Nancy Green was born in slavery on November 17, 1834 in Montgomery County, Kentucky. Now, you may be wondering, "What does a slave in the 1800s have to do with pancakes?!?!"
Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood came up with a formula for "ready-mixed, self-rising pancake flour." However, Rutt and Underwood found themselves in a very competitive business. There were plenty of other men trying to have the best product and produce a great image for their products. Eventually, they went broke. They were forced to go out of business, shut down their mills, and sell the formula to the Davis Milling Company.
Mr. Davis was on the lookout for a black woman to be the spokesperson for his new product. While in Chicago, he came across our old friend, Nancy Green. At this point, Nancy Green was 56 and somewhat heavyset.
Mr. Davis hired Green to work at a booth at the Chicago's World Fair in 1893 as the spokeswoman. She worked the exhibition booth by making thousands of pancakes and demonstrating the mix.
"The Davis Milling Company received over 50,000 orders, and Fair officials awarded Nancy Green a medal and certificate for her showmanship."
Davis hit the jackpot. Nancy Green was proclaimed to be the "Pancake Queen." She would then tour around the country, becoming the first and only "Pancake Rockstar."
Now the question on your mind must be, "if she is so famous, why have I never heard of her?" YOU HAVE! Rutt and Underwood came up with a name for their product. The pancake mix was to become known as "Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix." When Nancy Green became spokeswoman for Davis, she took on the name of Aunt Jemima and became spokeswoman for LIFE! She toured around the country doing promotional tours until September 23, 1923, when she unfortunately died in a car crash in Chicago.
The only unanswered question is, "why is Nancy Green not known?" Some people think it is because the idea of an "ex-slave" as an advertisement would be a major downturn for sales. Maybe it was just because she had a nickname and she was more popularly known as Aunt Jemima? Who knows?
Truth or Fallacy?
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Alexander who? He invented what?
We have all heard the story that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Of course, what we hear and what the truth is is hardly ever the same exact thing. Yes, Bell may have been given the credit for the telephone, and he may very well have patented the telephone, but according to the United States' House of Representatives and the Government of Canada, Bell did NOT invent the telephone.
In 1856, Antonio Meucci, born of Florentine decent in Italy, invented the "first electromagnetic telephone." Over the next fourteen years, Meucci constructed over thirty different forms of his electromagnetic telephone. In 1871, Meucci submitted a caveat to the US Patent Office and received credit for a "Sound Telegraph."
Years later, however, Alexander Bell won credit for the invention of the telephone, which was distinctly and clearly differentiated from Meucci's sound telegraph. Since Meucci did not obtain a full patent, and merely submitted a caveat, which does not hold any claims, Bell was able to maintain ownership of the invention, without giving credit to Meucci.
Meucci's mistake was in not having an extra ten dollars to cover the fee to obtain a patent over his sound telegraph. If he managed to submit the patent, rather than the caveat, he would have forever been known as the inventor of the telephone, and Bell would simply be known as someone who helped progress an invention.
Fallacy or Truth?
In 1856, Antonio Meucci, born of Florentine decent in Italy, invented the "first electromagnetic telephone." Over the next fourteen years, Meucci constructed over thirty different forms of his electromagnetic telephone. In 1871, Meucci submitted a caveat to the US Patent Office and received credit for a "Sound Telegraph."
Years later, however, Alexander Bell won credit for the invention of the telephone, which was distinctly and clearly differentiated from Meucci's sound telegraph. Since Meucci did not obtain a full patent, and merely submitted a caveat, which does not hold any claims, Bell was able to maintain ownership of the invention, without giving credit to Meucci.
Meucci's mistake was in not having an extra ten dollars to cover the fee to obtain a patent over his sound telegraph. If he managed to submit the patent, rather than the caveat, he would have forever been known as the inventor of the telephone, and Bell would simply be known as someone who helped progress an invention.
Fallacy or Truth?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Columbus and the New World
Why was Christopher Columbus sailing west? From early on, we are told that Columbus sought to prove that the world was round, that he meant to sail south but the winds pushed him west, or that he was looking for a sea route to China and India. However, very little of that is actually true.
Much of the civilized world believed and knew that the world was in fact round. Aristotle received credit for proving that the world was round less than two thousand years before Columbus was even born.
Therefore, the next idea we were told also must be a fallacy. Since Columbus very well knew that the world was round, he had to have intentionally been traveling west in search of Asia Major or India. Although the shape of the earth was known, other land masses were not. Columbus managed to "discover" the Caribbean, and therefore goes down in history as the man who discovered America.
You must be asking yourself, "But what about the Vikings or the Native Americans?" Since no strong European power of world renown had managed to establish the existence of a New World, anyone claiming to have discovered new lands in the west were merely persuaded to think it was Asia and went right back home.
Fallacy or Truth?
Much of the civilized world believed and knew that the world was in fact round. Aristotle received credit for proving that the world was round less than two thousand years before Columbus was even born.
Therefore, the next idea we were told also must be a fallacy. Since Columbus very well knew that the world was round, he had to have intentionally been traveling west in search of Asia Major or India. Although the shape of the earth was known, other land masses were not. Columbus managed to "discover" the Caribbean, and therefore goes down in history as the man who discovered America.
You must be asking yourself, "But what about the Vikings or the Native Americans?" Since no strong European power of world renown had managed to establish the existence of a New World, anyone claiming to have discovered new lands in the west were merely persuaded to think it was Asia and went right back home.
Fallacy or Truth?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
