Events of July 1

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1860 Charles Goodyear died.  He invented the process named ‘vulcanization’ which made the commercial use of rubber possible. Vulcanized rubber didn’t become brittle in winter and turn gummy in summer as natural rubber did.

1874 The Philadelphia Zoo opened, the first zoological gardens in the U.S.

1910 Ward Baking Company of Chicago, Illinois opent the first completely automated bread plant in the U.S. Untouched by human hands.

1912 David Ross Brower was born. Brower was the founder of many environmental organizations including the ‘Friends of the Earth’ and ‘Earth Island Institute’.

1916 Coca-Cola started using their new contoured bottle to stay ahead of the competition. (Some sources list November 16, 1915).

1929 Elzie Segar created Popeye, the spinach eating cartoon character. (Also listed as January 17, and April 11 in some sources).

1936 Wally Amos, Jr. born. Creator of ‘Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies’. He sold the name, and now makes ‘Uncle Noname’ chocolate chip cookies.

1942 Leon Daudet died. French journalist and novelist, well known gastronome of his time.

1953 Cheez Whiz was introduced nationwide by Kraft.

1963 Five digit Zip Codes are introduced for U.S. mail.

1999 Forrest Edward Mars died. Son of Frank C. Mars, he helped him develop the Milky Way candy bar. He founded his own company in Europe and developed the Mars Bar, and also created M&Ms. He merged his company with his father’s in 1964, creating the world’s largest candy manufacturer.

>:)