Lemons: Funky Facts & Funny Sour Faces Video

Photo by JinxiLemons are fantastic fruits that have a variety of uses.The scientific name for a lemon is Citrus limon and it it believed that they first grew in India and China. The first time lemons were cultivated was in the mid-fifteenth century in Genoa and it wasn't long afterwards that Christopher Columbus carried lemon seeds on his journeys, bringing them to the Americas.

It is the citric acid in lemon juice that make this brightly-colored fruit so sour (lemon juice is about 5% citric acid) and it is because of this tartness that lemons are ideal for candies, cooking, drinks, baking and many other products in our society.

Some fun facts about lemons:

• California and Arizona produce 95% of the entire U.S. lemon crop.
• When lemon juice is heated, salicylic acid - the chemical precursor of aspirin's active ingredient - is produced.
• Lemon trees bloom and grow fruit year-round. Each tree can produce between 500 and 600 pounds of lemons in a year.
• The d-limonene in lemon oil is used as a non-toxic insecticide treatment.
• Lemons squeezed on your elbows can help alleviate rough skin.
• During the European Renaissance, ladies used lemon juice as a way to redden their lips.
• A lemon cut in half and dipped in salt or baking powder can be used to brighten copper cookware.
• During the California Gold Rush of 1849, miners were willing to pay big sums for lemons, as they believed they contained scurvy-preventing properties.

Check out this adorable video of first lemon experiences: