For centuries, humans have crushed up peanuts into spreadable pastes to add flavor and protein to their food. Historians have traced early references of peanut butter to the Inca Empire and Aztecs, according to the National Peanut Board.
And anything with such a rich history is often the target of long-standing rumors. In recent years, Snopes has addressed several factually compromised stories about the food item or products that include it — like a rumor that its smell can purportedly help doctors detect early Alzheimer's in patients.
Below, we compiled some of those fact checks making erroneous or misleading claims involving peanut butter, as of National Peanut Butter Day on Jan. 24, 2022.
(According to the online National Day Calendar, Jan. 24 is the day to "make your favorite peanut butter recipes" and "share a photo or recipe using #NationalPeanutButterDay on social media." We've done similar compilations of Snopes content before; for example, in honor of National Bird Day on Jan. 5, 2022, we published a collection of bird-focused fact checks here.)
