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35 Weird Foods That We Now Know Are Edible, But It’s Surprising How Our Ancestors Found That Out, As Pointed Out By Folks Online
The evolution of the human diet is a history filled with intrigue and suspense. From learning how to hunt and eat meat to knowing which berries could cause stomach aches, our ancestors most likely experienced some steep learning curves. Fast forward a few millennia to the present day, where humans are now faced with somewhat similar choices... should we try the dodgy-looking, but cheaply priced restaurant that smells nice? Should we risk food poisoning or death if it may yield ecstasy? Given this behavior, it's only natural to wonder just how our ancestors knew what food was safe to eat. Or even why they were curious to try certain questionable foods in the first place.
Redditor The_True_John_Doe posed a question to the internet “What food made you think 'how the frick did our ancestors find out this was edible?'” They received numerous comments highlighting different kinds of foods, all in a great inquiry to marvel at and ponder why we humans could be drawn to some of the most questionable-looking, but tasty morsels in existence.
More info: Reddit
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#1
Oysters.
Someone looked at that snotty looking thing from a shell and thought "yeah I'm gonna put that in my mouth"
Audacious_1 3 years ago
I always figured they just saw the otters and seagulls doing it and copied them
RELATED:
#2
Coffee. Can’t eat the beans as-is; gotta roast ‘em first. Whoops, not yet; gotta grind ‘em. Hmm, not quite right yet, let’s pour water over them and drink the water. Hmm .. let’s try using *hot* water. Perfect!
Lorrie Rothstein 3 years ago
What about the coffee thats pooped out of an animal? Who thought of that?
#3
Puffer fish; only a small part of the fish is edible and the rest is deadly poisonous, so how did they find out which bit was edible.
#5
The fruit of the gympie-gympie plant. It is also known as the suicide plant because its sting is so painful that there have been reports of people and animals taking their own life to escape the pain, which can last for days or even years. The sting is delivered by tiny hairs that cover the whole plant, yet someone was able to discover that if you painstakingly remove each hair from the fruit, it is edible.
#6
Chili peppers.
Like imagine finding this pepper, taking a bite, and then feeling your entire mouth feel like it is on fire. Then you decide it's actually really good though and start including it into dishes to add spice.
#7
Bread! Like how did someone put all the ingredients together to make the bread!! I think about it all the time.
#8
Honey. When something is guarded by swarms of easily pissed off insects with poisoned a*s darts, you would think that would be enough of a deterrent that nobody would f**k with it.
Raven Sheridan 3 years ago
Probably from watching bears and other animals, risking a shitload of stings to get some of the good stuff!
#9
Some mushrooms that require special preparation. Eat it raw or cook it like most other shrooms and you end up dead. Boil it 3-5 times however, and it’s fine.
Edit: An example of a mushroom requiring this procedure is Gyromitra esculenta.
#11
The cassava...
"However, cassava is poisonous unless it is peeled and thoroughly cooked. If it is eaten raw or prepared incorrectly, one of its chemical constituents will be attacked by digestive enzymes and give off the deadly poison cyanide. As little as two cassava roots can contain a fatal dose."
#12
Castoreum. A sweet-tasting exudation that comes from glands near a beaver's a*****e. "Damn this beaver a*s smells great, wonder what it tastes like?"
Chucky Cheezburger 3 years ago
I wouldn't be surprised if alcohol and/or some kind of drugs were involved.
#13
Yogurt and cheese. It's like first of all they start drinking cow juice from cow titties. Then they save some for later. It goes off. Voila cheese
M O'Connell 3 years ago
I imagine yogurt may have come from someone who was off chasing butterflies when they should have been churning butter.
#14
chayne108 said:
Blue cheese.
Your-Evil-Twin replied:
Yes! This! Like who looked at a piece of mouldy cheese and was like ‘this is some seriously gourmet s**t!’
Chucky Cheezburger 3 years ago
Someone was hungry, went to get some cheese, found it moldy and said eff it, Im gonna eat it anyway.
