The Pomegranate Popularity Perplexity

Select any juice, yogurt, tea, bubble gum and hell, even estrogen tablet products and you'll find pomegranate flavoring in it. How has this fruit become so popular all of a sudden? I don't remember ever hearing of the fruit up until a few months ago, so Im always confused  every time I see it. I mean really, it looks as weird as it sounds:

Yikes. It looks like salmon eggs fashioned on a star fish. 

However, the last thing I want to do is alienate and publicly malign this innocent fruit, so I thought I would take the time now to offer 5 interesting facts on pomegranate. Huzzah! (sponsored by Wikipedia)

1. Each pomegranate contains 840 seeds (or arils), accompanied with a tangy, sweet juice.

2. A good source of antioxidants

3. Featured in Botticelli's 'Madonna of the Pomegranate', where the Virgin Mary herself is clutching both the fruit and her lil' baby Jesus.

4. It holds strong symbolic meanings to Greeks. It is often given as house warming present, placed under the home alter to provide luck, fertility and abundance. 

5. Is the official logo of many Turkish cities. 

So there you have it. A fruit good enough for the Virgin Mary herself!. While I can't speak for the fruit as I have never tried it, the pomegranate berry Extra brand gum is fantastic. Simply delicious.