Food Fun

Sure, food is fun to eat, but there’s a lot of fun to be had that doesn’t involve eating at all.  Don’t believe it? Well, take a look at some of the coolest food history around, impress your friends with some ridiculously amusing food tricks and take a walk through a “corny” joke field!

This Week In Food History
Corny Joke Field
Play With Your Food

This Week in Food History

54 A.D. Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, Emperor of Rome A.D. 41-54, died by poisoning. Known as Claudius I, supposedly he was poisoned with mushrooms by his wife Agrippina, after her son Nero was named as his heir.

1829 The Tremont Hotel opened in Boston. It was the first modern hotel in the U.S. Rooms were $2 per day with meals included.

1834 Henry Blair received a patent for a corn planter. He was the first African American to be granted a patent.

1844 Henry John Heinz was born. Founder of the H.J. Heinz company and creator of its slogan '57 varieties.'

1892 Earle Dickson was born. He invented Band-Aids for his wife, who had frequent kitchen accidents, cutting or burning herself. He worked as a buyer for Johnson & Johnson, who soon began manufacturing Band-Aids.

1911 Nathaniel Wyeth was born. Nathaniel Wyeth, American chemist and inventor, received patent for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) beverage bottles. This was the first safe plastic strong enough to hold carbonated beverages.

1923 Jean Nidetch was born. founder of ‘Weight Watchers’, offering dieting products and services. It began as a discussion group for weight loss.

1926 'Winnie-the-Pooh' (the honey loving bear) by A. A. Milne is published.

1939 'The Man Who Came to Dinner' opened on Broadway.

1944 Don Stevenson of the music group 'Moby Grape' was born.

1945 World Food Day. The founding day of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

1950 Takeshi Kaga was born. A Japanese actor, he is best known as the host of the very successful TV show, 'Iron Chef.' It has been shown around the world dubbed or subtitled. There is an American version of the show on the Food Network, hosted by Kaga's nephew, Mark Dacascos.

1959 Emeril Lagasse was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. TV cook and actor.

1962 'Flea' (Michael Peter Balzary) was born.  Bass player for the music group 'Red Hot Chili Peppers.'

1965 Paul Hermann Muller died. A Swiss chemist who discovered that DDT was a potent insecticide. It was the most widely used insecticide for more than 20 years, and helped to increase food production around the world. Due mainly to its accumulation in animals that eat insects, and its toxic effects on them and those further up the food chain, it has been banned in the U.S. since 1972. However its residue is still found in some foods grown in the U.S. in 2002!

1966 Simon and Garfunkel release their album, 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'

1972 'Everybody Plays The Fool' by Main Ingredient is #1 on the charts

1986 The largest northern pike weighed over 55 pounds and was caught in Germany.

1996 Pierre Franey died. A French chef who became famous as the chef of 'Le Pavillon' restaurant in New York City from 1945 to 1960. He published several cookbooks and collaborated with Craig Claiborne on the New York Times food column, 'The 60 Minute Gourmet'.

2002 Konrad (Emil) Bloch died. Nobel prize winner for his work on cholesterol and fatty acids. He discovered that high levels of cholesterol may lead ultimately to increased risk of heart attacks.

Courtesy of www.foodreference.com