Ten Amazing Facts About Onions You Won’t Believe Are Real

I love onions with just about anything. From hotdogs to curries, the humble onion is a diverse food that can be used to make just about anything. But it is also interesting in its own right and these ten facts are all true, but some are very hard to believe…

FACT 1: The Worlds Heaviest Onion Weighed 8.5 kg (18 lb 11.84 oz)!

Grown by Tony Glover in Harrogate, UK who is an onion growing expert and has been growing super-sized onions for years. But this one is something extra special and has never been beat since 2014.

FACT 2: There Are Over 30 Types of Onions!

Bermuda Onions, Chives, Red Wing Onions, Leeks, Vidalia Onions, Welsh Onions, Spanish Onions, Pearl Onions, Thai Shallots, Creole Onions and Torpedo Onions to name just a few!

FACT 3: Onions are Almost 90% Water!

While that number does vary between the different varieties of onions most onions are cultivars and they are made up of 89% water, 9% carbohydrates and 1% protein! And if you understand those numbers you should have worked out that an Onions contains almost no essential nutrients.

FACT 4: Ancient Egyptians Worshipped Onions!

This is all down to the circles within circles seen inside the onion and it was seen as a symbol of eternal life. They thought so much of them that most Pharaohs were indeed buried with loads of onions!

FACT 5: We Humans Have Been Eating Onions for over 7,000 years!

During an archaeological dig in Bronze Age pit, archaeologists discovered traces of onion that they then dating back to 5000 B.C! Just as a side note there was also lots of figs and dates in the same place.

FACT 6: Onions Are REALLY Bad For Dogs!

While this doesn’t go for all types of onion some can weaken a dog’s red blood cells and even cause weakness, vomiting, loss of appetite, dullness and breathlessness! So be careful not to feed them any foods with too much onion in.

FACT 7: Onions Were Once Used As Currency!

We have already learned that onions were found in a Bronze Age pit, but what you might not know is that us humans used them (and many other fruits and vegetables) as currency! I wonder how many apples are worth an onion?!?

FACT 8: Onions Can Help Women GOing Through the Menopause!

While onions are far from being a super-food they do have some health benefits and one of these benefits is it helps destroy bone cells called “osteoclasts” and these cells absorb bone tissue and weaken the strength of the bone.

FACT 9: Onions Made it To the Very Frist Olympic Games

It was believed by ancients Greeks that onions gave them strength so thousands of them were brought in for the very first Olympic games during the first century A.D. Sadly the only truth in this is that it gave them strong smelling breath.

FACT 10: During Several Wars Onions Were Used To Disinfect Soldiers Wounds!

While there is little or no truth in half the things ancient people thought onions could do that didn’t stop field medics from rubbing down soldiers wounds with an onion before coving them over believing the onion was a strong antiseptic.

Do you know anything more interesting about onions? If you do why not leave a comment and let the world learn from your knowledge.