Nuts

So we all know peanuts aren't nuts. But most of the other things you think are nuts aren't nuts, either.

A nut is "a simple dry fruit with one seed (rarely two) in which the ovary wall becomes very hard (stony or woody) at maturity, and where the seed remains attached or fused with the ovary wall."

Here are some actual nuts:

• chestnuts
• hazelnuts
• acorns 
• kola nuts (the extract of which is in Coca-Cola)
• pecans

Here are some things you think are nuts, but aren't:

• almonds
• cashews
• pistachios
• walnuts

These are all drupes, which are fruits in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. Other drupes are peaches, plums, cherries, and coconuts.

Just to further ruin your day, here are more things that aren't actually nuts:

• macadamias - actually follicles
• peanuts - actually legumes
• brazilnuts - actually seeds 

There. Think about that next time you get a can of mixed "nuts." For example, Planters Mixed Nuts contains peanuts, almonds, cashews, brazilnuts, hazelnuts, and pecans, or more simply, two nuts and a bunch of LIES!

...Why are you crying?