With 7,5000 to choose from, which variety is the apple of your eye?

Can you guess the connection between the following disconnected people? Snow White, Adam and Eve, Isaac Newton, and if you’re still racking your brains, here’s another clue: Johnny Appleseed.

I’m going out on a limb and predicting that 100 percent of you guessed “apple.” And you would be correct. The apple is responsible for the temporary death of Snow White, the demise of Adam and Eve and the bump on Isaac Newton’s head (or maybe Sir Isaac just witnessed the apple falling).

Then there’s Johnny Appleseed; The apple was obviously the apple of his eye. And I’m not talking about the Apple’s iPhone, iMac or iPod. It’s a good thing he didn’t have one of those. He never would’ve found time to plant all the apple seeds.

This month, apple festivals are popping up everywhere.

I love apples. I had no idea there were 7,500 varieties. What? That can’t be right. I thought there were nine. Let’s see, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Cameo, Pink Crisp, McIntosh, Golden, Gala, Fiji, and Braeburn. Yep, that’s all I ever see.

Imagine if I wanted to try all the apple varieties. I’d have to hunt down 7,491 kinds of apples. Once I found them, I’d have to eat them. That could take a lifetime. In that case, I better keep eating an apple a day to keep the doctor away.

It would also mean a trip to a remote area in Central Asia for an apple from the wild apple tree, Malus sieversii. Yeah, I can’t pronounce it either. But that tree is supposedly the primary ancestor of most apples we know today.

That trip is not going to happen. I’m afraid to leave the country. For all I know, that tree may no longer be standing. With all the apple festivals around, I can go in search of apples closer to home, but I’ll skip the crab apples.

I have no desire to try a crab apple. I grew up with a crab apple tree in my yard and all I remember about crab apples is that they fall off the tree, rot and create a mess.

So, I leave you with this thought: If it is true that one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, I’m going out on a limb and saying it would have to be the crab apple.

This story was originally published October 18, 2016 at 9:21 AM with the headline "With 7,5000 to choose from, which variety is the apple of your eye?."