High-res version
Happy National Crunchy Taco Day!
Here are today’s five food finds about tacos:
The word taco started in the 18th century silver mines in Mexico.
Taco Bell has tried to enter the Mexican market twice, failing both times, even after branding their food “American” food.
In 1914, the first recipes for tacos were put into an English cookbook.
A “Taquería” is a Spanish word meaning taco shop.
One of the first taco trucks is thought to have started in New York when in 1966 two New York housewives operated an early version of the taco truck. Although the truck did not have a full kitchen, it was available for catering.
Today’s Food History
- 1925 Teaching the theory of evolution became illegal in Tennessee.
- 1984 A section of Central Park is renamed ‘Strawberry Fields’ to honor John Lennon.
- 1994 Due to bad harvests, there is a shortage of Japanese grown rice. Japan’s Imperial Palace begins serving royal meals to the Emperor & Empress with rice grown in the U.S., China and Thailand.
- 1999 Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones landed in the Egyptian desert, having completed the 1st ‘Around the World’ hot air balloon flight. According to the BBC, they carried fresh food, including bread, cheese and pre-cooked steaks to last for 6 or 7 days, after which they made due with dried foods such as cereals and powdered milk. The flight began in the Swiss Alps, took 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes, and covered 29,056 non-stop miles.
