Why Were They Called the Wars of the Roses?

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Author Nicole Villeneuve

September 11, 2024

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For three decades between 1455 and 1487, the House of Lancaster and the House of York vied for control of the English throne. Originating in a period of instability during the reign of King Henry VI, whose struggles with mental illness left the throne vulnerable, this series of civil wars lasted for more than 30 years, though there were only about 15 months of active battle. The country was nonetheless mired in civil strife throughout the Wars of the Roses. The two rival houses were actually branches of the same family, the Plantagenet dynasty, and the power shifted back and forth over the years of fighting.

In 1485, at the Battle at Bosworth, the final battle of the conflict, Henry Tudor — a tenuous descendant of the Lancastrian house through his mother, Margaret Beaufort — defeated Richard III of the House of York. He was crowned King Henry VII, effectively ending the wars and establishing the transformative Tudor dynasty. Centuries later, a romanticized vision of the dynastic struggle continues to influence literature, film, and television, including George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series and its wildly popular television adaptation, which follows the warring houses of Stark and Lannister (sound familiar?). The question is: How exactly did this tumultuous period in English history come to be named after a beautiful and sweet-smelling flower?

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Dueling Roses

Like many of history’s wars, the Wars of the Roses weren’t named until many years after the conflict ended. The moniker refers to the symbols of the two houses: a white rose for the House of York and a red rose for the House of Lancaster, although roses weren’t the only heraldic imagery used at the time of the fighting. Yorkists, for instance, were also known to sport Richard III’s white boar badge before and during his brief reign as king (1483-1485). Lancastrian monarch Henry VI featured an antelope on his royal badge, and when Henry VII won the Battle of Bosworth, he carried a banner featuring the family’s red dragon crest on a white and green background.

While the white rose was just one of many badges used by the Yorks, the red rose may have been absent during the civil wars altogether. Before 1485, red roses appeared only minimally in distant Lancaster heraldic imagery. Historians believe the image was only made a prominent Lancastrian symbol by Henry VII and his advisors after his victory. Seeking to unify the nation — and to strengthen his shaky familial claim to the throne — Henry married a York princess, Edward IV’s daughter Elizabeth, six months after the Wars of the Roses had ended. Manuscripts from this era show that he purposefully resurrected the seldom-used red rose and, in a strategic move, combined it with the Yorkists’ white rose.

Together, the two roses made what came to be known as the Tudor rose, a prominent symbol of the Tudor dynasty. It was not only a powerful piece of political imagery, but also a symbol of unity and reconciliation. The Tudor rose became an enduring emblem and spread throughout England, often incorporated into architecture and decor throughout the country. Today, red and white roses — as well as red dragons — appear in the garden at the Hampton Court Palace, a historical Tudor court.

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A War by Any Other Name

The Tudor rose was firmly entrenched as a symbol of the English civil wars by the late 1400s, but the conflict’s modern name didn’t become common for another 400 years. Much of its popularity is attributed to the 19th-century writer Walter Scott, who, in his 1829 novel Anne of Geierstein, referred to the civil wars as “the wars of the White and Red Roses.” Scott was a famous novelist at the time, and his work resonated with the wider public and bolstered the Wars of the Roses’ name through the 19th century and beyond. He wasn’t the first to make the literary link, however. In his late-1500s Henry VI trilogy, William Shakespeare famously dramatized a scene in which characters pluck red and white roses to signify their loyalties. Influential Scottish philosopher David Hume also helped cement the connection. In a 1775 version of his bestselling book The History of England, Hume referred to the period as “the quarrel between the two roses.”

A Bite-Sized History of Fast Food

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Author Timothy Ott

September 11, 2024

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The existence of ready-made food has been around for centuries, from ancient Rome’s takeout restaurants, known as thermopolia, to the bread, soup, and meat vendors that have populated the streets of metropolitan centers around the world since antiquity. However, the burgers, fries, wings, and milkshakes that constitute the typical fast-food meal today are a more recent invention — and a distinctly American one. Here’s a brief taste of how a colossal global industry took flight.

The Rise of Automats

A direct predecessor of modern fast-food service were the automats that fed urbanites in the northeastern U.S. in the early 20th century. Essentially a self-service cafeteria, the automat featured rows of windowed compartments along its walls, from which hungry customers could retrieve an array of prepared dishes by depositing a coin. Introduced in Berlin, Germany, in 1895, this new form of casual dining made its way to Philadelphia in 1902 courtesy of restaurateurs Joe Horn and Frank Hardart.

The concept hit its stride after Horn and Hardart debuted their service in the busy New York City neighborhood of Times Square in 1912, and then expanded to more than 80 locations across the Big Apple and Philly. However, the popularity of the automat began to decline as city dwellers increasingly migrated to the suburbs after World War II, and the service slowly fizzled out over the following decades (though it saw a comeback amid the COVID-19 pandemic).

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White Castle Introduces the Hamburger Chain

As described in Adam Chandler's book Drive-Thru Dreams, a cook named Walt Anderson began churning out batches of small, square hamburgers from his stand in Wichita, Kansas, in 1916. Although Americans were leery of ground beef following the exposé of the meatpacking industry that featured in Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle, Anderson eased those concerns by preparing his food in public view. Locals quickly took to the compact 5-cent burgers, later known as "sliders," and Anderson soon opened two more stands. In 1921, he teamed with real-estate broker Billy Ingram to open a fourth location in a building that resembled a small castle, a look that partly inspired the new eatery's moniker, "White Castle."

As burger stands began popping up with increasing frequency throughout the decade, Anderson and Ingram sought to distinguish their chain through the comfort of uniformity. Regardless of location, diners enjoyed burgers and coffee that were prepared in accordance to exact instructions, amid interior dining areas marked by white-painted walls, stainless steel counters, and identically dressed servers.