#15
Hákarl
Usually poisonous, unless prepared thus:
"The traditional method is by gutting and beheading a Greenland or sleeper shark and placing it in a shallow hole dug in gravelly sand, with the now cleaned cavity resting on a small mound of sand. The shark is then covered with sand and gravel, and stones are placed on top of the sand in order to press the shark. In this way the fluids are pressed out of the body. The shark ferments in this fashion for 6–12 weeks depending on the season. Following this curing period, the shark is then cut into strips and hung to dry for several months. During this drying period a brown crust will develop, which is removed prior to cutting the shark into small pieces and serving."
Jihana 3 years ago (edited)
I tried it 2 weeks ago. It is not as repulsive as it sounds, and the smell is much worse than the taste. That being said: it's still disgusting. It has a rubber like texture, at first it tastes sharp and salty, then you are hit with the ammonia taste. I am proud of myself that I tried it, but once in a lifetime is more than enough.
#16
Poke Salad
The Pokeberry/Pokeweed plant that grows in the southern US has edible leaves. Sort of.
If you eat them raw they contain a nerotoxin that will make you extremely sick or more likely kill you. If you cook them the toxin will still kill you. If you boil them, the toxin will still kill you.
So basically someone died after eating this stuff and their friends went "Well maybe if we boil it one more time" died and someone else went "Third times the charm?"
However, if you boil them, discard the water, boil again, discard the water, then boil one last time and discard the water again the left over cooked plant is sort of edible.
#17
Maple syrup. "Let's poke a hole in this here tree, collect the sap, boil it for three days and see what happens"
Paul Pierokowski 3 years ago
Canadians had a lot of time for experiments before the introduction of hockey.
#18
Rice, who looked at a piece of thicc grass and thought: "yeah, I'll dry it out, bash it about then polish it and boil it just before it turns into a sloppy mess"
#20
Durian! It's super spiky, it seems like it'd be tough to open (though I'm not 100% sure) and apparently it smells rank.
Chucky Cheezburger 3 years ago
"Hmmmm...this demon looking thing smells like the last fart of someone who's guts literally rotted out. Let's see what it tastes like"...
#21
Nopales, a kind of cactus, and it's fruit have been a staple in Mexico for millennia. I've always wondered what went through our ancestors' heads. "That plant and it's fruit is covered in thorns...I bet they're delicious".
Stephanie Did It 3 years ago
And they are! I love nopales with breakfast eggs, with a good steak,and on hot sandwiches. We make jelly from the "apples."
#22
anon said:
Truffles
ElectricErik replied:
If the pigs are eating it, it must be f*****g delicious
#23
cranberries. If I had tasted a cranberry without any knowledge of the berry, I would be certain it was poison.
Nimues Child 3 years ago
NGL, raw cranberries are nasty. But apply your cooking skills and they are yummy!
#24
Onions: "hmm, wonder if I can eat this bulb... OH MY GOD MY EYES! WHAT'S THAT SMELLL???"
#25
Chocolate
#26
Lye fish. Or "Lutefisk"... Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff but man..
First you go get a fish. Then you let it hang on a stick for months to dry out. Then you put it in water for a couple days. Then you put it in water with lye for another couple days. Then you put it in pure water again and then you cook it and eat it.
Raven Sheridan 3 years ago
I think this was discovered after somebody lost a bet and the winner chose the most disgusting combination of ingredients he could think of for the loser to eat. 🤔
#27
Noodles. Like who thought of swinging the dough to make em stringy.
#30
Acorns. How hungry one must be to figure out to pound them to powder and leach out the tannins. Three times!
#31
Ackee. It's a fruit, and most of it is poisonous, though part of it is edible. In Africa, where it's most common (as far as I know) it's generally not eaten, but in Jamaica it is. It's eaten a lot. Our **national dish** is ackee and saltfish, and our national fruit is ackee.
Paul Pierokowski 3 years ago
Isn't this the fruit that turns you into an actual zombie if you eat it wrong?
#32
Caviar, I imagine them say yum fish eggs and eating them, and then selling the to rich people.
#33
Not even 'ancestors' - how did drinks like guinness or coke become a thing?
