Pancakes are flat cakes, often thin and round, prepared from a starch based batter that can also have eggs, milk, and butter. They’re then fried on both sides in a pan, often using oil or butter. The Ancient Greeks made pancakes called tagenias, which translate to “frying pan.” Take a look below for 26 more fun and interesting facts about pancakes.

1. The earliest references to pancakes are in the poems of the 5th century B.C. poets Cratinus and Magnes.

2. Tagenites were made with wheat flour, olive oil, honey and curdled milk. They were often served for breakfast.

3. Romans ate sweet and savoury dishes called Alita Dolcia that were made from milk, flour, eggs and spices and were very similar to pancakes.

4. William Shakespeare liked pancakes, often mentioning them in his plays.

5. The first pancake recipe that appeared in an English cookbook was in the 15th century.

6. Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is a special day that’s celebrated in mostly English speaking countries around the world.

7. The practice of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday is more than 1,000 years old.

8. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “flat as a pancake”, has been a catchphrase since at least 1611.

9. In Canada and the United STates, pancakes are often eaten for breakfast with butter and syrup.

10. A crepe is a thin, large pancake that is flipped and cooked on both sides, then folded over sweet fillings like chocolate and fruit, or cheese and sauteed vegetables. Just like regular pancakes, the batter is made with flour, sugar, egg and milk.

11. Blinis are yeasted pancakes, usually from Russia, that are made from buckwheat flour and served with sour cream, jam, honey or caviar.

12. The world’s most expensive pancakes are made by the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel’s five star Opus restaurant. Their pancakes have pink champagne, lobster, truffles and caviar. The dish costs $1,166 per serving.

13. The Co-operative Union Ltd. based in Manchester, England, organized the making of the world’s largest pancake ever. The pancake measured 15.01 meters, or 49 feet 3 inches, in diameter and 2.5 centimeters, or 1 inch, deep at Rochdale, Greater Manchester on August 13, 1994.

14. The highest pancake toss ever measured was 9.47 meters, or 31 feet 1 inch. It was done by Dominic Cuzzacrea at the Walden Galleria Mall in Cheektowaga, New York, United States, on November 13, 2010.

15. The most flips that anyone has done with a pancake was 349 flips i two minutes, which was done by Dean Gould at Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1995.

16. The most people tossing pancakes was 890 and it was achieved at an event organized by the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, United Kingdom, in 2012.

17. The Guinness World Record for the most pancakes served in 8 hours by a team is 34,818.

18. The most pancakes made in 1 hour by an individual is 1,092. It was done by Ross McCurdy from Kingston, Washington, United States, on August 13, 2013.

19. In France, people like to make a wish before flipping their pancakes. They do this while holding a coin in the other hand.

20. In the United States, southerners eat the most pancakes, accounting for 32.5% of the pancake consumption.

21. In Sweden, you can order Blodplattar, which are pancakes made out of pork blood.

22. They can be used as an artistic medium, based on the portraiture of artist Katherine Kalnes, who constructed likenesses of Justin Bieber and Ellen Degeneres using a Batter Blaster.

23. The potato pancakes that are traditionally served during Hanukkah are friend in oil as a reminder of the miraculous oil lamp that the Jewish holiday celebrates.

24. In 2000, GOP candidate Gary Bauer fell off the stage and through the backdrop during a pancake breakfast fundraiser.

25. The United States produced 3.17 million gallons of maple syrup in 2014, which is 10% less than what they produced in 2013.

26. In the months after McDonald’s launched the McGriddle sandwich, which uses two small pancakes instead of a biscuit, the company’s profits increased by 11%.