About Food

Today is Good Friday, the day on the Christian calendar that we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as we prepare for Easter Sunday.  It is also a day where Christians are supposed to fast, and of course, refrain from eating meat.

Here's a list I saw a while ago, for you to peruse while your avoiding that pepperoni pizza you want for pizza / movie night tonight. My comments in italics (Via BuzzFeed).

1. Chocolate milk was invented in Jamaica.
See here.  Chocolate milk is a big favorite of LBA (not so much SoBA) and the Brave Astronaut.

2. Before 2013, the biggest buyer of kale was Pizza Hut. They used the kale as a garnish for their salad bars.
Well that just makes me want to eat it even less - article.

3. Some Canadian dude invented the Hawaiian pizza.
Something else I don't want to eat.

4. Pepperoni was invented by Americans.
Illicit meats, really?  

5. The most shoplifted food in the world is cheese.
Mrs. BA could likely get picked up for this.

6. Sylvestor Graham invented Graham crackers to help suppress sexual desire.
C'mon, I give these to the boys in their school snacks.  I'm not ready for that talk yet.

7. It’s estimated that the New York Harbor once was home to half of the world’s oyster supply.

8. At the time, Ellis Island and Liberty Island were known as Little Oyster and Big Oyster, respectively, because of that.
And there is no amount of money in the world that would get me to eat an oyster hailing from New York Harbor.

9. There are 19 billion chickens on Earth.

10. That means chickens outnumber humans 3:1.
Is that why chicken is so inexpensive?  Good old supply and demand?

11. China has the most pigs in the world. They have so many that they have more than the next 43 countries’ pig populations COMBINED.
More bacon please

12. A janitor at the Frito-Lay plant invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Definitely a story of being in the right place at the right time.

13. An 11-year-old invented the popsicle when he left a stick in some soda water, left it on the back porch at night, and found it was frozen in the morning.
His obituary makes no reference if he, too, was frozen after his passing.


14. The technology used for microwaves was created during WWII to track Nazi war planes.

15. The people who built the Egyptian pyramids were paid in bread and beer.
One of the first uses of the "Will Work for Food" signs.

16. At the turn of the 20th century, lobsters were considered “garbage food.” Railroads changed that when they started offering it as a fancy meal on luxury transcontinental trips.
If they're such garbage food - why are they so damn expensive?

17. One of the original owners of Domino’s Pizza sold his share of Domino’s for a used Volkswagen Beetle. Today his portion of the company would be worth about a billion dollars.
Yeah, not so smart.  But then again, the Beetle may taste better.

18. The guy from Tyson’s chicken, Don Tyson, tried to win over McDonald’s for 14 years to put more chicken on the menu. They finally did.


19. Salt may be responsible for the Americans’ defeat of the British in the Revolutionary War. When the war first started, the British stopped importing goods into the states. Consequently, settlers’ supply of cod was rotting. So, they built a saltworks along the coast of Cap Cod. That worked, settlers got their cod, and they eventually won the war.
That's right, George Washington? Not a factor.

20. The ice cream sundae was invented in the late 1800s as a way to get around a law that prevented the sale of ice cream sodas on Sundays.
Followed quickly by the Wednesday is Sunday at Carvel.

21. The first written recipe found in the world was from Mesopotamia and it was for beer.
And still they got all that stuff done?

22. Baby carrots are just large carrots whittled down into miniature versions. They were invented when a farmer got sick of throwing away his less attractive carrots.
I knew this one.

23. Before modern refrigeration, people put LIVE FROGS in their milk to help preserve it.
Ribbit.

24. Honey doesn’t go bad.
And isn't it nice to always have a honey?

25. Astronauts eat tortillas instead of bread in space because the bread crumbs can be problematic.
Mice?

26. In Japan, it has become wildly popular and a “tradition” to eat KFC on Christmas.
That sort of balances with all the Jewish-Americans eating Chinese on the same day?

27. Europeans basically don’t eat peanut butter. They eat about less than a tablespoon a year.
Hey, more for me.

28. In the 1800s, they fed lobster to prisoners and it was considered cruel and equivalent to eating rats.
Stop picking on the lobsters!

29. Ruth Graves Wakefield, the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie, sold her recipe to Nestle and in turn received a lifetime supply of chocolate.
Another poor choice.

30. Ninety-six percent of U.S. households have ketchup.
I don't want to be friends with that other four percent.  Bigger question - is the ketchup in the fridge?

31. That’s more households than those that have salt and pepper.


32. The man who invented Pringles was buried in a Pringles can.
Not from the Onion.

33. One of the founders of Ben & Jerry’s can’t really smell anything, which is the reason why their ice cream is so rich. He suffered from a condition called anosmia.
I was under the impression it was called amnoseia.

34. SPAM is short for spiced ham.
That's nice, still not going to eat it.

35. Technically, white chocolate isn’t actually chocolate.
Yes, yes, I know.

36. Doritos were invented at Disneyland.
How magical.

37. When the inventor of Doritos died, his friends and family tossed Doritos onto his casket.

38. In 1943, sliced bread was briefly banned.
So if something is "the best thing since sliced bread, it's how old?

39. Cheddar cheese is sometimes orange because it’s dyed that way.
Doesn't make it any less delicious.

40. Orbit gum began production during WWII when Wrigley sent all of its Juicy Fruit gum to soldiers overseas. As a result, Wrigley started selling Orbit in the U.S. The gum was discontinued after the war but brought back 30 years later in the ’70s.