Who killed the lettuce?

What is Head Cheese? Here’s the truth behind 12 peculiar food names

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We often take these words for granted, but if we stop to think about them, they might not make sense. What is a possum pie? Is monkey bread made by monkeys? These 12 otherwise common foods have names that might surprise anyone unfamiliar with them. Do you know the origin of any of these names?

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A very Canadian thing to eat, poutine means "mess" in Québécois slang. It has also been jokingly said to stand for "put in everything," as the dish is a mixture of various ingredients.

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There are no oysters in the Rocky Mountains, which should be the first clue about the true nature of this dish. Rocky Mountain oysters are actually bull testicles that are battered, fried, and served as a delicacy in some parts of the Western US. The name is a humorous euphemism designed to make the dish sound more appealing.

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As with Rocky Mountain oysters, the name of this dish does not describe exactly what its ingredients are. It has no cheese. It is a savory jelly made from the head of a pig or calf, typically including various bits of meat, cartilage, and skin. The name comes from its firm, cheese-like consistency and the fact that it is often served cold.

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An odd name to anyone from outside the US, a corn dog is a hot dog on a stick, coated in cornmeal batter and deep-fried. The name comes from the cornmeal coating and its shape, which somewhat resembles a dog on a stick.

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We are used to hearing certain words and we don’t question what they mean. Chowder, at least for many, is one of those words. This thick, often creamy, seafood-based soup likely derives its name from the French word chaudière, meaning a large cooking pot.

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An unusual name for an otherwise ordinary salad. This recipe features wilted lettuce dressed with a hot vinaigrette or another type of dressing. The term "killed" refers to how the hot dressing wilts the lettuce, making it appear "dead."

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These tasty Louisiana sandwiches were originally served to striking workers during a New Orleans streetcar strike in 1929. A restaurant owner decided to help the workers with these "poor boy" sandwiches.

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No, it’s not made of monkeys or by monkeys. Monkey bread is a sweet, pull-apart bread made from small balls of dough dipped in butter and cinnamon sugar before baking. The name likely comes from the way people "pick" at it, similar to how monkeys groom each other.

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Sometimes, a plate of garbage is just that. But if you’re in Rochester, New York, it’s a big, messy dish starting with a base of fried potatoes and macaroni salad, topped with meat like a hamburger, hot dog, or sausage, and usually smothered in a chili-like "hot sauce." Unsurprisingly, legend has it that it was created for college students.

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It may sound like a joyous cry, but at least in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, booyah is actually a humble stew with a peculiar name, likely derived from the word bouillon. It’s made with chicken, sausage, or beef, and vegetables like carrots, onions, and potatoes.

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While in some countries, ant-eating is a pretty normal thing, that is not the main ingredient in this dish which consists of peanut butter in celery stalks, topped with raisins that resemble ants crawling along the "log." A pretty self-explanatory name, don't you think?

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Thankfully, possum pies are not made with possum. Instead, this dessert is layered with chocolate and vanilla puddings, usually with pecans. The name likely comes from the color scheme, which resembles that of a possum.

Let there be light

Can the human brain power a light bulb? Discover the truth!

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Thanks to electricity, we can light up cities, keep our food fresh, stay connected no matter the distance, keep our homes clean, and stay cool or warm with air conditioning, among many, many other things. But even though it's part of our daily lives, there are actually many facts about electricity that you probably didn't know. If you want to discover electrifying fun facts, join us!

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There's one creature that really qualifies as "electric," and surprisingly, it lives in the water! The famous electric eel has 3 specialized organs filled with cells that can generate huge electric charges.

But how electric are they? Well, electric eels can produce up to 800 volts of electricity. That's more than 6 times the voltage of a typical wall socket! Can you imagine the shock and surprise of the first humans who discovered this?

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While it may seem that electricity is something modern, observations related to it are actually much older than you think.

Did you know that the ancient Greeks first recorded observations of electricity as early as 600 BCE? That's right! Thales of Miletus discovered that amber, when rubbed with fur, attracted small objects: That's what we now know as static electricity! However, at that time, they didn't understand electricity as we do today, nor how it worked or its potential.

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You know when you touch someone and suddenly feel a small electric shock? That's static electricity at work, much like what Thales of Miletus observed with amber and fur.

It turns out that the human body generates electricity through the movement of charged particles, called ions, across the membranes of nerve cells (neurons). Of course, that happens on a much smaller scale and operates very differently from the huge power produced by a power plant.

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As we mentioned, the ions naturally found in your body move across nerve cell membranes, creating electrical charges.

But did you know that your brain produces about 20 watts of power when it's awake? That's enough power to light up a small light bulb! Those 20 watts are cleverly used by your brain for neural communication and to keep your body's functions running.

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Both your brain and your heart use electrical energy to communicate and keep the body working. That's right! The electrical power your body produces is essential for heart functioning, too. The Sinoatrial node in your heart is made up of cells called "pacemaker cells" and is responsible for generating electrical impulses that regulate your heart's rhythm and pace.

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Although many believe electric cars are the future, they've actually been around for quite a long time. In fact, the first electric cars appeared in the 19th century!

Believe it or not, an early electric motor was patented in the United States in the 1830s. However, it took several decades before the first practical electric car was produced. Thanks to US inventor William Morrison, the world saw a working electric car as early as the 1890s!

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As the Guinness World Records website states, there's a giant light bulb standing 13 feet tall. And it's right here in America, in the town of Edison, New Jersey!

The Thomas Edison Memorial Tower, built in 1937, celebrates the place of Edison's iconic laboratory, where he carried out many of his experiments and discoveries. The tower rises over 100 feet and is crowned with a huge 13-foot-8-inch light bulb replica made of fiberglass. While it's often referred to as "the world's largest light bulb," there are actually bigger ones around the world today.

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One thing is for sure: electrical signals move incredibly fast. But just how fast, exactly?

The speed at which electricity travels depends on several factors, including the medium it's moving through. But in general, the electrical signal moves at nearly the speed of light! That's about 186,000 miles per second. Wow!

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Lightning is as fascinating as it is terrifying, isn't it? We've all seen it, whether in person or on video, but do you know what causes it? Well, electricity has a lot to do with it.

Lightning is produced when a buildup of electrical charges occurs in the atmosphere during a thunderstorm, and this energy is then discharged into the Earth in the form of a lightning strike!

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You might be surprised to learn that Iceland is one of the countries with the highest electricity consumption per person in the entire world.

But how is this possible? Well, it turns out that this Nordic country is also the world's largest producer of green energy per capita. Icelanders have access to abundant renewable energy sources, such as geothermal and hydropower, which have a lower environmental impact and make electricity consumption much more affordable!