. The sour taste itself comes from the lactic acid produced by the lactobacillus. This also helps the bread last longer […]
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Today I found out what nougat is made of. There are three main types of nougat: white nougat; brown nougat; and German nougat. White nougat is made primarily from whipping egg whites, sugar, nuts (usually almonds, pistachios, or hazelnuts), and honey together. Brown nougat is made in a very similar fashion as white nougat, except generally without the egg whites […]
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##EMBED## Click Here to Read More Interesting Body Facts Text Version Bone cells burn about 2.3 Calories per kilogram. If you are a man, on average about 15% of your body mass is made up of bone. For women, that number is around 12%.
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