Fact Countdown: The Big Apple
Posted on December 29, 2008Season's Greetings, FruitFans! If Sir Isaac Newton were alive today, he'd be absolutely agog this time of year. Newton taught us all about apples and gravity, but what would he think about The Big Apple and that enormous falling ball of lights on New Year's Eve? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see his theories about prisms and the refraction of light being put to such glamorous use but probably concerned about the crowd of onlookers. Nearly 300 years ago Newton's Third Law of Motion - for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - accurately predicted the jostling and shoving that takes place in New York City's jam-packed Times Square crowd every year. And no matter what time zone you're in, everyone has some variation of The Big Apple's famous backwards countdown. So here's our FruitGuys top ten facts about apples, brought to you from the University of Illinois:
10) October is National Apple Month.
9) The science of apple growing is called Pomology, derived from the Latin pomum, which means fruit.
8) At present, there are over 7,500 different varieties of apples cultivated all over the world. In total, apples account for approximately 50 percent of the world's deciduous fruit production.
7) Over 2,500 varieties are cultivated in the United States, primarily produced in Washington, New York, Michigan (state flower: Apple Blossom), Pennsylvania, California and Virginia. However, each of the 50 states grows at least one variety.
6) The growth of a single apple uses the energy absorbed by approximately 50 leaves on the apple tree.
5) Remember "Mr. Peeler the Vitamin Stealer?" Two-thirds of the fiber and lots of important antioxidants are found in an apple's skin - leave it on.
4) Apples are a great source of the fiber Pectin, containing about five grams per apple. A medium-sized apple contains about 80 calories.
3) Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the vigor and health of the plant. Different varieties of apples will have different number of seeds.
2) 25 percent of an apple's volume is air. That's why they float, and "crunch!" when you bite into them - the sound is made by the air pockets breaking open. Sort of like fruit bubble wrap...
1) The world's largest apple peel was created by Kathy Wafler Madison on October 16, 1976, in Rochester, NY. It was 172 feet, 4 inches long. (She was 16 years old at the time and grew up to be a sales manager for an apple tree nursery.)
Happy New Year! Thanks for enjoying a fruit-filled 2008 with us. We look forward to seeing you again in 2009. Enjoy and be fruitful.
-Jeff Koelemay info@fruitguys.com
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