Fun Facts About Corn

*The long threads on top of an ear of corn are called silks.

*There is one silk strand for each kernel of corn.

*An average ear of corn is 12-14 inches long.

*Corn can be yellow, white, red or bluish/black.

*A typical healthy corn plant is between 6-12 feet tall.

*The root system of healthy corn can grow 5-1/2 feet into the ground.

*Most ears of corn have about 800 kernels in 16 rows.

*It takes about 27,000 kernels to make a bushel of corn.

*Corn is an ingredient in over 3,000 grocery items.

*One acre of corn removes about 8 tons of carbon dioxide from the air during the growing season.

*The only place in the world corn isn’t grown is Antarctica.

*Cornflakes are only about 8% corn.

*Allergies to corn are common.

*Squirt a little vegetable oil into the tip of each ear as the silk appears to kill corn worms.

*Sometimes a white/gray glob develops on the corn. It’s a fungus and won’t hurt the corn. But in Mexico it’s considered a delicacy and they call it a “Mexican Truffle”.