"Bro try this" "uh, no. That drink is black." "Yeah good call"
Vegemite is the same principle but in that case it was *literally* created as a prank from brewery waste products but then the prankee went "it's not bad tho".
Actually, I think I just answered the question. They did it on accident or were tricked/goaded into trying it, they did, and when it didn't kill them the consumable caught on.
Shane Clark 3 years ago
The caramel coloring was used to hide imperfections in the batches during the early days of soda or pop I believe.
Nimues Child 3 years ago
Yes. For a while in the '80s or '90s, clear Coke and Pepsi were a thing. It didn't last long though and the caramel coloring went back in.
Load More Replies...
Jaden Alexander 3 years ago
I bet the fact that these drinks (originally) got you high or drunk REALLY helped with any color issues.
Jojo Dancer 3 years ago
Guiness, as most dark beers, are fermented cold. So back in the days when monks did most of the brewing, cold beer was easier to produce in monnestaries .
Emma Starr 3 years ago
Guiness and coke were both created so they knew what they put in it and what they were going for.
Nimues Child 3 years ago
I think Coca-Cola was originally designed as a tonic, but was more popular as a drink. It might be why New Englanders still refer to soda as "tonic".
Load More Replies... Kathleen Pearlman 3 years ago
With Coca-Cola, it was a way of weaning people off morphine addiction - with a cocaine addiction.
SixPigeons 3 years ago
Guinness was invented as a way of getting around the malt tax. Any drink made with malted barley (beer or whiskey) was taxes according to the malt content. So, instead of malting the barley to release the sugars needed for brewing, they roasted it, producing the black colour and a drink which wasn't taxed as highly
Lynsey Mooney 3 years ago
Guinness was an accident, its actually burnt kind of like ale and it's not black it's red 🇮🇪
Karen Weiss 3 years ago
Vegemite was not an accident or prank but the result of years of research to develop a product from brewers yeast rich in Vitamin B. Yummy if spread thinly.
Corinne Civish 3 years ago
The "cocktail" became popular during prohibition in the US, in the 1920s. "Bathtub gin" and other liquor of questionable origin and quality was mixed with soda, juice, etc to improve the taste. Experimentation and invention set off a new fad. Mixology, became a real skill and a entire generation learned to drink their liquor mixed and flavored.
Maurizio Bellelli 2 years ago
someone over-roasted the malt, but did not want to throw it away
Elizabeth Butler 3 years ago
Coke was originally sold as medicine, not beverage. Tasty medicine!
JEON CENA 3 years ago
In middle age, the common beverage was vine. Some said because it's relation to religion but others say it is because of the taste. Water being tasteless, dirty, far to get was not really popular for humans. Wine is obviously of a dark color, it probably helped being okay with black or darkish beverages
#34
Olives seem like they could be poisonous IMO. Don’t @ me
#35
Fugu; like how did they find out that only a specific part of a blowfish wasn’t poisonous when correctly cut?
What do you think ?
kathryn stretton 3 years ago
A lot of these are because of 'either try this or die of starvation '. After that, it was 'that killed him, try this, gonna die anyway.'
Nicole Weymann 3 years ago
That's what I thought. In that case the question could easily be asked about animals as well: How do they know to eat/not to eat it? More baffling to me are the things that have to be prepared in a very specific/complicated way, like that leaf salad.
Load More Replies...
Emily M 3 years ago
I teach middle schoolers and I am happy to report that all adolescent brains seemed to be hardwired to lick or chew things that are not food. I bet adolescents figured a lot of these out LOL.
BannedFromABoatShow 3 years ago
Who first looked at an alligator and said, well let’s eat that! I’d like to think it was revenge. You ate one of my family, so I’m gonna eat you.
Mama Panda 3 years ago
I would like to add one to the list. It's called a Geoduck Clam. I have never had one before but I have heard they are tasty. I am not sure if I want to try it or not. I just can't imagine the person that found it and thought it would be good to eat. There are videos on YouTube on how to prepare it. It's kinda scary. Geoduck_he...e8eb16.jpg 
karl briggs 3 years ago
Looking at the image, yes... I wonder who would see something that resembles a phallus and think "yes, I'd like to eat that". Probably George, such a George thing to do! Haha
Load More Replies...
