Mascot Fun facts

Pineapples are international symbols of welcome and are a symbolic way of saying “you are perfect” when presented to someone. Gate posts and door frames (or your favourite cocktail bar!) often have pineapples to signal a welcome.

Pineapples were such a status symbol in 18th century England that you could rent one for the evening to take to a party and were valued at the equivalent of $8,000 in today's market.

When you eat a pineapple, it eats you back. Pineapples are the only known carriers of bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down protein. Since your body is made of proteins, the pineapples you eat are also trying to digest you. That's why a fresh pineapple can turn your tongue in what feels like a sore piece of sandpaper.

The Guinness world record for the heaviest pineapple was set by a pineapple weighing 

8.06 kg(17lb 12oz), grown by E. Kamuk of Ais Village, West New Britain Province, 

Papua New Guinea.

A pineapple grown in Britain in horse manure is believed to be the world’s most expensive pineapple, allegedly worth £10,000. The fruit was nurtured over two years using traditional and very expensive Victorian gardening techniques at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall.

A Berlin fashion house is selling bags from pineapple leaf fibres, a natural and alternative leather.

Pineapples regenerate! You can plant pineapple leaves to grow a new plant.

Pineapples are native to South America before Christopher Columbus discovered them in 1493. 

When European explorers first encountered the fruit in the Americas, they called them "pineapples" because of the resemblance to pine cones.

Although the fruit originated in South America, the majority of the world's pineapples now come from Southeast Asia, in particular, the Philippines and Thailand.

Pineapple is the only edible fruit of its kind, the Bromeliads. Therefore, pineapple is great for tenderising meat as bromelain breaks down proteins.

One pineapple plant produces one pineapple at a time.

It takes almost three years for a single pineapple to reach maturation

Once harvested, pineapples don't continue to ripen.The difference in colours is mostly based on where the pineapples were grown so a green pineapple can be just as sweet and delicious as a golden brown one.

Besides fruit salads and tropical drinks, pineapples are also used to make wine…in Maui at least!

The Hawaiian Pizza was invented in Canada and is the most popular pizza in Australia.

The pineberry is a white strawberry that tastes like a pineapple.