The tomato was once called “the love apple” in Europe, believed to have mysterious romantic powers. In some early cartoons, tomatoes were drawn with tiny mustaches to show personality—yes, really. Before red became the norm, yellow tomatoes were more common, which is why early Italians called them "pomodoro" or "golden apple".

Tomatoes are actually fruits, not vegetables—but let’s be honest, they feel like veggies in salads. Some old-school animators used ketchup as fake blood in low-budget Kartun Tomato experiments. There’s a real phobia called “lycopersicoaphobia” – fear of tomatoes. Sounds like a nightmare for a Kartun Tomato villain.

In 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are vegetables—for tax reasons. Bureaucracy beats botany. The average American eats over 22 pounds of tomatoes each year, mostly in sauce or ketchup form. In cartoons, tomato squishes are classic sound effects—they're often made by smashing actual tomatoes in a studio.

The tomato plant is part of the deadly nightshade family, which is why early Europeans were afraid to eat it. One of the first color animations in the 1930s featured a dancing tomato with sunglasses. Tomato juice was once recommended as a cure for morning breath. Not sure it helped.

In the Kartun Tomato series, one tomato wears boxing gloves and challenges garden pests to duels. The Spanish town of Buñol holds a massive tomato fight each year called La Tomatina. A tomato plant once grew over 1,300 tomatoes at Disney World—it holds a Guinness World Record.

Tomatoes were first cultivated in South America and were sacred to the Aztecs. Some tomato varieties can grow to be over two pounds in weight—big enough to be a cartoon character’s pet. In early animation sketches, tomatoes were often shown driving hot sauce-powered cars.

Tomatoes have thousands of varieties, from teeny-tiny cherry tomatoes to hefty beefsteaks. Heirloom tomatoes come in all kinds of wild colors—striped, purple, even nearly black. Scientists have mapped the full genome of the tomato—making it a genetically understood fruit superhero.

The word "tomato" comes from the Nahuatl word “tomatl,” used by the Aztecs. Tomato-based ink was tested once for biodegradable cartoon printing. It didn’t quite catch on. A tomato cartoon from the 1980s starred a detective named Red Roma solving vegetable crimes.

One tomato species has been grown in space—yes, astronauts really ate space tomatoes. The squishiness of tomatoes makes them perfect for slapstick comedy in animations. Tomatoes were once believed to be aphrodisiacs—maybe that’s why they appear blushing in cartoons.

In Kartun Tomato episodes, characters often sprout new vines when surprised—talk about dramatic growth. Tomato skins were used by kids in the 1940s to prank friends by pretending they had "bloody" injuries. In Japan, there's a robot that feeds tomatoes to runners as they jog. Yes, really.

Tomatoes are 95% water—great for summer hydration and cartoon water balloon jokes. Some tomato plants can grow over 30 feet long—enough for a tomato-themed rollercoaster. In one episode, Kartun Tomato characters enter a salsa-dancing contest using actual salsa.

Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that gives them their red color. A tomato fell off a cart in an old cartoon and caused a city-wide slip-and-slide chaos. Ancient Aztecs combined tomatoes with chilies to make an early version of salsa.

Tomatoes were introduced to Europe in the 1500s through Spanish explorers. Some tomato cartoons were banned in early TV because they “encouraged food fights.” There’s a festival in the U.S. where people dress as giant tomatoes and play dodgeball.

Tomato leaves smell strong—some cartoon characters use them like cologne in garden scenes. Kartun Tomato once parodied a sci-fi movie where tomatoes landed from Mars. In a German folktale, a tomato turned into a red carriage—Cinderella style.

A tomato-themed amusement park was once proposed in Italy—complete with sauce fountains. Some chefs use tomatoes as stamps for art—cut and dipped in paint, they create flower shapes. In one short film, a tomato becomes sentient and opens a pizzeria.

The biggest tomato ever recorded weighed over 10 pounds—it was larger than a bowling ball. Tomato frogs from Madagascar get their name from their bright red color. A tomato plant can produce fruit for several months—cartoon tomatoes call this their “season of drama.”

Tomatoes made it into space aboard NASA's space shuttle in the 1990s. One Kartun Tomato story features a tomato mayor trying to outlaw salads. Some cartoons use tomato sauce as lava in veggie volcano scenes.

A squished tomato scene is often the universal sign for “Oops!” in animation. There’s a real tomato museum in France dedicated to the fruit’s history and culture. In one gag, a tomato hides from salad tongs under a lettuce leaf—classic veggie comedy.

Tomato-based face masks are a thing in skincare, and cartoons have poked fun at that too. One tomato cartoon character goes undercover as a ketchup bottle. Tomatoes can be red, orange, yellow, green, purple—or even striped, which makes them fun to animate.

Some tomatoes have hairy stems—perfect for quirky cartoon close-ups. Kartun Tomato stories often play with food puns—like “saucy situations” and “ketching up on life.” A tomato once stopped a cartoon train by splatting onto the signal switch.