It was 20 years ago today that the one pound, four-and-a-half-inch wide Bloomin' Onion hit the tables at the first Outback Steakhouse in Tampa, FL.

A battered and deep-fried monster made to feed 4-6 people (or 2-3 Steelers fans), this signature app helped put the Aussie-styled steakhouse on the map, and let guys feel better for eating their vegetables. (Big, greasy, fried vegetables.)

In honor of this auspicious occasion, here are some little known facts about the Bloomin' Onion you can use to impress your date when you take her for some shrimp on the barbie.

- The first night of business at the original store, only two Bloomin' Onions were sold.
- Outback now averages about 15 million Bloomin' Onions sold every year, or about 40,000 per day. Crikey!
- The recipe is based on a dish the founder saw in a Japanese cookbook. (So much for Aussie cuisine...)
- The onion used is a special breed grown especially for this use and is called a "Spanish Colossal" or "Super Colossal".
- A special cutting device, called a "Gloria", was invented to carve the onion into its signature bloom shape. (Which is why you can't get it to look the same at home.)
- The onion's batter contains the exact same 17 spices, and the dipping sauce the same 37 spices, they did the day the dish debuted 20 years ago.

For those of us who've always wondered why lollipops only come in the traditional "favorite" candy flavors like cherry, grape, watermelon, and the occasional licorice, (not counting the novelty tequila lollipops sold in souvenir shops), comes some lick-able stick candy guys can really wrap their tastebuds around.

With chunks of real bacon encased in the sugary amber goodness of pure hardened maple syrup, the Maple-Bacon lollypop from Lollyphile.com is enough to turn even the toughest guy into a lolly-sucking kid. (A pork loving 5-year-old kid on a sugar high.)

And speaking of high... Lollyphile also offers an Absinth lollipop, made with 100% real (and newly legal), absinth. The perfect party favor to liven up your next dinner party. Your guests will go crazy (literally) for them.

$24 for a dozen
www.lollyphile.com