Stream of Facts
Until the 1800s, tomatoes were thought to be
poisonous. Their acceptance as a nutritional
food source in the United States was due to Colonel
Robert Johnson, who ate an entire basket
of them in front of a Salem Courthouse just to
prove they were not poisonous.
Ketchupgate, as it is endearingly called, occurred
when the USDA and President Ronald
Reagan categorized ketchup as a vegetable.
This decision allowed public schools to cut out
a serving of cooked or fresh vegetables from
nutrition requirements. Pickle relish was also
thought to be an acceptable vegetable.
Forget toast—in the UK, they’re finding symbols
in eggplants. One woman, whilst making
curry, was stunned to have found the Hindu
symbol for God written on every slice. Another
couple discovered the sacred symbol “Om” written
out in seeds. Both of these examples ended
up in Hindu temples.
Did you know that eggplants are technically
classified as berries? As it turns out, so are
aubergines, berenjenas, brinjals, garden eggs,
egg apples, patlicans, melongenes, melanzanes,
and Guinea squash. These are all synonyms
for eggplant! |
Reporter Recommends
Cruise controlling in reverse. It’s pointless,
yes, but at least you’ll be able to say you
did it. Don’t be fooled, though—this trick
may be more difficult than it seems. First,
you’ll need to find a deserted parking lot
of some kind. Then, you’ll have to reach
the minimum speed of the cruise control
system to actually engage it (typically,
that’s around 25 miles per hour). Finally,
tell us your results. As always, Reporter
is not responsible for any recommendations
that you take.
|
