1. A pea was originally called a pease in English. The word pea was first seen in the 1660s.
2. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known reference to mushy peas was in 1968.
3. The ancient Romans grew at least 37 varieties of peas.
4. The average person in Britain consumes nearly 9,000 peas a year.
5. Botanically speaking, peas in a pod are fruit not vegetables.
6. Shakespeare mentions pease in two of his plays: Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry IV, Part 1.
7. The official world record for pea-eating is held by Eric “Badlands” Booker at 9.5 one-pound bowls of peas in 12 minutes.
8. The record for most peas eaten with chopsticks one at a time in an hour is 7,175, set by Janet Harris of Sussex in 1984.
9. “Being pretty on the inside means you don’t hit your brother and you eat all your peas. That’s what my grandma taught me.” (4th Earl of Chesterfield, 1694-1773).
10. The first TV commercial in colour in the UK was for BirdsEye Frozen Peas in 1969.