Sean Sean 3 years ago
Moreton Bay chestnut seeds. The contain a poisonous compound is as yet unknown and produces vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Yet someone still figured out a way to eat it. First you shell them, then cook them. Then slice them into thin wafers and let them sit in running water for at least 3 days. Then you can cook the wafers again and eat them.
Viktor Feurer 3 years ago
Single word answer: famine. The modern people do not know what does it mean to "being hungry". I mean not just not eating all day because it was too busy, but being hungry, really, when your can feel the end coming.
joop 3 years ago
What I don't understand is how rabbits in the wild know what to eat. If you give the wrong stuff to a house rabbit, it's dangerous.
Load More Replies...
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
Honestly, my favourite to this day is milk. Yes we all had it as babies, so did our ancestors, and many animals, but I always imagine that someone who discovered milk from a cow had to come up with an excuse of HOW he made that discovery 😆
Greta Kolding 3 years ago
And what kind of cow did that first milk come from? Did humans keep cows for the meat before they drank milk? If the cow was wild how did they get it to stand still while they milked it? Oh well, maybe we should ask a Masai.
Load More Replies... Emma S 3 years ago
I've always wondered about salt. Who decided to boil some sea water and then sprinkle the end result on your food. 🤔
Greta Kolding 3 years ago
Salt is vital to all creatures- you will die without it. Wild deer always know where to find salt.
Load More Replies...
DuchessDegu 3 years ago
I suppose it's instinct to put everything in our mouths (as toddlers do), right after that was literally the case of what doesn't kill you make you stronger!
Greta Kolding 3 years ago
And humans are curious and love to experiment: This tastes ok but a bit bland. I wonder what will happen if I mix it with some of that other stuff.
Load More Replies...
TheDivineMsM 3 years ago
I wonder about the anthropology and history of food a lot. Like almost everything we eat was something someone one day said "hey, im going to try this and see what happens" "oh, that was good" "don't try that!" A lot of brave people out there. Even water--- some prehistoric figure looked at water and said, "we should swallow that with other stuff we chew and put in our mouth."
Heliocracy 3 years ago
no one decided to drink water. It's instinctual in us as much as all of our land animal ancestors.
Load More Replies...
OneHappyPuppy 3 years ago
I thought about this the other day and wondered about popcorn. So someone accidentally left a corncob to dry, got p*ssed it was dry and tossed it into the fire, it popped much to the surprise of the dude and then... He dexided to eat it? What? Why?
Ivy at Eve 2 years ago
There is a primitive potato in Peru that is poisonous, except when it has been frozen. I wonder sometimes about that one. I get the hunger and trial and error thing, but why trying something you know will kill you (painfully as in some cases mentioned) and then figuring out why it didn't kill you ... Some legends and myths refer to observing animals re food and and shelter but that doesn't explain the cooking 3 times part...
marianne eliza 3 years ago
Don't forget to take into account that before we were humans we also needed to eat. A lot of things were eaten then and are eaten now. Preparation and seasoning improvements came along gradually by trial and error or just a flat out mistake that turned out well.
Lorrie Rothstein 3 years ago
What about tripe and haggis? How about cows tongue,pig feet,frog legs and chicken feet?
LoudMansLover 3 years ago
Zero waste. If you need food you can't throw away parts of animals if they're edible so you find a way to make them palatable. But this is just cultural, too - you think "ewww, cow tongue" but a lot of cultures think peanut butter is absolutely disgusting!
Load More Replies...
kathryn stretton 3 years ago
A lot of these are because of 'either try this or die of starvation '. After that, it was 'that killed him, try this, gonna die anyway.'
Nicole Weymann 3 years ago
That's what I thought. In that case the question could easily be asked about animals as well: How do they know to eat/not to eat it? More baffling to me are the things that have to be prepared in a very specific/complicated way, like that leaf salad.
Load More Replies... Emily M 3 years ago
I teach middle schoolers and I am happy to report that all adolescent brains seemed to be hardwired to lick or chew things that are not food. I bet adolescents figured a lot of these out LOL.
