DECEMBER 21 - Today in Food History• Winter Solstice (2023) - Shortest day of the year.
Winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer begins in the Southern Hemisphere. • National Kiwifruit Day (Kiwi Trivia & Facts) • National Fried Shrimp Day
(Shrimp Trivia -- Shrimp Recipes --- Shrimp Quotes) • National Coquito Day (a coconut based alcoholic beverage from Puerto Rico, similar to eggnog) • Ribbon Candy Day • Chester Greenwood Day (designated by Maine in 1977 - See Dec 4, 1858) • Dec 17-23: Saturnalia - Ancient Roman festival honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture and harvest.
On this day in:1620 The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock on the 'Mayflower.' (Bad weather delayed the actual landing until Dec 23). 1837 Joseph McCoy was born (died Oct 19, 1915). American cattleman, he promoted Abilene, Kansas as a terminus for Texas cattle drives (the Chisholm Trail), shipping the cattle from there by rail to big cities in the Midwest and East. (Cattle Trivia & Facts) 1883 Laurence M. Klauber was born. Klauber was an American herpetologist and inventor who was a rattlesnake expert. If you want to know anything or everything about rattlesnakes, see his book ‘Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories and Influence on Mankind.’ 1913 The 'New York World' published the first crossword puzzle. 1937 Walt Disney's first full length animated film ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ opened in Los Angeles, California. It ran for 83 minutes and cost $1.5 million to make. (The 7: Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy) 1946 Louis Jordan's single, the fast paced and humorous "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens,” debuted on the rhythm and blues (R&B) charts. 1998 Adelaide Hawley Cumming died. She was television's original Betty Crocker on the ‘Betty Crocker Show’ premiering in 1949. 1999 David Geske and Len C. Kretchman of Menusaver, Inc. were granted [patent No. 6,004,596] for making a “Sealed Crustless Sandwich” of peanut butter and jelly. Purchased by Smucker's, the patent was controversial from the start. After several lawsuits, appeals, and reexaminations the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued a certificate canceling all claims on September 25, 2007. (see also Peanut Butter & Jelly Trivia)
(Peanut Butter Quotes) 2000 Further research leads to the removal of warning labels on products containing Saccharin, a non-nutritive sweetener. See also Nov 23, 1977. (Saccharin Trivia) 2012 "Y12" - The end of the Long Count Maya Calendar Cycle (5,125.37 years). Despite predictions, the world did not end.
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