1) Onions make you cry because when they are cut they release chemical irritants known as amino acid sulfoxides. Your brain registers the irritant and the lachrymal glands above the eyelids then release reflex tears.
Want to avoid crying next time you chop an onion? Try these methods:
– Cut the onion under your kitchen vent
– Freeze the onion
– Wear goggles (such a fashion statement)
– Cut the onion under running water
2) Roman gladiators were rubbed down with onions to firm up their muscles (rubs self with onion… perhaps I should have muscles to begin with).
3) In Blue Hill, Nebraska there is a law that says no female wearing a “hat that would scare a timid person” can be seen eating onions in public.
4) Eating parsley will counteract onion breath.
5) Libyans sure love onions. The average Libyan eats 66.8 pounds of onions in a year. They eat five times more onions than the average person (I hope they also like parsley).
6) The largest onion ever grown weighed 17 pounds and 15 ounces according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It was grown in the UK by Peter Glazebrook.
7) Ancient Egyptians believed that the onion’s spherical shape and concentric circles represent eternity, so they worshipped onions. Onions were placed in the burial tombs of Pharaohs as they thought they would bring them prosperity in the afterlife.
8) The onion flavored corn snacks, Funyuns, were invented by Frito Lay employee Ray Trinidad in 1969.
9) The official state vegetable of Georgia is the Vidalia onion, and in Texas, the sweet onion.
10) Shallots vs. onions? (Since I didn’t know the difference)
– Both onions and shallots are part of the Allium family. Shallots have a milder and much sweeter flavor than onions.
