SCIENTIST CLAIMS SWEATY SOCKS THE SECRET INGREDIENT OF KIMCHI

A U.S. scientists says most kimchi is full of human sweat.

A University of Southern California scientist claims sweat-soaked gym socks are behind the tangy taste of kimchi. The fermented cabbage dish is a staple of Korean cuisine, but an ancient pact has long shrouded in secrecy certain spices and other ingredients.

"Most of the Koreans will tell you that kimchi is simply cabbage soaked in vinegar. But then I heard these rumors the tangy taste might be from cat piss—or something worse—and I became suspicious," said 

Bradley Edwards, a USC lab tech, who has disliked the popular side dish since tasting it on a trip to South Korea in 2010. "Most Koreans insisted I eat it, but I  kept looking for an excuse to refuse. Now, I've found one."

After smuggling about two ounces of kimchi into America, Edwards conducted a number of studies on the substance. Laboratory tests revealed high levels of the odorants 2-methylphenol and 4-methylphenol, as well as trace amounts of urea. The chlorides are commonly excreted by the body's sweat glands, and such concentrated amounts would seem to indicate the source must come from a well-wrung gym sock, he said. 

"You'd have to do a two-hour cardio workout to produce the amount of sweat I found in two ounces of kimchi,'" said Edwards, who is considering eliminating all Asian food from his diet since the discovery. 

"It just goes to show that you never know what's in Asian food! I've heard rumors about Chinese guys playing jokes with some people's Cokes," he said. "It might just be another urban legend, but I won't be going to the Double Dragon 2, anytime soon."