Apple me this: Which fruit is most often associated with teachers?
The apple, of course. It's a time-honored tradition for students to bring a shiny apple to their favorite teachers. But why?
No one knows for sure. The idea of "an apple for the teacher" has been with us since the late 1800s. Perhaps the custom grew out of the fact that apples ripen in September, when the school year usually begins. In earlier times, students—particularly those in rural areas—could have, perhaps, picked an apple from a tree on their walk to school. It was an easy gift for a child to give.
The lovely practice took on a dark note, however, if the other kids suspected the gift-giver of trying to bribe the teacher into giving better grades. "Apple polisher" came to mean someone who tries to butter up a superior in return for a favor. "Apple polisher" became popular college slang in the 1920s, but the term isn't used much anymore.
It's silly to think a person could be so easily swayed by a mere apple. But then, our culture is based, in part, on just such a story. (Think of Eve in the Garden of Eden.)
An Apple a Day ...It's true that apples can be very tempting. Depending on which poll you consult, apples are America's favorite fruit—except when they lose out to bananas, which they sometimes do.
But really, which fruit has the better claim to the title? Who ever heard of "as American as Mom and banana pie" or the legend of Johnny Bananaseed? Who says "A banana a day keeps the doctor away” or "You're the banana of my eye"? At Halloween parties, who bobs for bananas? And who brings a banana to their teacher?
Nobody, that's who. Sorry, bananas, you're sweet, neat, slender, and sleek, but apples take the cake ... um ... pie.
- It takes about 36 apples to create 1 gallon of apple cider.
- Apples are a member of the rose family of plants, along with pears, peaches, plums, and cherries.
- 2 pounds of apples make one 9-inch pie.
- 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States.
- 7,500 varieties of apples are grown around the world.
- 100 varieties of apples are commercially grown in the United States.
- Apples are grown commercially in 36 states.
- A medium apple has about 80 calories.
- The Pilgrims planted the first apple trees in the United States, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- On average, Americans eat 19.6 pounds of apples every year.
- 25 percent of an apple's volume is air—that's why they can float.
- Archaeologists have found evidence that humans have been eating apples since 6500 B.C.
Links
- For an interesting history of apples and their influence on our culture, go to
www.historyofthings.com/history-of-apple-fruit - For more apple facts, visit
www.urbanext.illinois.edu/apples/facts.html
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