( Mental Floss ) -- People have been eating pickles ever since the Mesopotamians started making them way back in 2400 B.C.E . Here are some even more important things you should know about them . Pickles have gotten credit for health and beauty and winning football games . 1 . In the Pacific Islands , natives pickle their foods in holes in the ground lined with banana leaves , and use them as food reserves in case of storms . The pickles are so valuable that they 've become part of the courting process , helping a man prove he 'll be able to provide for a woman . In Fiji , guys ca n't get a girl without first showing her parents his pickle pits . 2 . Cleopatra claimed pickles made her beautiful . ( We guess it had more to do with her genes . ) 3 . The majority of pickle factories in America ferment their pickles in outdoor vats without lids ( leaving them subject to insects and bird droppings ) . But there 's a reason . According to food scientists , the sun 's direct rays prevent yeast and mold from growing in the brine . Mental Floss : 8 disastrous product names . 4 . In the Delta region of Mississippi , Kool-Aid pickles have become ridiculously popular with kids . The recipe 's simple : take some dill pickles , cut them in half , and then soak them in super strong Kool-Aid for more than a week . According to the New York Times , the sweet vinegar snacks are known to sell out at fairs and delicatessens , and generally go for $ .50 to a $ 1 . 5 . Not everyone loves a sweet pickle . In America , dill pickles are twice as popular as the sweet variety . 6 . The Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American eats 8.5 lbs of pickles a year . 7 . When the Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Dallas Cowboys in sweltering heat in September 2000 , many of the players attributed their win to one thing : guzzling down immense quantities of ice-cold pickle juice . Mental Floss : 31 unbelievable high school mascots . 8 . If it were n't for pickles , Christopher Columbus might never have `` discovered '' America . In his famous 1492 voyage , Columbus rationed pickles to his sailors to keep them from getting scurvy . He even grew cucumbers during a pit stop in Haiti to restock for the rest of the voyage . 9 . Speaking of people who get credit for discovering America , when he was n't drawing maps and trying to steal Columbus ' thunder , Amerigo Vespucci was a well-known pickle-merchant . 10 . Napoleon was also a big fan of pickle power . In fact , he put up the equivalent of $ 250,000 as a prize to whoever could figure out the best way to pickle and preserve foods for his troops . 11 . During the 1893 Chicago World 's Fair , H. J. Heinz used pick-shaped pins to lure customers to his out of the way booth . By the end of the fair , he 'd given out lots of free food , and over 1,000,000 pickle pins . 12 . Berrien Springs , Michigan , has dubbed itself the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World . In early December , they host a parade , led by the Grand Dillmeister , who tosses out fresh pickles to parade watchers . Mental Floss : Curious , bizarre and storied state symbols . For more mental_floss articles , visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright , Mental Floss LLC . All rights reserved .
Average American eats 8.5 lbs of pickles a year , according to Dept . of Agriculture . Southern state treat : Dill pickles served for dipping in Kool - Aid . Philly Eagles players said the juice helped them beat Dallas Cowboys in 2000 . Christopher Columbus and Napoleon were fans of pickle juice .