Thursday, January 8, 2026Daily Trivia Questions are below TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE“There are many miracles in the world to be celebrated and, for me, garlic is the most deserving.”
Felice Leonardo (Leo) Buscaglia
FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:• National English Toffee Day. • Feast of St. Erhard of Regensburg, patron of bakers.
TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY1676 Charles II of England revoked his previous proclamation suppressing Coffee Houses due to public response. (See Dec 23, 1675) 1800 The first soup kitchens in London were opened to serve the poor. (Soup Trivia --- Soup Recipes)
(Soup Quotes) 1823 Alfred Russel Wallace was born. Wallace was a British naturalist who developed a theory of natural selection independently of Charles Darwin. He sent his conclusions to Darwin, and their findings were both presented to the Linnaean Society in 1858. 1825 Eli Whitney died. Inventor of the cotton gin, but more important he developed the concept of mass producing interchangeable parts. 1856 Dr John A Veatch discovered large deposits of borax in Tuscan Springs, California. Borax has many uses including in household laundry and cleaning products such as '20 Mule Team Borax' 1894 Pierre Joseph van Beneden died. A Belgian parasitologist, he discovered the life cycle of tapeworms. 1926 Comedian 'Soupy Sales' (Milton Supman) was born (died Oct 22, 2009). Best known for his children's TV show 'Lunch with Soupy Sales.' Most of his routines ended with Soupy receiving a pie in the face. 1940 Britain's Ministry of Food instituted rationing of butter, sugar and bacon. 1945 Brantford, Ontario is the first Canadian community to fluoridate its water supply. 1964 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a war on poverty. 1982 AT&T settles antitrust lawsuit by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System telephone companies. 1987 The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,000 for the first time, closing at 2,002.25. 1992 President George H.W. Bush becomes ill on a trip to Japan and vomits on Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi. (see also Jan 13, 2002) 1997 Melvin Ellis Calvin died (born April 8, 1911), An American biochemist he was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for furthering our knowledge of the mechanism of photosynthesis in green plants. 1998 Walter E. Diemer died. While working for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company, he experimented with recipes for chewing gum as a hobby. (He really liked his gum!). He invented bubble gum in 1928.
(Chewing Gum Trivia) 2002 Dave Thomas founder of Wendy's Hamburger chain died (born July 2, 1932). 2004 The world's largest Ocean Liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, is christened. 2006 U.S. 1st class postage rates are raised to 39 cents and post cards to 24 cents. 2018 In Rocky River, Ohio, the local Postal service reports that aggressive turkeys are "creating unsafe conditions" for postal carriers. Residents are requested to stop putting out bird feed, hoping the turkeys will go elsewhere.
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** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Novvember 14, 2025 - January 17, 2026
Gingerbread House Competition & Display
Lahaska, Pennsylvania January 1-31, 2026 - Napa Valley Restaurant Month
Napa Valley, California January 8-18, 2026 Restaurant Week South Carolina
Statewide, South Carolina January 9-10, 2026 - Annual Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival - Doswell, Virginia January 9-11, 2026 52nd Santa Cruz Fungus Fair
Santa Cruz, California January 10-11, 2026 - Seattle Travel & Adventure Show - Seattle, Washington (SEE ALL FOOD FESTIVALS and OTHER FOOD EVENTS)
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new DAILY questions)1) All of the following events took place in the same year. What year is it?
· Federal taxes on oleomargarine (margarine) ended.
· James Dean appears in a Pepsi Cola commercial, his first paid acting job.
· Of gainfully employed persons, 11 percent were engaged in agriculture.
· The first credit card, the Diners Club was created. 2) An aromatic herb, a member of the parsley or carrot family, and indigenous to the regions around the Black and Caspian Seas. It is an essential ingredient of fines herbes, widely used in French cuisine. Some varieties also have edible roots which are like small turnips, and were enjoyed by the early Greeks and Romans, and in England during the 14th to 17th centuries. Name this herb. 3) When first introduced to England around 1654, they were considered full of dangerous chemicals and fit only for use by experienced pharmacies. British authorities eventually declared them safe with the addition of one particular substance. The power of the John Company, the largest, most powerful monopoly to ever exist in the world (except for Microsoft of course) was based on the importation of them. They have caused many international conflicts, and helped establish the reputation of the Yankee Clipper ships. It is said that the origin of the custom of tipping was related to them. Pidgin English developed as a method to facilitate the trading of them. Richard Blechynden of England and Thomas Sullivan of New York helped to popularize them in the U.S. in the early 20th century. They also played a major role in the development of the supermarket. They are sold at auctions around the world.
What are they? Click Here for Today’s Quiz Answers
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Read an article about Chef James and the FoodReference.com website published in the Winona Daily News, Minneapolis StarTribune, and numerous other newspapers: Click here for the Article
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
· Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten (it is still my favorite)
· Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
· Barbara Saba, my sister, who taught me how to dance.
· Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew. Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq. He was 30 yrs. young. Chef James
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