If this wasn't my favorite headline of all time, then I don't know what is.

It's National Pistachio Day

I was completely blown away today by someone in their mid-thirties who had no idea that all pistachios used to be red. I distinctly remember that pistachios were a very colorful part of a nut mix. Pistachios were dyed red because the nuts were bruised when they fell to the ground making them a bit unsightly. They were also almost exclusively imported from Iran.

Iran Fudged Up

When the American Embassy in Iran was taken hostage in 1979, regular business with Iran was disrupted. Enterprising American farmers saw this as an opportunity to get into the pistachios business. Now, 99% of the pistachios out there come from the state of California. Yes, when you said, "California is nuts", you were 100% correct. Also, as a result of this, pistachios were no longer dyed red.

Things Got Weirder

In October of 2018, someone got the bright idea to tie in "The Grinch" with pistachios playing off the more natural-looking green color. Using any male mammal (?) to promote nuts opens things up for a ton of jokes. I'll pause here for a moment while you snicker at the thought of The Grinch's green nuts.

Google Is In On It

If you have a Google search bar on the bottom of your screen, you'll see three pistachios displayed there. If you hover over the nuts, you'll get "56 recipes for Pistachio Day". I have to admit that Pistachio cake looks amazing, but the Pistachio milk looks like the stuff the girl threw up in The Exorcist.