Wingnut Fun Facts

Yup, I have a complete draft of my thesis in the hands of the committee, so I'm not feeling guilty for blogging :) A few fun facts that came my way while I was working hard the past few days:

Fun Fact #1: Is there really a root in Root Beer?
It turns out there just may well be, but mostly, it's sugar. Some of the plant materials that have been used in root beer over the years include sarsaparilla root, sassafras root, dandelion root, ginger root, yellow dock root, burdock root, spikenard root, birch bark, wild cherry bark, wintergreen bark, prickly ash bark, spicewood, allspice, juniper berries, vanilla bean, coriander seed, licorice, dog grass, pipsissewa, cardamom, cinnamon, and even hops. Some recipes did not use roots, or relied mainly on one ingredient, and that's where Birch Beer and Sarsaparilla Soda came from.
You can find the whole history of rootbeer here: ROOT BEER HISTORY

Fun Fact #2: There's a new Food Pyramid!
This one's got stairs so you don't forget to exercise. Still no chocolate food group though. Sorry Dad.