20 Weird Food Facts You Probably Didn't Know

A hard one to wrap your head around. Before 2011, beer and any alcoholic beverage under 10% ABV was classified as a soft drink. It probably goes without saying that this couldn't go on forever and Russia introduced legislation to control and limit the sale of beer to combat the issues of underage drinking and health.

Definitely one of the more surprising facts in this series, the most stolen food in the world is in fact cheese. Around 4% of ALL the cheese made in the world gets stolen. There's even a black market of stolen cheeses, but we didn't tell you that.

I bet that you didn't know this one. This fact tends to only be known by botanists who apparently get their kicks from misleading the public. Bananas, cucumbers, kiwis are all classed as berries. Strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are not. And now you will question everything you thought you knew.

Such is the crazy nature of life that the foods that people pay hand over fist for in restaurants used to be considered barely worthy of human consumption. Lobsters are quite literally sea insects that were a hard sale back in the day. They used to be chucked back in the sea or given to servants. There used to be a law on how much lobster you could serve a prisoner as too much was considered to be cruel. How things have changed.

An old method called 'rhubarb forcing' involves putting your rhubarb in a dark shed, tricking it into thinking that it's spring. This will cause the rhubarb to grow unnaturally large at an unnaturally fast pace. So fast that you can hear the rhubarb popping as it grows.

The oily fibrous materials used to transport pistachio nuts can cause them to break out in flames! Exercise caution whenever you pass a big mound of pistachio nuts.

Now you don't have to freak out when you take a bite into the sticker. Let us be clear about this fact, just because the stickers are non-toxic and edible, doesn't mean you should eat them.

One of those facts that unfortunately has no upside. Britain is facing an obesity crisis which has resulted in talks about levies and taxes on junk food. How about making healthy food cheaper than junk food? Either way, if you're wondering why there's an obesity crisis, here it is.

The sandwich has come to be one of those inventions that shows humans are a smart and savvy species. It's one of those foods that make you think why haven't they been doing this since forever? The story behind its invention is that the Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, was on a 24-hour gambling streak. He wanted to eat but didn't want to put the cards down and out of this the sandwich was born. Did the Earl make it? Did one of his staff? We may never know.

If you messed up the mushrooms for dinner, there's no excuse to hide behind now. There's a special polymer in the cell walls of mushrooms that ensure a tender taste. If you manage to overcook mushrooms, we regret to inform you that you're just an exceptionally bad cook!

Pepper is literally everywhere now but that hasn't always been the case. Granted, living past the age of 30 was a luxury in the Middle Ages but so was the spice that we all use so freely now. It was so expensive in fact, that Portugal's Vasco de Gama became the first man to sail around Africa to get to India. His mission? To look for spices.

Nutella has become such a popular brand that 1 in 4 of every hazelnut on this planet makes its way into those jars of heavenly goodness. The demand for hazelnuts has grown so much that universities are trying to grow them in labs to fight against global shortages.

Astronaut John Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich onto his spacecraft for a six-hour mission. It's a wonder we ever got to the moon! The sandwich didn't do too well in zero-gravity conditions and Young quickly put it back in his pocket after getting it out. This could've had grave consequences. Floating crumbs and debris could've caused damage to the shuttle but luckily, they returned to Earth and NASA took bold steps to make sure that sandwiches never boldly go where no one has gone before.

This was the conclusion from an experiment done in France. The reason for the experiment was to see how our surroundings affect our drinking habits and to encourage bar-owners to think about how the atmosphere at their watering hole could be leading to excessive drinking.

That's right, think about that next time you go to swat a fly. Well, actually there's a certain species of microscopic midge that is essential to the pollination of the cacao plant and makes chocolate possible. Still, we'll never hurt a fly again.

You may have known this one already, but it's not as gross as it sounds. The large surface area of McDonald's burgers means that the burger loses its moisture very quickly. Moisture is required for mould to grow. It's by this method that beef jerky is made. It's still disturbing, though.

Surprises and food tend to be a good combination. We all love being surprised with one of our favourite foods. Or getting a surprise cake on your birthday. But the well-to-do of 16th Century England had a different idea. Putting live animals in your pie. One of those food traditions that we're glad stayed in the 16th Century.

You're probably thinking: what's the catch? Well, it's nothing major. Simply put, you have to recreate the conditions of the lower mantle of the Earth for weeks to create a 2/3mm wide diamond. That's only 2,200 degrees centigrade. Our pipe dream of a peanut butter/diamond enterprise disappeared as quickly as it manifested. Oh well.

We think that basically no one will know this fact because who takes the time to look at the shape of your nuggets before you scoff them? They do this so they can ensure they're all cooked evenly and for extra 'dip-ability'. Just keep 'em coming.

For anyone that isn't familiar with the sheer size of the USA, it would take approximately 36 days to walk from Washington DC to LA without stopping. To do it five times would take you half a year. Again, without stopping. We'll just leave that one to sink in.