DIRECTIONS Learn all kinds of surprising facts about vegetables as you explore some great Web sites. First, print out the crossword puzzle so you can write down your answers. (Click on the puzzle for a printable version.) Then click on the links below to find the answers to the questions.

ACROSS

4. At his Monticello home, Thomas Jefferson had a vegetable garden carved into the side of a mountain. In this garden, he grew 15 types of the English __________, considered to be his favorite vegetable.

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6. Do you know why you cry when you peel onions? It's the sulfuric __________ that is made when the onion is cut open.

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8. Did you know that vitamin A helps our eyesight, especially at night? Many fruits and vegetables are high in vitamin A. You should eat at least one of these a day. One serving of __________ has 50 percent of the daily recommended amount of vitamin A.

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9. Have you ever tried to grow vegetables in your garden? Then you know that different vegetables grow best in different seasons. For example, cucumbers can only be grown in the __________ months — unless you live in a frost-free climate.

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11. Think about this: When we eat a vegetable, we're eating a part of a plant, like the leaves of a lettuce plant or the roots of a carrot. When we munch on the leafy part of broccoli, we're eating the plant's __________!

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12. Over 40 percent of the world's corn is grown in the United States, mostly in the Midwestern states known as the "corn belt." The state that produces the most corn is __________.

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DOWN

1. Celery has been around for about 3,000 years, but it wasn't eaten as a food until the 1600s. The ancient Greeks and Romans used celery as a __________.

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2. Lettuce, found in the wild, is a member of the __________ family.

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3. Green beans are a yummy way to get your ___________. There are three grams in every serving.

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5. When you think of carrots, you might think of their roots — the tasty treat that's high in vitamin A and low in fat. But here's a crazy fact: Carrot leaves were once used to decorate the ___________ of royalty!

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7. Before explorers traveled west to the "New World," many vegetables found in the Americas weren't even known in European countries. Tomatoes originated in Central America and were taken to Europe in the 1500s. When the tomato reached Italy, the Italians called it pomodoro, which means golden __________.

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10. For thousands of years, corn was grown only by the natives of North, Central, and South America. The Indian name for corn was MA-HIZ, which early settlers called __________.

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11. You might consider potato chips part of the vegetable group since they are made of potatoes. But they're not a very healthy treat. Just one serving can have 26 grams of __________, and carrots have none at all!

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veggies
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