Gross Archive

Fascinating Stories behind Everyday Meals

Mar 01, 2021 By Kayode Oseh 1.9K

Celebrating a new day with a cup of coffee or perhaps a bowl of cornflakes is a brace. Arguably, there are lots of foods that have actually come to revolutionize the way enjoy breakfast –these foods have really added some touch-up to our early morning glee. Going back to their origin and how some of them were discovered, we will actually see that they have lots of fascinating stories behind them; some were invented by accident while other turned out to be something different from the original intention. However, it is wonderful that they are all serving a good purpose and we are really grateful for having them around because they’ve been really handy. 

We all are quite familiar with these foods, but how many of us have an idea of how they came about? Let’s find out!

Chocolate Bar


Today, we cannot walk into a mall without being tempted by a whole display of different chocolate and candy bars neatly packaged for our convenience and ready to eat, most especially when we cannot tame our sweet tooth. No one could ever guess how wonderful the chocolate would be until chocolates finally came around. Before now, almost all candies were entirely made of sugar and stored in containers in candy shops. That was how candies were enjoyed by our forebears until the 19 century. The 19 century came around with a handy gift for many people and their sweet tooth when some group of inventors in the likes of Joseph Fry and John Cadbury in 1847, discovered a way to combine cocoa and sugar in a way that allows it to be shaped into solid bars. This new invention soon became the most sought after candy and it gradually got popular to become the chocolate we all are familiar with today.

Chicken Nugget


After the US released its first dietary advice in 1977, people became conscious of their fatty diets. This shift in the way of eating actually affected some groups of companies like McDonald, where the company saw a drastic decline in customer’s order for burgers. In the quest of making something that is less fatty and more nutritious, McDonald Company discovered the chicken nugget; however, it was originally called the McNuggets. Though several researches have shown that chicken nugget was the original inventions of a food scientist, Professor Robert C. Baker, who discovered it and wrote several reports to different companies about his findings. But the McDonald Company never made mention of him as the inventor.

Potato Chips


The potato chips seem like a simple delicacy that could have been around during the ancient civilizations or perhaps more than a thousand years ago, but unfortunately this food arguably only became known and popular on August 24, 1853. George Crum—a half-African, half–Native American man—who worked at a resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, as a cook, received an order for some French fries, but the customer kept sending back his order, complaining that they were too thick. Out of frustration, Crum decided to do the opposite; he apparently sliced up some potatoes really thin and dumped them in the pan to fry until they became crispy. Sending the order to the customer in frustration; fortunately the supposed French fries was warmly received and appreciated. Soon enough the delicacy that was made out of frustration became a brace and one of the most sought after delicacies in that restaurant as well as other places.

 Coffee


Coffee has become one of the most consumed beverages in the world, thanks to the caffeine. This close pal is actually adding lots of vibrancies to our everyday life to the extent that there is now something called “the coffee break”. This beverage has actually got popular all over the world but not everyone knows the real origin behind the coffee. “Coffee, in a crazy kind of way, was discovered by herds of goats”.

Legend has it that in the year 850, an Ethiopian goat herder discovered that his goats wouldn’t sleep at night; they were always awake and hyperactive instead of snoozing. Being a good herdsman who is always concern about his flocks, he decided to monitor his goats closely to actually discover what could be the problem for their wakefulness. He discovered that his goats often went out to a particular tree during the day to feed on berries. Because of his curiosity, he decided to experiment with the berries to know what’s up with it by feeding on it. He suddenly became elated and was very energetic. Surprised by his weird feelings, he ran to a monastery to tender his experience. Explaining his findings with the local Abbot in the monastery, the Abbot decided to carry out his own weird experiment. He burnt the berries and added some water to form a beverage; consuming the broth, he got quite a bountiful supply of ecstasy that was almost the same as the experience of the goat herder. Coffee has since then been an irreplaceable drink.  

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