Pasta Was First Eaten in China, Not Italy
We typically think of pasta as being invented in Italy, but the first recorded reports of people eating pasta came from China, as early as 5,000 B.C. Legend has it that famed explorer Marco Polo introduced the noodles to Italy in the 12th century, but historical records indicate the pre-Roman Etruscan civilization had already been making their own pasta (smashing the grain with rocks and mixing it with water to create dough) by 500 B.C.