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Drive-Ins and Drive-Thrus Cater to Cars

At the same time that Kansans were familiarizing themselves with the White Castle brand, Texans were being introduced to a new form of dining service. Visitors hankering for a pork sandwich or other barbecue fare from the Dallas-based Pig Stand didn't even have to leave their vehicles, as they were greeted by smiling carhops who were ready to order and retrieve meals for them. As mentioned in Drive-Thru Dreams, considering the number of cars on American roads grew from 9 million in 1920 to 23 million in 1931, it was only natural that drive-in restaurants became a staple across the American landscape in the following decades.

The next phase in driver-oriented dining came with the emergence of the drive-thru restaurant in the late 1940s. Although it's unclear exactly where this service first originated, credit is often given to Red's Giant Hamburg on Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, in 1948. That year also brought the drive-thru to Southern California with the very first In-N-Out Burger, which began expanding to other regional locations in the 1950s.

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McDonald's Changes the Game

Meanwhile, another change in the industry was underway. Richard and Maurice McDonald built a successful burger drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940, but eventually sought enhanced efficiency for their business. By 1948, the brothers had gotten rid of carhops and short-order cooks, divided food preparation into individual stations, simplified their menu, and replaced dishes and glassware with disposable versions. This "Speedee Service System," as it was called, enabled the brothers to rake in even larger profits, and directly inspired competitors such as Keith G. Cramer, who opened the chain that became Burger King in 1953.

Around that time, the development of the Interstate Highway System and migration to the suburbs that hastened the demise of automats also ignited a fast-food boom that was no longer primarily centered on hamburgers. Colonel Harland Sanders, who began experimenting with a pressure cooker at his gas station eatery in the 1930s, started franchising his Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe to restaurants in 1952. Brothers Dan and Frank Carney introduced the first Pizza Hut in Wichita in 1958. Glen Bell switched from burgers to tacos in 1954, before launching Taco Bell in Downey, California, in 1962. And 17-year-old Fred DeLuca teamed up with nuclear physicist Peter Buck to open the sandwich chain that became Subway in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1965.

With so many options for consumers to choose from, fast-food entrepreneurs sought to expand their businesses both nationally and overseas. Early pioneers in the international space included KFC, which brought the colonel's secret recipe to Canadain 1955 and Mexico in 1963, and A&W, which cracked the Asian market with shops in Malaysia and Japan in 1963.

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Innovative Advertising

As the 20th century pressed on, the fast-food industry's major players pursued various marketing and promotional techniques to reel in more customers. The now-defunct Burger Chef was the first to offer a burger, fries, and drink combo meal after the franchise launched in the late 1950s. Burger Chef also proved ahead of the game with the debut of their food-and-toy "Fun Meal" for kids in 1973, although they were unsuccessful at blocking McDonald's from nationally rolling out the Happy Meal in 1979.

While the mid-Atlantic chain Rays Kingburger claims it became the first fast-food restaurant to offer breakfast in 1972, McDonald's had already been selling breakfast items at select locations. The fast-food giant then upped the ante by introducing the eggs Benedict-based Egg McMuffin sandwich in 1972, before unveiling its national breakfast menu in 1977.

Following the onslaught of advertising between McDonald's, Burger King, and upstart Wendy's that marked the "burger wars" of the 1980s, Wendy's created a model for smaller chains to follow by introducing a 99-cent value menu in 1989. McDonald's also established a menu trend in 1987 with the introduction of "supersized" meals that provided bigger portions, before discontinuing the option in 2004.

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A Turn to Healthier Choices

The death of the supersized meal was partly due to shifting public tastes that sought healthier choices for quick dining. While the innovators at Burger Chef offered salads as far back as 1974, and Wendy's debuted a salad bar in 1979, the major franchises largely delivered the same high-sodium and high-calorie content until the 2001 satirical film Fast Food Nation and Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary Supersize Me called attention to rising obesity rates and environmental problems caused by the production and consumption of this type of food.
While most fast-food joints opted not to follow Burger King’s introduction of a vegetarian patty in 2002, an examination of 20 popular chains between 2004 and 2015 revealed industry-wide efforts to add healthier items to menus, particularly for children. And the rise of franchises such as CAVA, Veggie Grill, and Native Foods provided diners with an array of genuinely nutritious options for quick-service meals. Today, regardless of whether consumers seek a lower-calorie grilled chicken wrap or the old standby of burgers and fries, fast food remains as popular as ever, with this American contribution to the culinary industry accounting for $978 billion in global sales in 2023.

Why Did Doctors Wear Beak Masks During the Bubonic Plague?

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Author Tony Dunnell

September 11, 2024

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Few images in medical history are as striking (or as creepy) as those of plague doctors with their long, beaked masks. This peculiar costume, worn by physicians during outbreaks of bubonic plague in Europe, has become an enduring symbol of the disease. But why did doctors wear these strange masks, which surely must only have added to the fear felt by people in times of suffering? What purpose did the design serve? Here’s the reasoning behind the mask, which came about in an age when the true nature of disease transmission was still shrouded in mystery.

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The Origins of the Plague Doctor Costume

Contrary to common belief, the plague doctor costume was not a medieval-era invention. Despite its common association with the Black Death — the name given to the bubonic plague pandemic that devastated Europe in the mid-1300s — there is no evidence to suggest it was worn during the 14th-century epidemic or at any point in the Middle Ages. It emerged much later, in the 17th century, when plague outbreaks were still common in Europe.

We know that the striking attire was worn in 1619 by the French physician Charles Delorme during an eruption of the bubonic plague in Paris. Delorme, who some historians credit as inventing the outfit, described the plague doctor costume in full in a mid-17th century text, complete with leather hat, gloves, a waxed linen robe, boots, and a mask with glass eyes and beak.