BannedFromABoatShow 3 years ago
Who first looked at an alligator and said, well let’s eat that! I’d like to think it was revenge. You ate one of my family, so I’m gonna eat you.
Mama Panda 3 years ago
I would like to add one to the list. It's called a Geoduck Clam. I have never had one before but I have heard they are tasty. I am not sure if I want to try it or not. I just can't imagine the person that found it and thought it would be good to eat. There are videos on YouTube on how to prepare it. It's kinda scary. Geoduck_he...e8eb16.jpg
karl briggs 3 years ago
Looking at the image, yes... I wonder who would see something that resembles a phallus and think "yes, I'd like to eat that". Probably George, such a George thing to do! Haha
Load More Replies... Sean Sean 3 years ago
Moreton Bay chestnut seeds. The contain a poisonous compound is as yet unknown and produces vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Yet someone still figured out a way to eat it. First you shell them, then cook them. Then slice them into thin wafers and let them sit in running water for at least 3 days. Then you can cook the wafers again and eat them.
Viktor Feurer 3 years ago
Single word answer: famine. The modern people do not know what does it mean to "being hungry". I mean not just not eating all day because it was too busy, but being hungry, really, when your can feel the end coming.
joop 3 years ago
What I don't understand is how rabbits in the wild know what to eat. If you give the wrong stuff to a house rabbit, it's dangerous.
Load More Replies... LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
Honestly, my favourite to this day is milk. Yes we all had it as babies, so did our ancestors, and many animals, but I always imagine that someone who discovered milk from a cow had to come up with an excuse of HOW he made that discovery 😆
Greta Kolding 3 years ago
And what kind of cow did that first milk come from? Did humans keep cows for the meat before they drank milk? If the cow was wild how did they get it to stand still while they milked it? Oh well, maybe we should ask a Masai.
Load More Replies... Emma S 3 years ago
I've always wondered about salt. Who decided to boil some sea water and then sprinkle the end result on your food. 🤔
Greta Kolding 3 years ago
Salt is vital to all creatures- you will die without it. Wild deer always know where to find salt.
Load More Replies... DuchessDegu 3 years ago
I suppose it's instinct to put everything in our mouths (as toddlers do), right after that was literally the case of what doesn't kill you make you stronger!
Greta Kolding 3 years ago
And humans are curious and love to experiment: This tastes ok but a bit bland. I wonder what will happen if I mix it with some of that other stuff.
Load More Replies... TheDivineMsM 3 years ago
I wonder about the anthropology and history of food a lot. Like almost everything we eat was something someone one day said "hey, im going to try this and see what happens" "oh, that was good" "don't try that!" A lot of brave people out there. Even water--- some prehistoric figure looked at water and said, "we should swallow that with other stuff we chew and put in our mouth."
Heliocracy 3 years ago
no one decided to drink water. It's instinctual in us as much as all of our land animal ancestors.
Load More Replies... OneHappyPuppy 3 years ago
I thought about this the other day and wondered about popcorn. So someone accidentally left a corncob to dry, got p*ssed it was dry and tossed it into the fire, it popped much to the surprise of the dude and then... He dexided to eat it? What? Why?
Ivy at Eve 2 years ago
There is a primitive potato in Peru that is poisonous, except when it has been frozen. I wonder sometimes about that one. I get the hunger and trial and error thing, but why trying something you know will kill you (painfully as in some cases mentioned) and then figuring out why it didn't kill you ... Some legends and myths refer to observing animals re food and and shelter but that doesn't explain the cooking 3 times part...
marianne eliza 3 years ago
Don't forget to take into account that before we were humans we also needed to eat. A lot of things were eaten then and are eaten now. Preparation and seasoning improvements came along gradually by trial and error or just a flat out mistake that turned out well.
Lorrie Rothstein 3 years ago
What about tripe and haggis? How about cows tongue,pig feet,frog legs and chicken feet?
LoudMansLover 3 years ago
Zero waste. If you need food you can't throw away parts of animals if they're edible so you find a way to make them palatable. But this is just cultural, too - you think "ewww, cow tongue" but a lot of cultures think peanut butter is absolutely disgusting!
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