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Corn
is called maize by most countries, this comes from the Spanish word ‘maiz’.
·
Corn
is a cereal crop that is part of the grass family.
·
An
ear or cob of corn is actually part of the flower and an individual kernel is
a seed.
·
On
average an ear of corn has 800 kernels in 16 rows.
·
Corn
will always have an even number of rows on each cob.
·
A
bushel is a unit of measure for volumes of dry commodities such as shelled
corn kernels. 1 Bushel of corn is equal to 8 gallons.
·
With
the exception of Antarctica, corn is produced on every continent in the
world.
·
There
are over 3,500 different uses for corn products.
·
As
well as being eaten by the cob, corn is also processed and used as a major
component in many food items like cereals, peanut butter, potato chips,
soups, marshmallows, ice cream, baby food, cooking oil, margarine,
mayonnaise, salad dressing, and chewing gum.
·
Juices
and soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain corn sweeteners. A bushel of
corn can sweeten 400 cans of soft drink.
·
Corn
and its by products are also found in many non-food items such as fireworks,
rust preventatives, glue, paint, dyes, laundry detergent, soap, aspirin,
antibiotics, paint, shoe polish, ink, cosmetics, the manufacturing of
photographic film, and in the production of plastics.
·
Corn
is also used as feeding fodder for livestock and poultry and found in
domestic pet food.
·
As
of 2012, the United States produces 40% of the worlds total harvest
making it the biggest maize producer in the world (273,832,130 tonnes
produced in 2012).
·
An
area termed the "Corn Belt" in the US where growing conditions are
ideal includes the states of Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana,
Ohio, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky.
·
In
the days of the early settlers to North America corn was so valuable that it
was used as money and traded for other products such as meat and furs.
·
Corn
is now a completely domesticated plant so you're unlikely to find it growing
in the wild.
·
Corn
can be produced in various colors including blackish, bluish-gray, purple,
green, red, white and the most common yellow.
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