13 Quirky Facts About Popular Products That Will Make You See Them Differently

Many of the items you encounter regularly have strange backstories. But you've probably never thought to ask about them.

We created this list to show just how fascinating some of the world's most popular products are. From World War II origin stories to insects in your makeup drawer, these everyday items are full of surprises.

You won't be a stranger to any of the products on this list, but you might feel like you hardly know them after reading it.

Dum Dum's Mystery Flavors Come From Machine Leftovers

Kids have long been guessing what creates Dum Dum's mystery flavor, and they've long been wrong. Part of the problem is that the flavor is never quite the same, making it difficult to figure out.

The lack of consistency in the mystery lollipop is due to its creation process. To save on food waste, Dum Dum makers don't clean the machines between flavors. Instead, they switch to the new flavor and let it combine with the old flavor to make a mystery batch.

A Nuclear Engineer Invented The Super Soaker

To say Lonnie Johnson is an intelligent man would be putting things mildly. Johnson headed the Space Nuclear Power Safety Section at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory before becoming a systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

While working on an environmentally friendly heat pump, Johnson created every child's favorite summer accessory: the Super Soaker. The best-selling toy has generated over $1 billion in sales over its lifetime.

Oreos Aren't Originals

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't love Oreos, but few realize this beloved cookie is a copy. The original cream-filled sandwich snacks were branded as Hydrox cookies and sold by Sunshine Biscuits.

Hydrox cookies came out in 1908, four years before Oreos hit the shelves. However, Oreos were sweeter and had a biscuit shell that got perfectly soggy in milk. These two factors probably helped Oreos surpass Hydrox in popularity.

Plastic Bottles Become Hoodies

Check the tag on your favorite hoodie, and chances are you'll see the word “polyester.” Polyester and plastic bottles are made of the same major component. So, recycled plastic bottles can become your clothes.

To turn plastic bottles into fabric, machines shred them into flakes, melt them down, and then press them into pellets. The pellets travel through a press covered in tiny holes. Then, they're stretched into threads and woven into clothes.

Lamborghini Was For Farmers

When you think of a Lamborghini, blue jean-sporting farmers don't typically come to mind. However, Lamborghini started as a brand for agricultural equipment.

Ferruccio Lamborghini opened a garage in Italy after World War II, where he built tractors for the country's growing agricultural sector. In his spare moments, he modified a normal car into a very fast coupe that was more in line with what Lamborghini would become.

Starbucks Could Fill Over 150 Swimming Pools With Milk

You think of Starbucks as a coffee purveyor, but one of the most used ingredients has nothing to do with Arabica beans. As it turns out, Starbucks sells a lot of milk, enough to fill 155 swimming pools each year.

When you think about it, this makes sense. Between the lattes, frappuccinos, and macchiatos, there's a whole lot of milk passing through Starbucks.

Nike's Logo Only Cost $35

Nike's iconic swoosh was designed by graphic designer Carolyn Davidson. Phil Knight, Nike's founder, knew Davidson was a struggling design student and offered her $2 an hour to design a logo.

She invented the swoosh after 17 hours of work, which earned her a measly $35. Once the company took off, though, they gifted Davidson with a golden “swoosh” ring and 500 shares in the company.

Plywood Contains Blood Glue

If you're wondering what blood glue is, it's as sickening as it sounds. It's dried albumin extracted from animal blood mixed with water to create a sticky paste. And, unfortunately, it holds together more than just plywood.

Blood glue is odorless, tasteless, and non-toxic, making it ideal for many purposes. You might find it in other building materials and the packaging of your food.

Insects Are In Your Lipstick

A bright red lip shade is a must for many signature looks, but before you decide to dawn it, you might want to know what's inside it. Red lipsticks often rely on beetles for their color.

The cochineal insect is a beetle native to Mexico and Central America. It happens to have a reddish exoskeleton that lipstick makers use to create a deep red color called “Carmine.”

Twinkies Aren't Vegetarian

Vegetarians and vegans have to be careful about processed foods. More of them contain animal-derived ingredients than you'd think.

Take Twinkies, for example. These beloved processed treats contain beef fat in their ingredient list. Though it's unclear why, many hypothesize that beef fat allows Hostess to avoid banned trans fat in its ingredients.

Guinness Takes Almost Two Minutes To Pour

When you order a Guinness from a serious bartender, you should expect it to take some time. Pouring Guinness is an art form that takes 119.53 seconds when done properly.

Bartenders must use a Guinness-branded glass and follow the company instructions to attain a perfectly clear pint with an ample foamy head. The most detailed pourers even add a shamrock indent to the foam.

You're Not Tasting Fresh Oranges in Your OJ

Your premium branded orange juice isn't exactly what you think it is. Orange juice producers juice their fruit long before it reaches store shelves, and almost all the flavor disappears during the pasteurization process.

So, manufacturers add in flavoring to make it taste like orange juice again. Because the flavoring is derived from the pulp and skins of oranges, they don't have to list the flavoring as a separate ingredient on orange juice cartons.

Fanta's Brutal Orgins

Coca-Cola created Fanta sodas during Hitler's regime in Germany. They quickly became a patriotic symbol of the Third Reich.

Coca-Cola's German operations had difficulties getting ingredients to create Coke during the war, so they had to get creative. Fanta was made for patriotic Germans using apple fibers, beet sugar, and cheese byproducts.