From bananas having radioactive properties to lobsters being served to indignant prisoners, some food facts are so bizarre, they sound completely made up. Here, we've dug up 65 fascinating nuggets of food-focused information that you’ll genuinely struggle to believe – yet all have been verified as facts.

Click or scroll through out gallery to discover the most incredible food facts out there.

The facts selected have been verified and cross-referenced using authoritative sources, including expert analysis by nutritionists, published data and statistics.

While potatoes do contain complex carbohydrates, your body digests them faster than other complex carbs, causing a spike in blood sugar levels. The good news is that sprinkling vinegar over chips has the effect of lowering their glycaemic index (GI), which means those carbs get released over a more prolonged period, making them just that little bit better for you.

Yes, you read that right. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made that monumental first moon landing, they celebrated with a meal featuring bacon squares, canned peaches and sugar cookie cubes, all washed won with a pineapple grapefruit drink and coffee. And while that might sound pretty tasty, we’re not quite talking crispy, gleaming rashers here: the bacon squares were later described as being both overly salty and dry and no longer feature on space meal plans.

When McDonald’s added a Caesar salad to their offering back in 2016, would-be healthy eaters were delighted. Well, they were until it became apparent that once dressing was added to the crispy chicken version of the now discontinued Keep Calm, Caesar On salad, the option racked up around 730 calories, 1.8oz (53g) fat and 1,400mg sodium. For context, at the time a Double Big Mac delivered 680 calories, 1.3oz (38g) fat and 1,340mg sodium.

American, Australian and Japanese egg producers wash and sanitise eggs, then spray them with oil and refrigerate them. However, washing removes the natural protective barrier on the eggs which prevents bacteria from entering. In the UK, and across Europe, it’s actually illegal to wash grade A eggs; not doing so keeps the natural protection in place, so they can be sold from the shelf rather than the fridge.

While the exact ingredients in both Diet Coke and regular Coca-Cola remain a closely guarded secret, there’s enough of a difference between the two for this observation to prove true. The reason behind it? It’s all about the sugar content. In short, regular Coke contains sugar, which makes it denser than water and therefore means that an unopened can will sink when placed in water. The artificial sweeteners used to produce Diet Coke on the other hand mean the drink is less dense (lighter) than water, and will float.

If you're watching your sugar intake and feeling thirsty, fresh orange juice seems like a healthy choice, right? Actually, the fruity drink can contain as much sugar as cola (around 10%). While orange juice is a good source of both vitamin C (which is important for healthy gums, skin and the immune system) and folate, which helps make red blood cells and can help fight tiredness and fatigue, nutritionists advise sticking to just one 5fl oz (150ml) glass of juice per day. 

You might not have given it much thought before, but we bet next time you're munching corn on the cob, you won’t be able to help yourself doing some counting, too. When grown in a natural environment, an ear of corn will always have an even number of rows on each cob; on average, each husk will have 800 kernels, spread across 16 rows.

A method called 'rhubarb forcing' involves putting rhubarb in a dark shed, to trick it into thinking that it's spring and consequently growing at an impressively fast past. In fact, in these conditions the vegetable (yes, it’s a vegetable) sprouts at such a pace you can actually hear it growing.

It's a common misconception that eating too much chocolate can cause breakouts, but acne is actually caused by the production of hormones, and the effect these have on the sebaceous glands. A generally unbalanced diet might exacerbate the condition, and excess dairy and refined carbs might play a role – though this remains unproven. There’s certainly no evidence specifically linking chocolate with acne.

Without getting too technical, this strange but true phenomenon is all to do with the water content and chemistry of the tubular vegetable. Back in the early 2010s, when US aeroplane manufacturer Boeing Co. was having issues with its in-flight wi-fi, it used sacks of potatoes as stand-ins for human passengers to test signal strength and eliminate weak spots in the wi-fi systems. The project was known as Synthetic Personnel Using Dialectic Substitution – or SPUDS.

Despite some diet plans telling us not to eat after a certain time, when you have your evening meal makes no difference to weight gain. Put simply, our body will only store food as fat if we eat more calories overall than we use up. Time of day doesn't have an impact – so feel free to embrace the European tradition of relaxed, late night meals.

If you've had a boozy night out, the chances are you'll still be over the safe limit for driving in the morning. The body can only metabolise alcohol at a rate of one unit an hour. So, if you had 12 units (that's around five 6fl oz/175ml glasses of wine) between 9pm and midnight, you'll still have alcohol in your system at 7am the following day. 

Foods such as prawns and eggs are rich in cholesterol but, for most people, when you eat them your internal production of cholesterol goes down in response (rather than up), keeping blood cholesterol levels relatively steady. It's saturated fat, found in food such as processed meat, cakes, pastries, biscuits and chocolate, that’s of concern when it comes to high blood cholesterol. 