Plague doctors across Europe soon adopted the outfit; they also carried a stick with which to remove the clothes of the infected. The look was so widely recognized in Italy that it became commonplace in Italian commedia dell’arte — an early form of comedic theater — and carnival celebrations, and it remains a popular costume today.

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The Beaks Were Filled With Herbs and Vinegar

By far the most distinctive, and some would say ominous, aspect of the plague doctor costume was the mask with its long, birdlike beak. This relates to a prevailing view in medical science during the Middle Ages and in the centuries that followed: that diseases were spread through “miasma,” or bad-smelling air, that caused an imbalance in a person’s “humors,” or bodily fluids. (The miasma theory was later discarded when the germ theory of disease was developed.)

The shape and function of the beak were directly tied to this theory of miasma. Plague doctors filled their long beaks with strong smelling herbs and flowers, including lavender and mint, or sponges soaked with vinegar or camphor. Some also stuffed their beaks full of theriac, a compound of more than 55 herbs and other components including viper flesh powder, cinnamon, myrrh, and honey. These aromatic substances, it was believed, would absorb the foul-smelling miasma, purifying the air as it traveled along the beak, and so protect the wearer from inhaling the harmful air.

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Did the Beak Mask Actually Work?

The concept behind the plague doctor’s outfit wasn’t entirely misguided. Creating a barrier between the wearer and the patient — and potentially contaminated air — was logical. Modern personal protective equipment (PPE) and hazmat suits are based on the same idea. The plague doctor costume could have even offered some protection against droplets from coughing (in the case of pneumonic plague) or contamination through splattered blood (from bubonic plague).

But fundamental flaws existed in the design. Bubonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is transmitted through the bite of an infected flea. The plague doctors, believing miasma to be the cause, were not aware of this. Their outfits may have helped protect against flea bites to some extent, but they were not specifically designed for this task. As for the beak masks, they too would have offered some protection, despite the flawed understanding of how contagious diseases spread. The simple fact that plague doctors wore masks was a positive — but stuffing their beaks full of herbs and powdered viper flesh was of no great use, apart from making the air smell somewhat nicer while they treated their patients.

The Most Popular Song the Year You Were Born

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Author Bennett Kleinman

September 5, 2024

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Nostalgia is a powerful feeling, and it’s easy to spend hours reminiscing about days gone by. It’s especially fun to look back at — and of course, listen to — the music that was popular during our childhood. Since 1940, Billboard magazine has been compiling the most widely purchased and played songs year after year. Originally, the Billboard charts ranked songs based on various categories, such as record sales and radio playtime. But in 1958, Billboard unveiled the Hot 100 chart, which compiled those metrics into a definitive list of the top tunes each year. Let’s take a look back at the most popular songs of each year of the past century, based on these lists and other early data.

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1920s

The 1920s were the decade in which pop music became a distinct genre of its own. In fact, the term “pop music” was actually coined in 1926 to refer to any widely “popular” songs. But given that it was still such a nascent concept, there were no existing methods for tracking a song’s popularity over time. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1930s that anyone compiled an official weekly music chart that took into account sales and airplay. Despite the lack of an authoritative industry list, it’s possible to identify the most popular songs based on contemporary records such as The Billboard theatrical digest and historical compilations that generally reference the same tunes as the biggest hits in a given year. Here’s a look at the top tunes from each year of this formative decade.

1920 — “Swanee” by Al Jolson
1921 — “I Ain’t Got Nobody” by Marion Harris
1922 — “My Man” by Fanny Brice
1923 — “Down Hearted Blues” by Bessie Smith
1924 — “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin
1925 — “Sweet Georgia Brown” by Ben Bernie
1926 — “Bye Bye, Blackbird” by Gene Austin
1927 — “Stardust” by Hoagy Carmichael
1928 — “Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)” by Jimmie Rodgers
1929 — “Makin’ Whoopee” by Eddie Cantor

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1930s

The 1930s were dominated by legendary artists such as Cab Calloway and Fred Astaire. In 1935, a program called Your Hit Parade debuted on TV and radio, and published the first weekly music chart in the U.S., preceding the Billboard charts by five years. The list took into account multiple factors such as record sales and total radio plays, and it debuted with “Soon” by Bing Crosby in the No. 1 spot for the inaugural week of April 20, 1935. The top song of the entire decade, meanwhile, was “My Reverie” by Larry Clinton, which stayed at No. 1 for eight weeks in 1938.

1930 — “Happy Days Are Here Again” by Ben Selvin
1931 — “Minnie the Moocher” by Cab Calloway & His Cotton Club Orchestra
1932 — “Night and Day” by Fred Astaire and Leo Reisman
1933 — “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin’ All the Time)” by Ethel Waters
1934 — “Moonglow” by Benny Goodman
1935 — “Cheek to Cheek” by Fred Astaire
1936 — “The Way You Look Tonight” by Fred Astaire
1937 — “Once in a While” by Tommy Dorsey
1938 — “My Reverie” by Larry Clinton
1939 — “Over the Rainbow” by Glenn Miller

1940s

Billboard unveiled its first music chart in July 1940, and the song “I’ll Never Smile Again” — which featured a young Frank Sinatra on vocals — topped the chart for the first 12 weeks. From 1940 through 1943, Billboard only took into account retail sales for determining the top song, but later years saw the introduction of charts that tracked other metrics, such as total jukebox plays and radio play. Throughout the 1940s, orchestral bandleaders such as Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, and Glenn Miller dominated the music scene in terms of retail sales and on-air playtime. Here’s a look at the most popular Billboard songs from the 1940s based on total sales, the one metric that was used throughout the decade.

