Fun Facts about Vanilla

• Burn your tongue on pizza or other hot food? Put a few drops of vanilla on your tongue to ease the pain and soothe the burn.
• Love the flavor of chilies but can't take the heat? Sweet neutralizes heat: add some vanilla to soften the bite but bring out the sweetness and flavor of the peppers.
• Have problems with spiders living on the underside of the furniture? Add a vanilla bean or two to your furniture polish. Apply to both sides of the furniture. Bugs don't like the smell of vanilla and will leave.
• House paint smell too strong? Add a tablespoon of vanilla extract to a gallon of paint to help cut the smell.
  
• Want to settle a nervous stomach? Add pure vanilla extract to mineral water or apple juice.
• Want to soothe jangled nerves? Place vanilla beans in a bottle or jar and use as aromatherapy. Sloane-Kettering and other medical facilities use the vanilla aroma to calm patients undergoing MRI and CAT scans.