Trivia # 19 : Pineapple

• Pineapple is neither an apple nor a pine. It is a kind of berry.
•  Hawaii produce one third of all pineapples in the world.
• Canned pineapple was known at the very beginning of the 20th century, but wasn't financially feasible until Henry Ginaca, an engineer, invented a machine in 1911 that could remove the outer shell, inner core and both ends of 100 pineapples in less than a minute. The machine is still known today as the "Ginaca machine", and is widely used in canneries
• Christopher Columbus found pineapples in 1493, during the exploration of the Caribbean, on the island of Guadalupe.He brought them back to Spain as a gift for Queen Isabella, who reportedly loved them. Several attemps of growing them in Europe were made, but the plant didn't grow well in cool climates.
• Pineapples were originally called "anana", which means "excellent fruit" in Caribbean idioms, and were later called "pineapple" by European explorers who found the flesh to be like an apple, and the appearance similar to a pinecone.
• Approximately three pineapples are needed to make one can of slices.
• They were so rare in antiquity that they were given the name of "Fruit of Kings".