1940 — “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers
1941 — “Frenesi” by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra
1942 — “Moonlight Cocktail” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
1943 — “I’ve Heard That Song Before” by Harry James and His Orchestra with Helen Forrest
1944 — “Swinging on a Star” by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra and the Williams Brothers Quartet
1945 — “Till the End of Time” by Perry Como with Russ Case and His Orchestra
1946 — “The Gypsy” by the Ink Spots
1947 — “Heartaches” by Ted Weems and His Orchestra with Elmo Tanner
1948 — “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)” by Peggy Lee with Dave Barbour and the Brazilians
1949 — “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra

1950s

The early 1950s continued many of the musical trends from the 1940s, as bandleaders and musical standards continued to dominate the top of the charts — that is, until Elvis Presley showed up and revolutionized the music scene. Elvis topped the charts in both 1956 and 1957, the two years that preceded the first-ever Hot 100 ranking. In 1958, the weekly Hot 100 chart debuted with Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” in the No. 1 spot, though it was “Volare” by Domenico Modugno that ended up being the best-performing song that year, based on the number of weeks it spent on the chart, the number of records sold, and how much airplay it received.

1950 — “Goodnight Irene” by Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra and the Weavers
1951 — “How High the Moon” by Les Paul and Mary Ford
1952 — “Cry” by Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads
1953 — “The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)” by Percy Faith and His Orchestra featuring Felicia Sanders
1954 — “Little Things Means a Lot” by Kitty Kallen with Jack Pleiss and His Orchestra
1955 — “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” by Pérez Prado and His Orchestra
1956 — “Don’t Be Cruel” by Elvis Presley
1957 — “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley
1958 — “Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blue)” by Domenico Modugno
1959 — “The Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton

1960s

The 1960s saw a seismic shift in the types of songs people listened to. While the year 1960 saw the orchestral “Theme From a Summer Place” top the Hot 100, it wasn’t long until pop acts began dominating the charts: The Beatles reached No. 1 for the first time with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in 1964, and also produced the most popular song of 1968, “Hey Jude.” Some songs, such as 1965’s “Wooly Bully,” never actually reached No. 1, but still performed better in terms of overall sales and total airplay than any other song that year. By the end of the 1960s, pop and rock music had completely displaced orchestral tunes as the most popular music genres in the country.

1960 — “Theme From a Summer Place” by Percy Faith
1961 — “Tossin’ and Turnin’” by Bobby Lewis
1962 — “Stranger on the Shore” by Acker Bilk
1963 — “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
1964 — “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles
1965 — “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
1966 — “The Ballad of the Green Berets” by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler
1967 — “To Sir With Love” by Lulu
1968 — “Hey Jude” by the Beatles
1969 — “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies

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1970s

The 1970s were a time of rich musical diversity. The decade opened with the folksy vocal stylings of Simon & Garfunkel atop the charts, but by 1979, the Hot 100 was all about powerful drums and raging guitar solos, and the Knack’s “My Sharona” was the most popular song in the decade’s final year. During the years in between, legendary performers such as Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, and Paul McCartney’s Wings topped the charts.

1970 — “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel
1971 — “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night
1972 — “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack
1973 — “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando
1974 — “The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand
1975 — “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille
1976 — “Silly Love Songs” by Wings
1977 — “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” by Rod Stewart
1978 — “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb
1979 — “My Sharona” by the Knack

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1980s

Acts such as George Michael, Prince, and the Police dominated the 1980s with their smash hit songs, many of which began to incorporate melancholic themes and relied heavily on minor keys. What’s notable about this decade is that pretty much every one of the top-performing songs continues to get widespread airplay today, proving just how much of an impact the 1980s had on the musical world.

1980 — “Call Me” by Blondie
1981 — “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes
1982 — “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John
1983 — “Every Breath You Take” by the Police
1984 — “When Doves Cry” by Prince
1985 — “Careless Whisper” by Wham! featuring George Michael
1986 — “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne and Friends
1987 — “Walk Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles
1988 — “Faith” by George Michael
1989 — “Look Away” by Chicago

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1990s

The 1990s saw the rise of R&B and rap music. Boys II Men topped the Hot 100 in 1992 with “End of the Road,” and 1995 saw Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” climb to No. 1. Meanwhile, Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997” topped the Hot 100 chart as a tribute to the late Princess Diana. In fact, that song is the second-highest-selling physical single of all time, with 33 million copies sold, around 17 million fewer copies than Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”

1990 — “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips
1991 — “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams
1992 — “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men
1993 — “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
1994 — “The Sign” by Ace of Base
1995 — “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio featuring L.V.
1996 — “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” by Los del Río
1997 — “Candle in the Wind 1997” by Elton John
1998 — “Too Close” by Next
1999 — “Believe” by Cher

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21st Century

As we push further into the 21st century, we’ve come a long way since the songs of the 1940s. This century has seen an eclectic mix of music top the Hot 100 charts, including the harder rock stylings of Nickelback, hip-hop tunes from Usher, and songs produced by larger-than-life celebrities such as Beyoncé and Justin Bieber. Here’s a look at the most popular songs from each year of the 21st century thus far.

2000 — “Breathe” by Faith Hill
2001 — “Hanging by a Moment” by Lifehouse
2002 — “How You Remind Me” by Nickelback
2003 — “In da Club” by 50 Cent
2004 — “Yeah!” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris
2005 — “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey
2006 — “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter
2007 — “Irreplaceable” by Beyoncé
2008 — “Low” by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain
2009 — “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas
2010 — “Tik Tok” by Kesha
2011 — “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele
2012 — “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye featuring Kimbra
2013 — “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz
2014 — “Happy” by Pharrell Williams
2015 — “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
2016 — “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber
2017 — “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran
2018 — “God’s Plan” by Drake
2019 — “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
2020 — “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd
2021 — “Levitating” by Dua Lipa
2022 — “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals
2023 — “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen

How Famous Was Shakespeare in His Time?

