- During WWII garlic was given to wounded soldiers. It was known as ‘Russian Penicillin’.
- The heaviest head (bulb) of garlic was 2 lbs 10 oz. It was grown by Robert Kirkpatrick of Eureka, CA USA in 1985!
- Talking about records… The Guinness world record for the most garlic cloves eaten in 1 minute is held by Deepak Sharma Bajagain. He consumed 34 cloves in Nepal on December 2009. That would be some strong garlic breath…
- Fear of garlic is alliumphobia: people with this disorder get a fearful and/or anxious reaction when they see or smell garlic. How awful!
- You can use garlic to make glue.
- China grows two-thirds of the world’s garlic, believed to be around 46 billion pounds per year.
- Greek athletes would take copious amounts of garlic before competition, and Greek soldiers would consume garlic before going into battle.
- Roman soldiers ate garlic to inspire them and give them courage. Because the Roman generals believed that garlic gave their armies courage, they planted fields of garlic in the countries they conquered, believing that courage was transferred to the battlefield.
This old Welsh saying may indeed have merit as a health remedy!
We hope you enjoyed these fun facts about garlic! Have you planted yours yet? Stay tuned for planting and growing instructions!