Tidbits of History, August 12

August 12 is:

Middle Child’s Day
National Julienne Fries Day

According to Foodimentary.com, here are today’s five thing to know about Fries:

1. Leaving the potato skin on French fries actually leaves in important vitamins that are lost if the skins are peeled away.
2. In England these are referred to as “chips”
3. French fries are, perhaps, poorly-named, since they originate in Belgium and are most popular in America.
4. Though French fries were invented in Europe, the potatoes, from which they are made, originated in the Americas and were imported.
5. The first occurrence of French fries in America may have been at a diplomatic dinner hosted by Thomas Jefferson.

Today’s Food History

• 1856 James Buchanan (‘Diamond Jim’) Brady was born. American financier and philanthropist Diamond Jim Brady was known for his collection of diamond jewelry, and for his gargantuan appetite. He was known to eat 6 or 7 giant lobsters, dozens of oysters, clams and crabs, 2 ducks, steak and desserts at a single sitting. He would also mix a pound of caviar into a baked potato. George Rector, a New York restaurateur said he was ‘the best twenty-five customers I ever had.’

1883 The quagga, a zebra-like mammal of southern Africa became extinct when the last mare at Amsterdam Zoo died. They had been hunted to extinction.

1948 Harry Brearley died. Brearley was an English metallurgist who invented stainless steel in 1912.

Ponce de Leon Day, a festival day in Puerto Rico honoring his arrival in 1508

Time and Date.com Perseid Meteor Shower expected to peak on August 11-12.

Birthday of Robert Mills (August 12, 1781), American architect, the first to study exclusively in the United States. He designed the Washington Monument. The Monument is both the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk, standing 555 feet 5 1⁄8 inches (169.294 m) tall. Robert Mills also designed the U.S. Treasury Building and the U.S. Patent Office, now home to the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

From Today in Science
In 1851, Isaac M. Singer of New York City was granted a patent for the first sewing machine with a rocking treadle. Although a sewing machine had already been patented, Singer’s sewing machine was revolutionary, having a double treadle. With patent in hand, Isaac set up shop in Boston, Massachusetts and began to manufacture his invention. Even after huge settlements paid to Elias Howe, another sewing machine patent holder, Singer, through business innovations like installment buying, after-sale servicing and trade-in allowances, had the marketplace all sewn up.

Birthday of Katharine Lee Bates (August 12, 1859), American educator and author of the text for “America the Beautiful”.
Bates originally wrote the words as a poem, “Pikes Peak”, first published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical The Congregationalist in 1895. At that time, the poem was titled “America” for publication.
The music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never met.

From Today in Science
In 1865, Dr. Joseph Lister became the first surgeon to perform an antiseptic operation using carbolic acid (phenol) as a disinfectant. He had studied Louis Pasteur’s germ theory of disease – that infections are caused by bacteria. Lister knew carbolic acid had been effective in municipal use for treating sewage, and decided to try using it to kill germs that would otherwise infect wounds. He poured it on bandages, ligatures, instruments and directly on the wound and hands. His first patient to benefit from this procedure was James Greenlees, age 12, whose broken leg was treated after being run over by a cart. The dressing was soaked with carbolic acid and linseed oil. The wound healed without infection. Lister continued his protocol of hygiene, and reduced the surgical death rate from 45% to 15%.

1964 – Mickey Mantle set a major league baseball record when he hit home runs from both the left and ride sides of the plate in the same game.

1981 – IBM unveiled its first PC for $1,600 base price.

1994 – Major league baseball players went on strike rather than allow team owners to limit their salaries. The strike lasted for 232 days. As a result, the World Series was wiped out for the first time in 90 years.