The Taste Storyteller
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Article
Who Invented Pizza?
No single person invented pizza. It grew out of the street food of Naples, and its most famous origin story is probably a legend.
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Article
Who Invented the Microwave?
The microwave oven began with a radar engineer, a melted candy bar and a bag of popcorn. The first one was six feet tall.
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Article
Why Do We Say “Bless You” When Someone Sneezes?
Greeting a sneeze is far older than the phrase we use for it. The famous plague story has no evidence behind it; the Roman…
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Article
Who Invented the Fork?
No one invented the fork, but its arrival at the European table was a scandal. It took centuries to be accepted.
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Article
Who Invented the Potato Chip?
The best-known story gives the potato chip an inventor, a date and an angry chef. The evidence suggests the chip is older than the…
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Article
Why Do Brides Wear White?
The white wedding dress is younger than most people think. It owes more to one royal wedding in 1840, and to the price of…
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Article
Who Invented Tiramisu?
Two Italian regions claim tiramisu. One has a famous restaurant, the other an older recipe. Here is what each side can show.
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Article
Who Invented the Toothbrush?
The bristle toothbrush came from China. The mass-produced one started, reportedly, with a bored prisoner in London around 1780.
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Article
Who Invented Post-it Notes?
Post-it Notes began with a glue that was too weak and spent years without a purpose, until a choir singer needed a better bookmark.
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The Origin of Trick-or-Treating
Going door to door on Halloween has medieval roots, but the phrase ‘trick or treat’ was first printed in Canada in the 1920s.
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Article
The History of Sushi
Sushi began as a way to keep fish from rotting. The nigiri we know today started as fast food from the street stalls of…
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Article
Who Invented Eyeglasses?
Eyeglasses appeared in Italy in the late 13th century. Their inventor is unknown, and the man on the famous tombstone is probably not him.