Things aren't always what they seem

"Imagine a flower, a climbing orchid to be exact, the one, of some 20,000 varieties that produces something edible. Now imagine that its blooms must be pollinated either by hand or a small variety of Mexican bee, and that each bloom only opens for one day a year. Now, imagine the fruit of this orchid, a pod, being picked and cured. Sitting in the sun all day and sweating under blankets all night, for months, until shrunken and shriveled, it develops a heady exotic perfume and flavor. Now, imagine that this fruit's name is synonymous with dull, boring and ordinary. How vanilla got this bad rap, I for one, will never know." -Alton Brown