If you overcook most vegetables, think courgettes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, you'll end up with a mushy mess. However, despite the name, mushrooms can be cooked for a seriously long time without breaking down. This is because they contain a polymer (a large molecular structure) called chitin, which prevents them from turning gloopy or getting tough and chewy. Great news for the less confident cooks around…

A tablespoon of butter supplies about 0.3oz (7.8g) saturated fat, while the same amount of coconut oil has about 0.5oz (14g). Some people argue that the saturated fats in coconut oil aren’t as bad for your cholesterol level and heart health as the ones in butter, but most health authorities disagree, stating coconut oil should only be used sparingly.

Drinking any alcohol to excess is going to give you a sore head, but drinks with high levels of congeners – flavouring agents and other chemicals – can worsen a hangover. Generally, the paler the drink, the lower the congener content, so vodka is a lot less likely to cause a hangover than a dark rum, for example.

A group of sweeteners known as the polyols, including maltitol, sorbitol and xylitol, can have laxative effects if you consume them in excess. Look out for the warnings on lower sugar products – polyols occur in the likes of sugar-free mints, chewing gum and low-carb chocolate bars – and make sure you limit your intake to avoid being caught short.

In the UK, it's recommended that people consume five portions of fruit and vegetables per day in order to stay healthy – but did you know that excludes potatoes, which are considered part of the starchy carbohydrate group? In the US and Australia, potatoes do count towards your intake of fruit and vegetables, though guidelines are to eat more fruit and veg in total – 1.5 to two cups of fruit and two to three cups of vegetables per day in America, and two fruit and five veg portions per day in Australia.

Scientists estimate that a million bubbles will form in a single flute of Champagne – that is if you leave it to sit, enabling all those bubbles to form, rather than sipping straight away.

According to The UK Tea and Infusions Association, New York tea merchant Thomas Sullivan started sending samples of tea to his customers in small silken bags in 1908. Rather than empty out the contents, people assumed the entire bag should be put in the pot and through this happy mistake the idea of the tea bag was born.

Don’t feel too bad if you’re not chugging back eight big glasses of water a day. The water in tea, coffee, soft drinks, juices, soups and fruit and vegetables all counts towards your fluid intake. The European Food Safety Authority suggests a total intake of water from food and drink of about 68fl oz (2l) for women and 85fl oz (2.5l) for men. As a rule, if your urine is a pale straw colour rather than dark and concentrated, you're OK.

Accounts disagree about whether he was engrossed in a gambling game or just busy working at his desk, but in 1762 it’s said that John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, ate the first 'sandwich': a piece of roast beef between two slices of toasted bread. The snack was created so the Earl could hold his meal in one hand, allowing him to continue with his chosen activity without pausing to use a knife and fork.

A 1oz (30g) handful of Brazil nuts supplies 76mg of the important mineral selenium, which is more than the recommended daily amount. While you've probably never thought too much about your selenium intake, it's a vital antioxidant that can help the immune system and thyroid function.

Those in the US get about 15% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin D from a single cup of cows' milk, but that’s because it's added in, not because milk is naturally rich in the bone-building vitamin. In Britain, milk is generally not fortified with vitamin D (it will be labelled if so), and in Australia some milks are fortified, but not as standard.

It turns out you don't have to spend a small fortune on olive oil to see health benefits. Products labelled vegetable oil are usually rapeseed oil (canola oil) which, like olive oil, is very high in monounsaturated fats known to help to lower cholesterol levels. As a result, vegetable oil is a much cheaper – but just as healthy – option for stir-frying or even using as a salad dressing base.

Ever wondered why apples are the preferred choice for bobbing at Halloween? It's not because they're inherently creepy (though they do feature in a few dark fairy tales and gothic stories), it's actually because they're made up of 25% air, so float perfectly in water.

What makes the perfect frothy coffee? Turns out it's the protein in milk that makes it foam up – and skimmed milk contains far more protein than full fat. This, in turn, allows for the creation of a stiffer, more abundant foam. That said, whole milk will always yield a richer, creamer end result.

The signature fuzzy skin that covers a perfectly plump peach is there for a reason: the fuzz collects water droplets, forming a protective layer over the skin beneath and meaning that peaches rot less readily than nectarines. The fuzz has other benefits, too; pests apparently don’t enjoy getting their legs tickled by the fuzz, so will always opt for nectarines over peaches.

In the US, heavy cream must contain at least 36% fat. Whipping cream contains 30-35% milk fat, while half-and-half is only around 10.5% fat. In the UK, the most popular choices are double cream (48% fat), whipping cream (35% fat) and single cream (18% fat).