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Author Tony Dunnell

September 4, 2024

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When we think of William Shakespeare today, we picture a literary colossus who is widely regarded as the greatest dramatist — and arguably the greatest writer — who ever lived. His works have shaped not only the literary world for centuries, but also the English language itself. But how famous was the “Bard of Avon” during his own lifetime, from 1564 to 1616? The answer is perhaps not as straightforward as one would expect, considering his truly monumental status today. Shakespeare’s rise to enduring renown was certainly not immediate, and reflects the nature of fame in Elizabethan and Jacobean England.

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An Early Rise to Recognition

Shakespeare was born in 1564 in the English town of Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, and the couple had three children. It’s hard to say, however, exactly when Shakespeare’s career began or when he emerged on the London theater scene. The Taming of the Shrew is considered to be one of his earliest works, generally believed to have been written before 1592. It was in the mid-1590s that the playwright’s name started to become known, at least in literary circles. In 1593, he had an overnight sensation with his narrative poem Venus and Adonis. The witty, at times erotic poem was such a success that it remained, during his lifetime, Shakespeare’s most popular published work, and was widely commented upon and quoted in many journals, letters, and plays of the period.

The Lord Chamberlain’s Men

Despite the success of Venus and Adonis, a single popular work wasn’t enough to make Shakespeare a household name. In reality, he was likely known among London’s theater set, and not far beyond. His reputation within this circle would have been bolstered by his role in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men under James I. This acting company was the most important and successful troupe of players in England’s Elizabethan era (Queen Elizabeth I’s reign from 1558 to 1603) and Jacobean era (King James I’s reign from 1603 to 1625). The troupe played almost continuously in London from 1594 to 1603, including performances at the royal court. Shakespeare wrote many of his plays during this period, producing an average of two a year, and these works formed the bulk of the company’s repertory. He also acted with them.

The Limits of Fame in Shakespeare’s Time

Venues such as the Globe Theatre in London — built by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men — could hold up to 3,000 people. Shakespeare’s plays, therefore, certainly drew large crowds during his time, and were popular with audiences across social classes. The success of his plays, however, didn’t necessarily translate into fame. In Shakespeare’s time, there was no mass media, and the concept of celebrity was not the same as we know it today. What’s more, even if he was well-known in London, Shakespeare wouldn’t have been a national celebrity — and certainly not an international celebrity — because back then there wasn’t nearly as much communication between cities, or even a city and its surrounding region, as there is today.

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Other Prominent Playwrights of the Day

Shakespeare also wasn’t the only popular dramatist writing in the late 16th century, and he had significant competition — and in some cases rivalries — with various writers. Critics and theatergoers didn’t necessarily consider him superior to his contemporaries. He was respected in literary circles, but no more so than other prominent playwrights of the time, such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, and Thomas Kyd. So, while Shakespeare was certainly well known and respected in the theatrical world of his time, he was far from the only act in town — and his contemporary fame was not comparable to his posthumous legacy.

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A Legacy Like No Other

Shakespeare’s enduring reputation owes much to developments that took place after his death in 1616, perhaps most notably the publication of the First Folio in 1623. This lavish book was the first published collection of Shakespeare’s plays. At the time, about half of Shakespeare’s plays had never previously appeared in print, including As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and The Tempest. Were it not for the First Folio, 18 of his plays might well have been lost forever. Not only did the collection preserve much of Shakespeare’s work, but it also helped ensure that Shakespeare became the universally revered cultural and literary icon — and household name — that he is today. As Ben Jonson wrote in his introduction to the First Folio, “The applause! Delight! The wonder of our Stage... He was not of an age, but for all time!”

The Strangest Pets in History

Josephine Baker and her cheetah — Credit: Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

Author Tony Dunnell

September 4, 2024

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People have kept pets for tens of thousands of years, though we can’t say exactly when the practice began or what the very first pets were. We do know that dogs were the first domesticated animals, but our ancient ancestors could reasonably have kept other creatures as pets long before wolves turned into our faithful friends. Today, pets are everywhere. In the United States, 66% of households — that’s around 86.9 million homes — own a pet. By far the most popular pets are dogs and cats, found in 65.1 million and 46.5 million households, respectively. Next, although some distance behind, come freshwater fish, small animals such as hamsters, gerbils, and rabbits, and then birds.

Among the most popular categories of pets, we find animals that would generally be considered somewhat uncommon. It’s not all that often, for example, that we come across someone who owns a chinchilla, a ferret, a fancy guppy, a cockatiel, or a six-toed Norwegian lundehund. But even these unusual animals are no match for the strangest pets in history. Here are 10 of the most bizarre animal companions, kept by a range of famous figures, from Roman orators to Hollywood icons.

Credit: Rostislav Stefanek/ Shutterstock

Lucius Licinius Crassus’ Eel

Lucius Licinius Crassus is considered one of the greatest orators of ancient Rome. And bizarrely, much to the bemusement of later Roman commentators, he had a beloved pet eel. It’s said that he trained the eel to respond to its name, and even adorned his slimy companion with earrings and small necklaces.

Credit: Sacharewicz Patryk/ Shutterstock

Tycho Brahe’s Elk

Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, often considered the greatest observational astronomer of the pretelescopic era, lived a rather colorful life. He lost his nose in a duel over a mathematical formula. He was the keeper of a clairvoyant dwarf named Jepp. And he had a pet elk (some sources say it was a moose) that attended feasts and banquets with him. Unfortunately, at one such feast the elk drank too much beer, and took a fatal fall down the castle stairs.

