1. What history interests me WORLD CUISINE - MAIZE

3. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, explorers and traders carried maize back to Europe and introduced it to other countries through trade.

5. Maize and cornmeal constitutes a staple food in many regions of the world.

6. Introduced into Africa by the Portuguese in the 16th century, maize has become Africa's most important staple food crop.

7. Maize meal is made into a thick porridge in many cultures.

9. Feed maize is used for heating in specialized corn stoves.

11. Starch from maize is made into plastics, fabrics, adhesives, and many other chemical products.

12. Stigmas from female maize flowers are sold as herbal supplements.

14. A maize stalk with two ripe cobs is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 1 lipa coin, minted since 1993.

15. Bundles of dried maize stalks are often displayed often along with pumpkins, gourds and straw in autumnal displays.

16. Staple of a classic Thanksgiving feast started by the Plymouth pilgrims and Native America Wampanoag in 1621.

18. Children of the Corn, 1977 horror short story by Stephen King (later made into a 1984 film with various sequels) about a maize field-dwelling deity who commands the children in the town to sacrifice all of the town's adults to it.

19. Cornman: American Vegetable Hero, 2001 cult movie about a loser who gets doused with toxic sludge from a maize field and develops the ability to communicate with ears of maize

20. King Corn, 2007 documentary about 2 college friends who grow an acre of Iowa maize and learn about where it will end up