Almond, rice, oat and cashew milk alternatives are all far lower in protein than cows’ milk. However, the protein in soya milk matches the amount in dairy, so it's a great choice for vegans who want to make sure they're getting enough.

Crunchy cucumber has a very high water content and with only 14 calories per 3.5oz (100g) is low in calories, too. Steer clear of dunking it in creamy dips and you’ve got yourself the perfect guilt-free, hydrating snack.

Experts say tomatoes taste better when stored at room temperature. In fact, they'll soften more quickly if refrigerated. Once ripe, however, they will only last a couple of days, so you can pop in the fridge to extend their life. Remember to keep tomatoes away from bananas and avocados too – the plant hormone these produce can make tomatoes go mushy more quickly. 

Who knew that fruit and flowers were so closely linked? Apples, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, raspberries and blackberries are all part of the Rosaceae family. Almonds are also part of the rose family, and the flowers of the tree are usually pale pink or white.

As a rough rule of thumb, if a vegetable grows above the ground, it should be added to already boiling water to be cooked. If it grows below the ground, though, you should place it in a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Starting root vegetables out in cold water allows their outside layers to heat more gradually, which stops the surface becoming flaky.

If you've ever eaten a raw cranberry, you'll be well acquainted with the fact that that they're toe-curlingly sour. But did you know that they bounce once ripe? So, if you want to check if your cranberries are ready to use, just try tossing one on the kitchen countertop. If it bounces, take it as your confirmation that it's ready to eat.

Back in 2007, Oklahoma caused controversy when it officially declared the watermelon a vegetable, due to being part of the cucumber family. It's not just any vegetable, either; watermelon is the Sooner State's official state vegetable, while the official state fruit is the strawberry.

A 1.7oz (50g) serving of cooked chicken livers has around 6mg iron, which is about a third of the recommended daily amount, while the same portion of steak contains 1.2mg. Chicken livers are also packed with folic acid, providing more than the daily recommended requirement in just 1.7oz (50g). Both nutrients help to boost energy and combat fatigue, making chicken livers a great choice if you need an energy boost.

The term vegan was coined in November 1944, when a group of non-dairy vegetarians got together to discuss their non-dairy vegetarian diet and lifestyle. This group – which grew into The Vegan Society in the UK – toyed with the names dairyban, vitan and benevore, before settling on vegan, which contains the first three and last two letters of vegetarian.

Traditionally, we think of fruits as being sweet rather than savoury. Botanically, though, a fruit is a ripened flower ovary and contains seeds. That puts tomatoes in the fruit category, along with avocados, aubergines, cucumbers, green peppers and courgettes.

Think about this too much and you might be put off honey for life, but there's a long and impressive method bees use to produce the amber nectar. Forager bees drink nectar and keep it in their 'honey stomach' before regurgitating it and passing on to a younger house bee back at the hive. After that, house bees pass the nectar from bee to bee until the water content is reduced to around 20%. The last house bee then regurgitates it into a cell of the honeycomb. The average honey bee produces a mere 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.

Those with hay fever may also have certain food allergies. It's more likely people who are allergic to grasses will have a reaction to peaches, celery, tomatoes, melons (cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew) and oranges. If you're allergic to birch tree pollen (your hay fever kicks in earlier in the season), watch out for pitted fruits like nectarines and apricots, as well as peanuts.

As long as the honey has been heat pasteurised (and virtually all honey sold in supermarkets has) and is sealed properly so moisture can't be absorbed, honey can last forever (or for a very long time indeed). Proving the point, 3,000-year-old pots of the sweet stuff have been found in the Egyptian pyramids.

Here's a depressing fact for everyone over the age of 30: by your third decade you’ve reached your peak bone mass or 'calcium forever level', and more bone starts being lost than gained. Healthy eating and exercise can help protect bones but, to strengthen them, you need to make sure you consumed enough calcium from dairy, green vegetables and canned fish like sardines when you were younger.

McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods measures dried thyme as having 123mg of iron per 3.5oz (100g) – that’s 45 times more than the same weight of beef. While of course you wouldn't eat such a huge quantity of dried thyme, adding just a teaspoon of the herb to your meal will provide around a 14th of your recommended daily iron intake.

Just one 3oz (80g) boiled carrot supplies enough beta carotene for your body to produce 1,480 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin A, which is needed for skin cell renewal – that's more than the daily recommendation in the USA (around 900mcg). It's best to eat carrots cooked, as this softens the cell walls allowing more beta carotene to be absorbed.

When pasta, rice, potatoes and bread are chilled or frozen after cooking, some of their starches become 'resistant' to digestion, which in effect means the calories they contain can't be absorbed properly. While there are no studies that show this helps with weight control, in theory it might do – as long as you don’t drown your pasta salad in creamy mayo that is.

Think vitamin C and your mind jumps to citrus fruits, but there are other fruits and vegetables that provide more of this important nutrient than the likes of oranges. Just half a red pepper, eaten raw, provides more than your requirement for the day.

Eggshells are essentially calcium carbonate, which is exactly what chalk is made from. It takes quite a few crushed eggshells to make one piece of chalk, but it’s a fun thing to try with kids and there are 'how to' guides abound on the internet. If that doesn’t appeal, eggshells make an excellent addition to a compost pile, thanks to the calcium they contain.

Technically speaking, to qualify as chocolate, a product must contain cocoa bean solids and white chocolate doesn’t. Instead, it’s usually made from a combination of cocoa butter (and sometimes added vegetable fats), milk products, sugar and vanilla. 

It might sound like an old wives’ tale but, if you repeatedly eat a lot of carrots, the orange-coloured beta carotene the vegetable contains really can turn your skin slightly orange. The beta carotene gets deposited in fat under the skin, and will be particularly noticeable on the palms of your hands. In fact, beta carotene supplements are sometimes sold as tanning aids.

Coffee beans are harvested from the coffea plant, a small tree that produces bright red fruits similar to cherries. The coffee bean we’re all familiar with is actually the pip in the middle of the fruit, which is extracted and then roasted to help you get your caffeine fix.

Gram for gram, this is true – McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods (the official guide to the nutrients in food used in the UK), shows that 3.5oz (100g) of almonds boasts 240mg of bone-building calcium, while semi-skimmed (2%) milk has 120mg per 3.5oz (100g). However, we tend to drink milk in bigger quantities than we eat almonds (and the calcium from milk is easily absorbed), so dairy is typically a better day-to-day source.

Although washing lettuce is a must as it removes dirt, dust and some pesticide residues, it won't remove all bacteria, as some gets stuck in microscopic crevices. E. coli can even find its way into the interior of your produce, so when there are food safety advisories in place be sure to check your salad and throw out any suspect leaves.

While there are far more expensive food items available in supermarkets, it turns out that cheese is the one that's stolen most often. After surveying nearly 1,200 retailers representing 250,000 retail outlets worldwide, The Centre for Retail Research in the UK discovered that 4% of cheese going missing from stores. 

Oysters are considered a delicacy in the UK and beyond these days, but there was a time when they were a food associated with London's poor. During Victorian times, oysters were plentiful along the coastlines of Essex and Kent and were very cheap. Then, around the beginning of the 20th century, the world oyster supply diminished greatly due to pollution – as a result, they became rarer and more expensive.

Parents worldwide have experienced the pure chaos of a kids' birthday party with little ones seemingly high on birthday cake, sweets and fizzy drinks, but it turns out it's not the sugar that sends kids crazy – they're just over-excited. That's according to randomised controlled trials testing the theory, with none detecting a difference between the behaviour of children who had consumed sugar and those that hadn't.

Before the 18th century, lobsters were so plentiful they washed up on shores during storms and were used as a quick and easy protein source for many. They were even regarded as 'sea insects' in the US, where they were fed to prisoners who apparently moaned about being given them too often. By the Second World War, supply dwindled and lobsters started appearing on restaurant menus, making prices shoot up and securing their status as a prized luxury.

Salted crisps supply 17mg of vitamin C per 3.5oz (100g), while the same quantity of apple only provides 6mg (crisps weigh a lot less, though). This all adds up to a 1.25oz (35g) bag of crisps and a medium apple (3.5oz/100g of apple flesh) each containing around 6mg of vitamin C. While high-calorie crisps should be more of an occasional treat, the vitamin C boost is one reason to justify reaching for your favourite snack, especially as adults should aim to have 80mg of vitamin C a day.

When people say they have a 'severe nut allergy' they are often referring to peanuts, but surprisingly peanuts aren't technically nuts. They belong to the legume family, along with lentils and peas. Unlike tree nuts – like almonds, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts – legumes, including peanuts, grow in pods that mature underground.

Bananas contain naturally occurring radioactive elements, due to the fact that the fruit is high in potassium, a small fraction of which is radioactive. However, you would need to eat 100 bananas just to come into contact with as much natural radiation as you do on a daily basis in America.

As little as two teaspoons of nutmeg is enough to cause symptoms of toxicity and send you on a very unpleasant trip, while consuming a whole nutmeg could even prove fatal. That's because the spice contains a hallucinogenic compound known as myristicin – it goes without saying then that it's advisable to only use nutmeg in small amounts. 

Now challenge yourself to see if you can identify these foods from their close-ups

Last updated by Emily Shardlow-Price.