When faced with a plate of food, it might look appetizing and make your mouth water, but its color or shape could also strike you as odd or unusual. Sometimes you just see something so unusual in your daily life that you feel compelled to snap a photo. These Reddit users found themselves in that very situation with the weird food we are about to show you!
The Other Side of a Fast Food Soda Fountain
We are all familiar with soda fountains, those soft drink dispensers often found in fast-food restaurants. The way the soda reaches the machine is via several large plastic containers inside boxes that feed the liquid through a tube. In fact, you can see the flavors listed right on the boxes, making this an unexpectedly weird food sight.
A Bear Interrupts Lunch
Reddit user takeheeyoungheathen commented that while he was at a cookout in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a bear interrupted the lunch. The animal approached the picnic table and sat like a human to finish the meal and the rest of the food that was on the table. The user added: “He had tags in both ears, so then the park rangers came and safety chased him away.”
Food in a Piece of Bamboo
The Reddit user mladenma ordered food, and when it arrived at the table, he was surprised to find the chicken with vegetables was served inside a bamboo tube. Some users noted that this method retains heat better than a regular plate. A reply from user CrimsonPig mentioned: “This is like the equivalent of a bread bowl if you’re a panda.” It was certainly a memorable weird food presentation.
Australia’s Health-Rating System
On this package of biscuits from Australia, Reddit user RuleBreakingOstrich discovered a rating stamped directly onto the product, Tim Tams biscuits. The stars indicate how healthy the food is to consume and a front-of-pack nutritional rating that allows comparison between products. This is part of a regulation in the country designed to make it easier to identify healthier food options.
Found a Stash Canned Food
Reddit user guiltyofnothing revealed that while he was checking his house, he found this 15-year-old stash of canned food in a crawl space that belonged to the house’s previous owner. He also added that they had been in a vented crawl space and some of the gallon jugs of milk had expiration dates in late 2008. It was a particularly strange weird food find.
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Food Storage
Reddit user cakefraustin mentioned that at the grocery store he usually goes to, they store bagged items in blue bags if they are cold so you can put them away first when you get home. That’s a clever system that Food Lion markets have developed, especially because when you get home, you’re in a rush to ensure that food requiring refrigeration doesn’t remain outside the proper temperature range.
A Mesh Net for the Lemon
Upon seeing this plate of fish and chips, Reddit user alikat538 was amazed by the mesh net placed over the lemon half on his plate. Although this device was widely used decades ago, it has largely fallen out of use over time. The purpose of the net is to prevent seeds from falling into the food while still allowing the juice to flow through when the lemon is squeezed, making it a fascinating weird food detail.
Egg Yolks Before and After Adding Red Pepper
Reddit user IlegalGeriatricVo revealed that the dish has super firm tofu, beef, eggs, tomato puree, chipotle, cayenne, onion powder, oregano, garlic, and salt. The red pepper turns the resulting egg yolks a deep vibrant color orange or red, because the red pigments in the peppers pass through the hen’s digestive system and place into the developing yolk.
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Much Larger UPC Codes
All products in grocery stores or supermarkets feature a UPC code so that cashiers can quickly scan them before the customer pays for the purchase, but this UPC code is incredibly large. Reddit user MrMojoFomo comments that the reason for this is to make scanning faster and easier, creating another unusual weird food-related sight.
Food with Huge Expiration Dates
Reddit user heruka108 revealed that his father-in-law marks food in the fridge with the expiration date in large letters using a marker. His goal is logical, to know that the food must be consumed before that date, thereby avoiding waste of both food and money. A reply from LavenderBlueProf mentioned: “That’s how restaurants do it.” It’s a simple but useful weird food-related discovery.
Fanta in a Soup Container
When you order Chinese food, you expect it to come packaged in those small, square boxes traditional to Asian food delivery. But what Reddit user Additional_Tomato_22 received was unexpected. Upon opening one of the square containers, he found his drink, Fanta, inside a soup container. Since the container was larger than a standard drink cup, he was likely pleased with the surprise, making it another weird food moment.
Too Dangerous Rice
Upon receiving this bag of rice from a food bank, Reddit user j_walheim noticed a label stating that the 32 oz package might contain traces of arsenic. Arsenic is highly toxic to humans and is considered by the WHO one of its ten chemicals of major public health concern. The unusual weird food label naturally raised questions about the product.
Enormous Jackfruit
Reddit user Courthouse49 revealed that while walking through the aisles of the supermarket, he found this 58 pound jackfruit at Whole Foods. Jackfruit comes from the largest tree-borne fruit in the world and is expected to weigh anywhere from 10 to more than 100 pounds. This fruit is also famous for being a savory meat substitute when unripe, while ripe jackfruit has a sweet flavor, making this a massive weird food find.
Two Small Cereal Bags Inside Cereal Box
Whenever we open a box of cereal, we encounter the familiar type of packaging, usually transparent and lightweight, holding the food we are about to enjoy. However, that isn’t always the case. Reddit user nevermndthealbatross was surprised to find two separate bags inside the box, both smaller than the usual bags. Some users suggest it was a manufacturing error, resulting in another weird food discovery.
Cocktail in a Bathtub
When ordering a cocktail, Reddit user AccordingtoJP asked for a ‘Duck Around and Find Out.’ When the drink arrived at the table, he was surprised to see a greenish, or even light blue, substance that had to be consumed through a straw. He also revealed that it’s a secret menu item so the only description he got is that it was a tequila-based cocktail and he could take the tiny duck home.
Different Filled Worcestershire Sauce
Another strange situation you might encounter regarding food is going to the supermarket and finding that the amount of product you’re sold isn’t consistent, even though you pay the full price. Reddit user 11ruberducky noticed the varying amounts of Worcestershire sauce in these bottles. Could it have been a manufacturing error? Either way, it makes for a curious weird food discovery.
Not an Orange Juice
At first glance, you might think this bottle contains orange juice and take a sip. But you would be in for a surprise when the liquid touches your mouth, because it is actually a type of shampoo sold in Italy. In fact, the appearance of the words ‘papaya’ and ‘food’ on the label is quite strange, only adding to the confusion surrounding this weird food-looking product.
Conclusion
In short, food can reveal its stranger, more curious side. These range from labeling errors to truly odd shapes, such as those resembling a human body part, or practical elements like a lemon mesh bag. These weird food moments can turn an ordinary meal or grocery trip into something unexpectedly curious.
