Who Knew Carrots Could Be So Interesting?

I live in New York. I know nothing about horticulture or farming. So maybe you guys are already aware of the facts I plan to put forth in this post. But I gotta say, I just had my mind blown. By carrots.

Are you aware that carrots were purple before the 17th century? Yeah. Purple. Apparently the Dutch are responsible for their current color. (Did they breed orange carrots because they were tastier? Or to celebrate the powerful House of Orange? Who knows? The Dutch work in mysterious ways.)

Among the other things I recently learned about carrots. (All taken from this enlightening post.)

1. Carrot seeds are they key ingredient in an ancient concoction proven to counteract the effects of poison.

2. The Romans believed carrots were aphrodisiacs. Everyone in ancient Rome grew them.

3. That whole "carrots improve your eyesight" thing? It's an urban legend cooked up by the British government.