Today is National Onion Day!
You may ask, why do onions get a national day?! Check out the fun facts below!
- Onions have been part of the human diet for more than 7,000 years.
- Ancient Egyptians worshipped onions, believing they symbolized eternity.
- Do not let your dog have onions! They can weaken a dog's red blood cells, leading to anemia that, in severe cases, could result in death.
- In the Middle Ages, onions were an acceptable form of currency, and was used to pay for rent, goods and services — and even as gifts!
- Onions destroy osteoclasts, bone cells which resorb bone tissue and weaken bones.
- The reason cutting onions make us cry is because cutting into it releases sulfuric acid, which reacts with the moisture in our eyes to create a tearful reaction.
- You can avoid the tears by cutting them under running water, or while submerged in water.
- Onions are rich in quercetin, a powerful flavonoid antioxidant that has been shown to have positive effects on people battling lung cancer.
- Onions can also be beneficial in the treatment of cataracts and even cardiovascular disease.
- The biggest onion ever grown weighed just under 18 pounds.
- Ancient Greeks believe onions could make you stronger. In fact, onions were eaten by athletes as a strength-booster in the very first Olympic games during the first century A.D.
- Sliced onion can soothe insect bites and burns on the skin. In addition, when combined with crushed aspirin and little water, slices of onion are also used as a folk treatment to cure warts.
- Sliced onions don’t become poisonous. That’s an urban myth! Toxic bacteria will not form on sliced onions even if you keep them sliced overnight. You won’t get food poisoning or stomach infection from them.
- According to Old English folklore, if the skin of the onion is thick, it means that a harsh or severe winter is coming. A thin skin on the other hand denotes a mild winter.
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