Gérard de Nerval’s Lobster

The French Romantic poet Gérard de Nerval was a major influence on the later symbolist and surrealist movements. He could often be found walking his pet lobster, Thibault, on the end of a blue silk ribbon through the Palais-Royal in Paris. When asked about his strange pet, he replied, “I have affection for lobsters. They are tranquil, serious, and they know the secrets of the sea.”

Credit: Daniel Gjula-Lyonnais/ Shutterstock

Empress Joséphine’s Orangutan

Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte and served as empress of the French from 1804 until 1810. She kept a menagerie of exotic animals, but her favorite pet was an orangutan named Rose. Rose was a dignified ape who wore white cotton chemises, had a fondness for turnips, and apparently slept in the same bed as Joséphine and Napoleon.

Lord Byron’s Bear

Lord Byron, regarded as one of the greatest English poets and a key figure in the Romantic movement, was known to be eccentric. While a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, in the early 1800s, he was told he could not keep his pet dog as canines were banned from the college. So, he went out and found himself a tame bear, because there were no rules against keeping such an animal. He would walk the bear through the college grounds, and even tried to enroll it as a student — though the application was rejected.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Many Strange Pets

When Theodore Roosevelt began his presidency in 1901, his family moved into the White House with a horde of pets in tow. These included a lizard named Bill, a blue macaw called Eli Yale, Baron Spreckle the hen, Maude the pig, a one-legged rooster, a barn owl, and various guinea pigs with names such as Admiral Dewey and Fighting Bob Evans. As if that wasn’t strange enough, the Roosevelts also had a pet badger called Josiah, a small black bear named Jonathan Edwards, and a hyena called Bill.

Credit: Gainew Gallery/ Alamy Stock Photo

Calvin Coolidge’s Raccoon

In November 1926, some supporters of President Calvin Coolidge sent him a live raccoon so that the first family could kill it and eat it for Thanksgiving dinner. But instead of sacrificing the creature, the Coolidge family decided to keep it as a pet. They named it Rebecca and built a little house for it, and Rebecca was allowed to roam the White House and accompanying gardens.

Salvador Dalí’s Ocelot

Salvador Dalí was the living embodiment of surrealism, so it was perhaps no surprise to see him walking the streets with his pet ocelot, Babou. Dalí claimed that the medium-sized spotted wild cat was a gift from the president of Colombia. During the 1960s, the painter took Babou almost everywhere he went, safely secured on a leash and studded collar.

Credit: Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

Josephine Baker’s Cheetah

Josephine Baker was an American-born French dancer and singer who became a sensation in Paris in the 1920s. She was also the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture. On stage, she was often accompanied by her “co-star,” her pet cheetah Chiquita. Chiquita became a star in her own right, known for wearing a diamond collar and leaping into the conductor’s pit during performances.

Audrey Hepburn’s Deer

While filming the 1959 adventure-romance Green Mansions, Audrey Hepburn had to work alongside a baby deer called Pippin (or “Ip,” as she called it). Hepburn was encouraged to care for the fawn for the sake of the movie, and the two soon formed a strong bond. She fed the deer from a baby bottle, shared a bed with it, and even took it shopping and to parties. After filming, Hepburn was devastated when she and Ip had to separate. Her husband later tracked down the deer and Hepburn took it in as her pet.

When Did We Start Giving Each Other Wedding Rings?

Wedding bands — Credit: DianaHirsch/ iStock

Author Nicole Villeneuve

September 4, 2024

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In weddings around the world, exchanging rings is a crucial part of the ceremony, a moment in which a couple’s promises are sealed with a tangible token. This simple piece of jewelry does a lot of heavy lifting: It acts as a symbol of love, unity, and eternity, while also making our relationship status clear to the world. Various cultures have contributed to the history of the wedding ring, from its ancient beginnings to the relatively recent advent of the double-ring exchanges popular today. But when and how exactly did this time-honored tradition begin?

It’s believed the ancient Romans were the first people to use wedding rings in a way resembling the modern custom, although exchanging rings as symbols of eternity or affection dates back even earlier to ancient Egypt and Greece. Roman weddings were not like the elaborate, picturesque affairs of today, however; marriages were often less about romance and more about family alliances and property. After a marriage contract was signed and a feast was had, there was a procession to the couple’s new home, where the bride was carried over the threshold. It was then that the groom presented the bride with a ring — not just as a gesture of affection, but as a public acknowledgment of their bond and a sign that she was now a part of his household. Romans first used copper and iron for the bands, but they began to favor gold after around the third century CE. In wealthier households, brides often had both: one ring, usually made of iron, to wear at home, and another fancier gold ring to present to the public.

The wedding ring was worn on the fourth finger of the left hand, a custom based on the belief that a vein — known as the vena amoris, or “vein of love” — connected this finger directly to the heart. This tradition may have originated in ancient Egypt, where rings were seen as symbols of eternity; the ring’s circular shape, with no beginning and no end, made it a powerful representation of infinity. While the vena amoris has since been proved anatomically incorrect, the symbolic ring placement on the left hand’s fourth finger remains customary. Though the Romans were the first to formalize the use of rings in a wedding ceremony, it’s believed they took a cue from the ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures. After Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered Egypt in 332 BCE, the Greeks adopted the custom of giving rings as a sign of love — these tokens often featured motifs of Eros, the Greek god of love, known as Cupid in the Roman pantheon.

By the medieval period in Europe, the Christian church introduced more structured wedding rituals, including the presentation of a wedding band as part of a sacred union performed by a priest. But rings were still just for the bride. Interestingly, men did, for a time, wear engagement rings, long before they started wearing wedding rings. Gimmel rings, popular during the Renaissance era, consisted of two interlocking bands that were separated and worn individually during an engagement period, and then put back together to be worn as one band by the bride after marriage. But the one-sided wedding ring exchange persisted for centuries, all the way until the Second World War.

