🍏 BUSTED: That Whole “Only Ate Apples and Leaves” Thing? Totally Made Up.
Nice try—but nope.
Johnny Appleseed was many things: barefoot prophet, tree-planting entrepreneur, and friend to wild animals...
But a raw vegan? Not quite.
There’s no record of him surviving solely on apples and leaves. In fact, he was known to accept food from settlers and occasionally cook simple meals over a fire (in that famous tin pot he wore as a hat). He was however said to be a vegetarian. Yes he was eccentric, but he wasn’t out here living like a fruit bat.
The other facts?
Yup. A wolf sidekick and his soft spot for mosquitos have been part of his legend for nearly two centuries—and at least some of them have eyewitness accounts behind them. There’s even a rumor that several settlers swore he showed up hours before heavy storms hit to warn settlers to prepare.
The man was weird. But he ate actual meals.
