NOVEMBER 4 - Today in Food History• National Candy Day (Candy Trivia & Facts) • St. Charles Borromeo, patron of apple orchards. • National Fig Week (Nov 1-7) Fig Trivia & Facts
On this day in:1841 John Bartleson and John Bidwell arrived in California with the first wagon train. They left from Independence, Missouri on May 1, 1841 with 69 adults and several children.
1873 Anthony Iske of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was issued U.S. patent No. 144,206 for a meat slicing machine. It worked much like a mandoline, with a frame to hold the meat while sliding it against the blade.
1879 James and John Ritty invented the first cash register. They came up with the idea to prevent bartenders from stealing at the Pony House Restaurant in Dayton, Ohio. 1879 African-American inventor, Thomas Elkins received U.S. patent No. 221,222 for a refrigerating machine, which could be used to cool food (or even human corpses according to the patent application). He also received patents for a combined dining/ironing table and a commode. (Refrigerator Trivia)
1879 Thomas Edison applied for a patent for electric lamps giving light by incandescence. (Patent No. 223,898, granted Jan 27, 1880). 1916 Ruth Handler was born (died April 27, 2002). Creator of the Barbie Doll (1959) and co-founder of the Mattel company in 1942.
1922 The entrance to the tomb of King Tutankhamen was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.
1923 Alfred Heineken was born. Grandson of Gerard Adriaan Heineken, the founder of Heineken Brewery. He was president of the company from 1964 to 1989. 1940 Eggs and cake are rationed in the Netherlands.
1959 Alberta, Canada bans trading stamps and similar sales promotional items.
1993 Elton John was awarded $518,700 from the Sunday Mirror for false allegations that he was hooked on a bizarre diet in which he spat out food without swallowing it.
2005 The animated movie 'Chicken Little' premiered.
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