Dan Gutman - My Weird School Fast Facts: Pizza, Peanut Butter, and Pickles

To Nina

Contents

Disclaimer: Nobody knows for sure who came up with the idea of putting stuff between two slices of bread and calling it a sandwich. Nobody knows for sure who the first person was to put sprinkles on an ice-cream cone. But over the years, many people have come to claim they were the first, or their grandmother was the first, or whatever. Some stories stand the test of time, and some dont. This book is filled with the stories that stood the test of time.

Howdy, weirdos! My name is Professor A.J., and I love food. I know lots of stuff about food that other kids dont know. Like, did you know that the ice-cream float was invented in 1912 when this guy named Bob was eating an ice-cream cone next to his swimming pool? He took one step backward, and

Youre totally making that up, Arlo!

Oh no! Its Andrea Young, that annoying girl in my class with curly brown hair! She calls me by my real name because she knows I dont like it. Who invited Little Miss I-Know-Everything?

You know perfectly well that were supposed to work on this project together, Arlo. And you dont have to make up silly stories about food. The real facts are so interesting.

Its true. Did you know that eating asparagus makes your pee smell?

Were not going to discuss gross things here, Arlo! Remember we talked about that? No toilet stuff.

Okay, okay! Ill save it for the end when youre not paying attention anymore. Youre no fun at all.

This is going to be lots of fun, Arlo! Were going to tell the readers all kinds of cool stuff they dont know about food.

I can tell them one thing right now. Food is weird.

Sincerely,

Professor A.J.

(the professor of awesomeness)

Andrea Young

(future Harvard graduate)

Okay, lets start with candy, cake, cookies, chocolate, and other yummy foods that start with C.

Arlo, that stuff isnt good for you. We should treat this project the same way we treat a meal. You eat the main course before you have dessert.

Lets start off by talking about the foods that are good for you. Like superfoods, for instance.

Foods that give you superpowers? Cool!

No! Superfoods are foods full of nutrients and antioxidants. They help prevent cancer, heart disease, and other diseases. Blueberries, spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli, salmon, and sardines are superfoods.

Ugh. I dont like any of that stuff!

There are lots of foods that are good for you, Arlo. Like vegetables, for instance.

Noooooooo! You said the V word! Im not going to eat stuff that grows out of the dirt!

Weird Stuff about Veggies

The first food grown in space was potatoes! Some potato plants were taken up in the space shuttle Columbia in 1995.

Lets talk about tomatoes! For a long time, tomatoes were thought to be poisonous! People in Europe and the American colonies wouldnt eat them. The fear lasted until the late 1800s, and it ended in part thanks to the sudden popularity of a dish coming out of Naples: pizza with tomato sauce.

You probably think tomatoes are a vegetable, but technically theyre a fruit. In 1893, the Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes could be taxed as veggies because they were used in regular meals. And theyve been legally recognized as veggies since then.

Tomatoes are 94.5 percent water (and cucumbers are 95 percent water).

Lets talk about carrots! Did you ever hear that carrots help you see in the dark? Well, its a myth. During World War II, the British didnt want the Germans to know about their advanced radar technology. So they spread the word that their pilots were successful in battle because they ate a lot of carrots! And people bought it!

Eating a lot of carrots can make your skin turn orange. Really! Its a medical condition called carotenemia. But dont worry. Its harmless.