Most supermarket wasabi isn’t actually real wasabi at all—it’s usually just horseradish dyed green! Real wasabi, made from the rhizome of the wasabi plant, is much rarer and has a more delicate, fresh heat compared to the sharp punch of the imitation version. So, that fiery green paste on your sushi? It’s probably a clever trick of nature… and food colouring!
Almost all mainstream supermarkets in the UK, US, and Europe sell “wasabi” that is actually a mixture of horseradish, mustard, and green food coloring (such as FD&C Blue#1 or spirulina).
Sainsbury’s: S&B Wasabi paste (a common horseradish-based brand).
Asda: Sachet Wasabi found at sushi counters.
Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons, and Ocado: Stock similar, widely available brands like Blue Dragon and S&B, which contain little to no real wasabi.
A male cat is called a Tom, while a female cat can be referred to as a Molly or a Queen. Interestingly, the term ‘Queen’ is often used specifically for a female cat that is breeding or has had kittens. Cats have some quirky naming traditions—so next time you meet a feline, you might know a bit more about their ‘title’!
Roosters have built-in earplugs, so they don’t deafen themselves when they crow.
When a rooster crows, a small flap of tissue in its ear canal closes, protecting its hearing from the incredible volume of its own call. Nature’s noise-cancelling headphones at work.
Velociraptors were actually feathered dinosaurs, despite the famous films depicting them without feathers, researchers discovered they actually had feathers!
Recessions may not be good for our finances, but it turns out that they’re actually good for our health. This is because during a recession, there is less traffic, cleaner air, and people have less money to spend on unhealthy things like drinking alcohol or smoking.
The Titanic wreckage was discovered during a top-secret mission to search for sunken nuclear submarines.
Titanic wreckage was discovered in 1985 by oceanographer Robert Ballard during a U.S. Navy mission that was officially a secret search for sunken nuclear submarines, the USS Thresher and USS Scorpion, using the Titanic search as a cover story for the military operation.
Ballard used the debris-field search method he developed for the subs to locate the Titanic, finding it after completing the Navy’s main objective.
There’s a restaurant in New York that employs grandmas instead of chefs. – Enoteca Maria.
Owner Jody Scaravella had his own version of the ‘Field of Dreams’ mantra: If you build it, they will cook. It seems he was right, as the linchpin in his daily changing menu is the give-or-take 27 rotating nonne (grandmothers) designing menus inspired by the delights of their home regions of Italy (Abruzzo, Lombardia, Palermo, etc.) or their nation (Brazil, Japan, Syria, etc.). One day, you might take a seat in the slim, urban-sleek dining room and find Sicilian specialties, like a frittata made with fresh artichokes, or pasta con sarde. Another day, you may be presented with a Marche meal of panini draped with sharp arugula, olive oil, and cured beef.
