A gift for my sister. the teacher

Question of the day: 

Why is an apple not an orange?

Has anyone noticed how often apples appear in works of art and science? One might suppose, why not a watermelon or a strawberry? Why are we not "As American as Cherry Pie" it would be more logical considering Washington's faux paux, no? The apple tree is figured to be the earliest cultivated tree on the planet. Tomatoes are referred to as "love apples", Potatoes as "earth apples", oranges as "Chinese apples", and horse turds are "road apples", don't eat those. ;-) 

A program on worm holes prompted this supposing. The all knowing scientists were dummying it up for us common folk. Presenting us with the imagery of a worm burrowing through an apple, to be compared with the travel from one end of the universe to the other. As if there is an end, ha. But theoretically this is how we would reach "the farside". Now apples have appeared in the most unlikely of places, let me take this time to test your "apple knowledge" with a few tempting tid bits that I found on the net. 

1. First there is Sir Isaac Newton's experience with the Earth-bound fruit, contributing to his theories of gravity and motion (and he was NOT hit on the head- he only observed the apple falling and wondered why it always went straight down instead of any other direction. 
2. Of course all of our minds quickly retreat to probably the most famous association, Adam and Eve's downfall after eating an apple in the Garden of Eden, (Which is not true-there is no mention of an apple in the book of Genesis, only "the fruit of the tree".  However the assumption it was an apple probably came from the painting The Fall of Man in 1470, in which the tree of knowledge is depicted as an apple tree. 
3. Then we have, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." This idea comes to us from greek doctors living in Rome who declared that eating fruit is good for digestion and a healthy constitution. But the phrase was more recently made famous in 1904 by J.T. Stinson.
4. Oh no, you thought I forgot Greek Mythology. Well we have Eris and the Apple of Discord, the golden apple tree that was a gift to Zeus and Hera from Mother Earth, and the golden appleS that Venus gave to Milanion to drop in Atlanta's path so that she would lose the race and he would win her had in marriage. 
5. Why do we gift apples to teachers? Can we blame Adam & Eve yet again? Do we bring apples to our teachers with the hopes for an exchange of knowledge? Or was it that back when the tradition started fruit was hard to come by. Thus making it a treasured and heartfelt gift, that in more modern times seems simple and sad. 
6. And what of William Tell, the crazy dutch man that shot an apple off his son's head with a bow and arrow? How about Johnny Appleseed, planting his seeds throughout the country? I almost forgot to mention that tart Snow White, that greedy little girl did she get what she deserved?
7. Since we are onto folklore; In Ireland if an apple is peeled into one continuous ribbon and thrown  behind a women's shoulder, it will land in the shape of her future husbands initials. 
8. How about slang? "The Big Apple" ring any bells? NYC is often referred to as this. What are it's roots? The expression was coined in the 1930's by touring jazz musicians who used the word "apple" to describe any town or city. NYC was considered the BIG TIME, hence the name.
9. Let us not forget the movies. We all seen the obvious references, but what of the hidden ones? There is for example the Indiana Jones Trilogy, where an apple appears for the viewers confusion three separate times in ALL three movies. Why? Then we have Everafter, in which "cinderella" a.k.a. drew barrymoore, throws an apple at her prince, hitting him smack dab in the forehead. And finally, My Big Fat Greek Wedding in which Ian Miller & Toula Portokalos have their happy moment when Toula's dad stands up and gives a touching wedding speech. He explains that the Greek word Portokalos means orange like the fruit, and that the word Miller comes from the Greek work Milo, which means apple. So the moral of the story is we are all just a bunch of fruit!!!
10. But seriously is it a coincidence that the most awesome computer company ever is named Apple? 

What makes apples such Fruity Royalty? 

So are you as sweet as a Red Delicious, as tart as a green Granny Smith, as fresh as a Golden, or as exotic as a Fuji? Just remember that being a little tart every once in awhile gives you a better chance at making it into the history books. ;-P