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FoodSurprise 5/5Difficulty 3/5Reviewed on September 18, 2026

Ketchup was originally sold in the 1830s as a medicine to treat diarrhoea.

Why it is true

American doctor John Cook Bennett declared that tomatoes could cure diarrhoea and indigestion, and sold the recipe as tomato extract in pill form. It only later became the popular condiment we know today.

Source: Smithsonian

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