Random Thursday

Time to once again return to the obscure and weird facts from That's a Fact Jack: A Collection of Utterly Useless Information [Updated] by Harry Bright and Jakob Anser!

(image borrowed from Men's Health)

"The world's oldest surviving recipe is a formula for making beer. It was discovered outside Baghdad in 1850 on a 3,800-year-old Sumerian clay tablet. Two other tablets contain wheat are believed to be drinking songs."

Interesting.

(image borrowed from Chowhound)

"Pretzels originated in Northern Italy around 610 A.D. An Italian monk gave them out to children who had learned their prayers. He called the strips of bake dough, folded to resemble arms crossing the breast, prestiolae--Latin for little rewards."

I can see it now! Lol.

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

"The oldest wad of chewing gum is 9,000 years old. Swedish researchers believe that the birch resin was chewed and spat out by a Neolithic man looking to get high."

That's funny!

(image borrowed from Today.com)

"Stannous fluoride, the cavity fighter found in toothpaste, is made from recycled tin. Fluorides work in two ways: they reduce the ability of bacteria to make acids and they remineralize tooth areas that have been attacked by acids."

Wow. Didn't realize how powerful fluoride was!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

"Chewing an apple is just as effective at waking you up in the morning as drinking a cup of coffee. The act of chewing works to stimulate the central nervous system."

Did not know that!