15 Awesome Pancake Day Facts You Never Knew

By Chris Waugh /

4. Maple Syrup Could Have Been As Popular Coca Cola

Maple syrup is a delicious topping for pancakes, particularly in the United States of America, and is a firm breakfast-table favourite in Canada. Yet originally, the indigenous populations of North America - including the Algonquin Indians - used maple tree sap as a replacement for water, as well as to cook venison for the tribe's chief. It was later refined to become a stickier, thicker syrup rather than a fluid for drinking - meaning it is not a common beverage nowadays.