It is not uncommon to think that there are things in the world that most people don't have a clue about. That fact can be either good or very, very bad. Some things in life we can live without knowing, like the quadratic formula, unless of course math is your career, or the spelling of Mary Poppins famous song, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. You just don't need to know that. However, there are definitely things in the world you should definitely be aware of in the future. Here are 5 interesting facts everyone should know.
1) Apple Seeds Contain Cyanide
Yep, you read that right. Apple seeds do in fact contain a small amount of cyanide. The seeds of an apple, also known as "pips" contain a sugar/cyanide compound called "amygdalin." This compound turns into hydrogen cyanide when metabolized. For those history buffs, you may now realize that hydrogen cyanide is a key ingredient to Zyklon B, which was what the Nazi's used in their gas chambers. Please don't panic, ingesting a couple apple seeds won't kill you, however, if you go and chomp on a mouthful of apple seeds, you may want to rethink that.
2) If you eat a lot of carrots you will turn into an Oompa Loompa
Now, I am kidding of course! However, this is actually kind of true. If you ingest a large amount of carrots, your skin will turn an orange/yellowish color. Now, I never believed this until it happened to my grandmother. Just imagine a little 5ft nothing old grandma with orange skin! Carrots contain carotene, and if you eat a lot of it the build up is what turns your skin orange. If this happens, it will first show up on your nose or the inside of your palms.
3) Lighters were invented before matches!
This fact baffled me and in honesty, I couldn't believe it at first but it is true. The matches that you grew up with were actually invented after the lighter. Some say no it wasn't, the match came first, however, the matches they are referring to aren't the same match we all know today. The type of matches that came before the lighter were sticks that were soaked in a flammable chemical.
4) The truth behind Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham
The truth behind the infamous Dr. Seuss's beloved classic children's book, "Green Eggs and Ham" is truly surprising. Dr. Seuss wrote "Green Eggs and Ham" in order to win a bet! Yep, that's right, a bet! His publisher bet him that he couldn't write a book with only 50 words. Well, we all know who won that bet.
5) The sound behind the movie, "Psycho" shower scene.
The Alfred's Hitchcock's 1960 horror thriller, "Psycho" shower scene was created from repeatedly stabbing a casaba melon in order to get the sound we hear in that scene. That poor, poor melon.
Overall, there are millions of fun and interesting facts the public may not know about but hopefully, we will learn someday. And if not, let the mystery live on.
