July 12th is National Pecan Pie Day
John-Bryan Hopkins
High-res version
Five Food Finds about Pie:
- Approx. $700 million in pies (approx. 186 million units) are sold in grocery stores every year.
- Pumpkin pie was first introduced to the holiday table at the pilgrim’s second Thanksgiving in 1623.
- Pie was not always America’s favorite dessert – in the 19th Century, fruit pies were a common breakfast food eaten before the start of a long day.
- More than one-third of Americans have eaten pie in bed.
- Boston Cream Pie is a cake, not a pie.
Today’s Food History
on this day in…
1730 Josiah Wedgwood was born. English inventor, artist, world renowned pottery designer and manufacturer. His daughter, Susannah, was the mother of Charles Darwin.
1817 Henry David Thoreau was Born. American author, philosopher, and naturalist. Author of ‘Walden; or, Life in the Woods.’
1859 William Goodale of Massachusetts patented a paper bag manufacturing machine. At one time this was a very hot field of research.
1861 or 1864 George Washington Carver was Born. African American botanist, educator, agricultural chemist and innovator. He developed hundreds of uses for peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes. He established the George Washington Carver Research Foundation at Tuskegee, for agricultural research.
1873 It is reported that it rained frogs in Kansas City, Missouri.
1934 Ole Evinrude R.I.P. He invented the first practical outboard motor in 1909. The idea came to him while rowing a boat to a picnic one day. He decided there must be an easier way to move a small boat on the water.
1948 Richard Simmons was born. Weight loss program, ‘Sweatin’ to the Oldies’. (A very unique person).
1962 In Pennsylvania, a garbage dump begins to burn underground, and the fire spreads to nearby coal mining tunnels. It was still burning in 1984. It may still be burning.