Tomatoes were considered poisonous in Europe for 200 years — they're in the nightshade family

Basque is a language isolate — unrelated to any other known language on Earth

Basque is a language isolate, not related to any other language family

Chili peppers are native to the Americas — they didn't exist in Asian cuisine before Columbus

Chili peppers originated in the Americas, not Asia, pre-Columbus era

The word 'quarantine' comes from 'quaranta giorni' — 40 days ships waited in Venice during plague

'Quarantine' originates from 'quaranta giorni' of Venice's plague-era ship isolation

Chocolate was a bitter drink in Mesoamerica for 3,000 years before Europeans added sugar

Chocolate: Mesoamerican bitter beverage until Europeans introduced sugar

There are about 7,000 languages in the world — one goes extinct roughly every two weeks

Languages face extinction at a rate of approximately 14 per year

Tardigrades can survive in space, boiling water, and temperatures near absolute zero

Tardigrades withstand extreme environments, including space and extreme temperatures