Credit: Harold M. Lambert/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

In the 1940s, as family values and stability were emphasized in the uncertainty of World War II, marriage rates soared in the United States. Jewelers jumped on the chance to promote men’s wedding rings — and it worked. During World War II, many deployed men wore wedding rings as a comforting reminder of their wives and families back home. By the late 1940s, about 80% of U.S. couples gave rings to each other during their wedding ceremonies, compared to just 15% at the end of the Great Depression. Social norms began to change, too, and as marriage became increasingly viewed as a partnership of equals versus an exchange of property, double-ring ceremonies became the norm, and remain so today.

Iconic Photos From Each Decade of the 20th Century

“Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,” 1932 — Credit: Bettmann via Getty Images

Author Tony Dunnell

August 29, 2024

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In the mid-1820s, French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce stood at an upstairs window of his estate in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes in Burgundy, France. In his hand he held a primitive camera. After at least eight hours of exposure, Niépce created the world’s first — or at least oldest surviving — photograph, known as “View From the Window at Le Gras.” In that moment, an entirely new medium was born.

Photography rapidly went from one first to another. In 1838, Louis Daguerre, inventor of the daguerreotype, shot the first photo to include people. In 1840, English scientist John W. Draper took the first photo of the moon. And in 1861, Scottish mathematical physicist James Clerk Maxwell produced the earliest color photograph. Advances continued apace, until another landmark — the first cellphone photo, in 1997 — launched an era in which cameras became ubiquitous, and the age of the selfie was born.

Throughout the 20th century, photographers captured images that ran the gamut of human experience. Here are some of the most iconic photos from each decade of the last century, from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to the far-flung reaches of the universe.

“First Flight,” 1903

On the morning of December 17, 1903, on the sand dunes 4 miles south of the fishing village of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, one of the most pivotal moments in human history was captured on camera. Once developed, the photo showed the moment that aviation pioneer Orville Wright took to the air in the world’s first successful airplane.

The Breaker Boys Photo, 1911

In 1908, the U.S. National Child Labor Committee hired sociologist and photographer Lewis Hine to photograph children at work in mills, mines, and factories. His photos of the “breaker boys” — children usually between the ages of 8 and 12 who worked in coal mines — helped build public support for legislation barring child labor.

“Le Violon d'Ingres,” 1924

“Le Violon d'Ingres” is a black-and-white photograph created by the American visual artist Man Ray. It features the model Kiki de Montparnasse, with two f-holes painted on her back to make her body resemble a violin. One of the most iconic images of the surrealist movement, it set a record in 2022 when it sold for $12.4 million, becoming the most expensive photo of all time.

“Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,” 1932

The 1930s were a decade of many iconic photos, from the Hindenburg zeppelin bursting into flames to a classic photo purporting to show the Loch Ness monster. Arguably the most famous, however, was a black-and-white portrait of 11 ironworkers eating lunch while sitting precariously on a steel beam 850 feet in the air, taken during the construction of Rockefeller Center in New York City.

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“Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” 1945

World War II heralded a new era of war photography, much of it more intimate and at times more harrowing than anything previously seen. One of the most recognizable images was taken by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press on February 23, 1945. It shows six United States Marines raising the American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Three of the Marines were killed in action during the battle, but their image remains a timeless portrayal of troops at war.

“The Scream Image,” 1957

In 1957, photographer Will Counts took a series of photos during the Central High School desegregation crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas. One of his photos, sometimes known as “The Scream Image,” shows Black student Elizabeth Eckford being harassed by white students in front of the school. Instantly iconic, the image became a key symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.

Credit: Corbis Historical via Getty Images

“Earthrise,” 1968

On Christmas Eve in 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 saw a spectacular sight as they orbited the moon: the Earth appearing above the lunar horizon. Astronaut Bill Anders took a photo, which became known as “Earthrise.” Not only was it the first color photograph of Earth taken from space, but it also inspired a generation to think more seriously about our planet. The image is now widely credited with advancing the global environmental movement.

Nixon Gives the “V” Sign, 1974

The 1970s were characterized by political upheaval on a global scale, with frequent coups, domestic conflicts, and civil wars. In the U.S., the decade was marked by the Vietnam War, President Richard Nixon’s term, and the Watergate scandal. This iconic image shows Nixon waving goodbye from the steps of his helicopter as he leaves the White House after his farewell address on August 9, 1974.

“Tank Man,” 1989

From a sixth-floor balcony of the Beijing Hotel, Jeff Widener of the Associated Press took one of the most recognizable photos of all time. Below him, in Tiananmen Square, a lone man bravely stood in front of a column of tanks, repeatedly changing his position in order to obstruct their attempted advance. Widener’s photo is a classic image of resistance, though the lone protester has never been identified.

Credit: Buyenlarge/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

“Pillars of Creation,” 1995

Photography is literally light-years ahead of where it was when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took the first photo in history from his upstairs window. “The Pillars of Creation” — arguably the Hubble Space Telescope’s most iconic image — shows a section of the Eagle Nebula star cluster located some 7,000 light-years from Earth. It features three huge, fingerlike columns formed of interstellar gas and dust, where the process of creating new stars takes place, all captured in a truly awe-inspiring photograph.

What Was America’s Population Through History?

Historic people on map of U.S. — Credit: Illustration courtesy of Madison Hunt

Author Nicole Villeneuve

August 29, 2024

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The first inhabitants of what is now the United States appeared around 15,000 to 20,000 years ago — a blip in time compared to the annals of some of the earliest places humans lived. Initially, population growth was slow due to the continent’s geographic isolation; significant increases began only after Europeans made their way to the Americas throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. By the 20th century, the U.S. population was experiencing rapid expansion — a trend that has slowed in recent years. Here’s a look at America’s changing population through history, from early prehistoric arrivals to the decline we’re seeing today.

