Top 10 Interesting Facts About Honey

We all know that honey is naturally delicious. We put it on our food and drinks and is known to be one of the best substitutes for sugar. But did you know that honey has its own unique properties, and even is used for different purposes? Here in this list, I show 10 very interesting facts you may not know about honey.
The Top Ten
1 Honey can be used to heal wounds

Not only is it a sweet addition to foods, but did you know that honey was also used as a substitute for bandages? Honey contains antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties that are used to accelerate healing processes. It also has a low pH, ranging from 3 to 6, which is helpful for releasing oxygen from the blood necessary to heal wounds.

2 Honey never expires

This is because honey has low pH and low moisture. Even if you didn't touch that container of honey for over a decade, or even centuries, it will still be good. It's been known in Egypt that honey has been found to be over a thousand years old, yet it was still in good condition!

That makes honey one of the best foods. I wish there were more foods that never expire.

3 Honey can be poisonous

Some types of honey can be poisonous and can even be useful in war too! In ancient times, people used honey as a toxic chemical to defeat their enemies. Some types of honey contained a toxin called grayanotoxins, which can cause dizziness and a slow heart rate when consumed. It can even be fatal in excess amounts. When Xenophon, a Greek military leader, noted the excess number of bees on the Black Sea coast at one of the campsites, he was surprised seeing that his soldiers collapsed after eating the honey.

That's an interesting dose of ancient history. Not bad of a list.

4 Honey isn't only produced by honey bees

We've been told that bees only produce honey. Did you also know that some species of wasps, such as honeypot ants and the Mexican honey wasp, are known to make honey?

Huh, didn't know that. I wonder if the honey these wasps produce tastes any different.

I would imagine it's much harder to collect a significant amount of it from wasps.

5 Honey was once used as a currency

There are other substitutes for currency in the past, but honey is certainly one you didn't expect. Back in the 11th century in Germany, honey was used to pay their lords since it was a heavily preferred ingredient in beers.

6 Honey can provide health benefits

Remember when I said that honey can even hasten the process of healing wounds? Well, not only is it a healthier substitute for sugar, but it contains various benefits, nutrients, and antioxidants that can regulate blood pressure, improve heart health, and help in digesting food.

7 Honey is the only edible foods produced by insects

Fun yet surprising fact: bees are one of the few insects that eat and store their own honey in order to survive, especially in the winters, in which they need up to 90 pounds of honey in order to survive.

8 Mead, made by fermenting honey, is one of the oldest beverages

Or thought to be the oldest beverage. It has been made for thousands of years, all the way back to India. It's also enjoyed throughout the world and played a part in mythology and culture, especially in the Norse.

9 A bee collects up from 50 to 100 flowers when foraging

Some of you may not expect how hardworking bees are, just like us.

10 A hive of bees flies 55,000 miles back and forth to bring one pound of honey

These little creatures work hard.

The Contenders
11 Only one ounce is enough for a bee to fly around the world
12 Honey is 80% sugars and 20% water
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