Food and Dining Fun Facts
Americans Eating Animals
How many animals are eaten by human beings in the United States?
An estimate published in 2008, in the New York Times, stated that Americans eat about 10 billion animals every year. Most popular eaten animals are cows, chickens, and pigs!
Taste Testers
Coffee
According to Consumer Report (February 2007), taste testers preferred McDonald’s coffee over Starbucks’s.
Wine
Does price determine the quality of wine, or does quality of wine determines the quality of wine? Researchers at California Institute of Technology scanned brain activity during wine taste testing. When they placed a $45 price tag on a $5 wine bottle, taste testers’ brain scans showed more pleasure than when the real price tag of $5 was left on the bottle.
How Much Do Americans Eat?
An American on average eats 120 pounds of potatoes each year.
An American on average eats 22 pounds of tomatoes each year.
An American on average eats 20 pounds of apples each year.
Americans eat about 100 acres of pizza each day.
A Nation High on Sugar
In 2005, the average American consumed 140 pounds of sugar.
The average German or French consumed about 70 pounds of sugar.
The average Chinese consumed about 15 pounds.
Impossible!
It is almost impossible for one person to drink a whole gallon of milk in one hour period without vomiting. A chemistry high school teacher was suspended because he informed his students about the impossibility of drinking a gallon of milk within one hour and challenged his students to try; those who did porved him right.
To Waste
According to Timothy Jones, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona, the Average American household throws away 14% of its food—that is, 470 pounds of food or around $600 worth of food each year per household.
Priceless
Terra Bite Lounge, in Kirkland, Washington, has no prices listed for any of its menu items. Its owner Ervin Peretz wanted customers to pay according to what they think their food and service are worth. So far it’s been profitable since those who are generous make up for those who are stingy and take advantage of the system.
As Fresh As It Gets
Bighead and Silver Carp
A Taiwanese chef, from the southern city of Chiayi, got in trouble with animal rights for deep frying carp while alive, and serving it with its head still moving. The dish is a Chinese dish called “yin yang fish.” The chef said that the purpose of serving the meal with the fish head still alive is to show customers how fresh the fish is.