It’s National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day!
MONDAY 2 April is the official National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day in America. The holiday is not to be confused with National Peanut Butter day, which falls on 24 January, National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day on 1 March, or National Peanut Day on 13 September.
Peanut butter was invented in 1890 by the physician Dr John Kellogg, the father of corn flakes. He created it as a protein substitute for toothless patients. It wasn’t until 1922 that a commercial version of peanut butter emerged, thanks to the Californian J. L. Rosefield who came up with a way of keeping the oil from separating in the peanut butter. He marketed his product under the name of Skippy, which is still a well-known peanut butter brand.
During the Second World War, peanut butter was on the US military ration menus, as was jelly. Legend has it that the soldiers started mixing the two and that the combo became an instant hit in America.
Peanut butter and jelly, or PB and J, may be America’s favourite lunchtime sandwich, but some people apparently prefer to enjoy it in more unconventional and sinister ways.
Last month, police investigating a burglary in Kentucky found a man wearing only a pair of boots, his body smeared in peanut butter and chocolate.
Last summer, a Seattle resident came home and found his house covered in peanut butter and jelly. A burglar had smeared the floors, walls and even the man’s dog in PB & J. The only item missing from the house: a jar of peanut butter.
Also last summer, a woman in Michigan who is highly allergic to nuts filed assault charges against her husband’s ex-wife for sending a letter smeared with peanut butter. The ex-wife said the letter was intended for her ex-husband and that she had covered it in peanut butter to keep his new wife from reading it.
Now that’s nuts…
Posted: 1st, April 2012 | In: The Consumer Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
