Olive Trivia


	Victors in the Olympic games used to be crowned with olive leaves. The Greeks continued this tradition in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
	Olives are believed to have been first cultivated in Syria approximately 6,000 years ago.
	Olives are a fruit.
	There are over 800 varieties of olives.
	Moses exempted men from military service if they would work cultivating olives.
	Olives range in color from green to pink to purple to dark brown to black.
	A ton of olives produces 50 gallons of olive oil.
	The olive branch has long been used as a symbol of peace.
	The cultivated olive tree is in an evergreen, and usually grows to between 15 and 30 feet tall.
	The Acropolis in Athens is always depicted with an ancient olive tree growing on it.
	Residents of Crete have the highest consumption of olive oil per person in the world, and the lowest death rate from heart related disease.
	Some olive trees in the Mediterranean are believed to be over 2,000 years old.
	By the 5th century B.C., olive oil was produced in such abundance in Greece that it became a major export
	Olive oil contains no cholesterol.
	The first vegetation brought back by a dove to Noah after the flood was an olive tree branch.
	Plato’s olive tree is still alive although it no longer produces fruit.