Credit: Illustration courtesy of Madison Hunt

Prehistory

The North American continent was inhabited by prehistoric humans, although they arrived much later than humans in other parts of the world. While early human species have been around for millions of years, the first people didn’t make their way to North America until sometime between 20,000 BCE and 13,000 BCE. It’s believed they traveled via the Bering Land Bridge from modern-day Siberia to Alaska, although exactly when and how they first arrived is still a matter of debate. The number of people who were around in this era is debated as well, and while estimates vary, it’s believed some 230,000 people were living in America by 10,000 BCE.

Antiquity

By 1 CE, an estimated 640,000 people were living in what is now the United States. Indigenous peoples developed agricultural practices that helped to define their communities, especially along the Mississippi watershed. By 1100 CE, a settlement known as Cahokia, located across the Mississippi River from modern-day St. Louis, was home to about 20,000 people. The population continued to grow throughout the land, and by 1400, there were an estimated 1.74 million people in the modern-day U.S.

When Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean in 1492, that number had increased by nearly 150,000 people. But in the years that followed, as other European explorers began to map and claim parts of North America, waves of disease, displacement, and conflict had a major effect on the population. Within 100 years of the first European landing in the New World, an estimated 85% to 90% of the Americas’ Indigenous population was wiped out. In the modern-day United States alone, the population dropped almost 60% between the years 1500 and 1600, from 1.89 million to 779,000.

Colonial Era

By the early 1600s, Spanish and English explorers had established permanent settlements in what is now St. Augustine, Florida, and Jamestown, Virginia, and by the mid-1600s, the Pilgrims had established themselves in modern-day Massachusetts. By 1700, the population of the colonies had grown to an estimated 250,000. Official population estimates at the time did not include Indigenous peoples, an omission that wasn’t corrected until the late 19th century; scholars who later attempted to include Indigenous populations in the count put it closer to 900,000. In 1776, when the U.S. gained independence from England, the known population had surged to approximately 2.5 million — but the new country was about to undergo even more transformation.

Industrial Revolution

The period of time from the American Revolution through the end of World War II saw explosive population growth. In 1790, the first official U.S. Census Bureau counted 3.9 million Americans living in the country. This era coincided with the start of the Industrial Revolution, a transformative time in the Western world. Technological innovation not only marked a societal shift from agrarian to industrial economies, but also spurred rapid urbanization. The era saw improvements in working conditions, sanitation, and medical care, too, making life expectancy longer than ever before. Ten years after the first U.S. census, in 1800, the population had shot up by almost 1.4 million people to reach 5.3 million. That surged to 23 million by 1850, fueled largely by a wave of European immigration to the U.S. By 1900, the country was home to 76 million people, a number that also reflected the country’s Indigenous residents. America’s population continued to grow during the early 20th century, reaching about 148 million by 1945.

Baby Boom

The post-World War II era saw a dramatic increase in birth rates — a trend that famously became known as the baby boom. The sharp rise was due to a number of factors, key among them being economic prosperity, soldiers returning from war, and a cultural emphasis on family life. By the time the boom tapered off in 1964, some 76 million babies had been born, and these new citizens made up almost 40% of the country’s population of almost 197 million.

Today

In 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau counted America’s population at 337 million people. And while that’s an all-time high, the rate of growth has been slowing down. The baby boom was followed by a period of lower birth rates, which remain on a downward slope. Meanwhile, an aging population means death rates are projected to meet or exceed births.

The postwar period also saw changes in U.S. immigration policy, including the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which did away with previous immigration quotas, opening the doors to more new Americans. Immigration has been the main driver of the country’s population growth since 1970, and that trend is expected to continue. In 2023, the Census Bureau projected that sustaining diverse immigration will help to balance the effects of an aging population. Still, despite a projected global population increase of nearly 2 billion people in the next 30 years, the U.S. population is expected to peak at around 370 million by 2080, then decline slightly to 366 million by 2100.

How Did Salt and Pepper Become the Two Most Common Seasonings?

Salt and pepper shakers — Credit: HandmadePictures/ iStock

Author Nicole Villeneuve

August 27, 2024

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Spices have been central to human history since antiquity, influencing trade routes and economies along the way. But despite the rich array of flavors that have traveled the world, salt and pepper have emerged as the most popular seasonings in the Western world. Salt, an essential mineral, was once coveted for food preservation; pepper, a spice derived from dried peppercorn plant berries, used to be worth its weight in gold. Their popularity and ubiquitous inseparability have even led to their names being used as an adjective, as in “salt-and-pepper” hair. Here’s a look at how necessity, global trade, and culinary innovation helped salt and pepper become the two most common food seasonings.

A Dash of Salt

Salt’s journey to dinner tables is rooted in its importance to human life. The natural mineral is crucial for maintaining hydration, nerve function, and muscle control in the body, among other things. Given salt’s essential role in survival, it’s no surprise that humans developed a taste for it. Early human diets were heavy in meat and naturally provided sufficient salt. But as nomadic hunter-gatherers settled into agricultural societies and diets started including more grains, supplementing salt became important. The resource, though naturally abundant, wasn’t always easy to obtain, and it became a highly sought-after commodity throughout expanding civilizations.

In ancient Rome, the production and transport of salt evolved into a major industry. Salt was highly valued and was even used as currency, with soldiers sometimes receiving their salarium, or wages, in salt — a practice that gave rise to the English word “salary.” (Sal is the Latin word for salt.) As European empires expanded and trade routes grew, so did salt’s reach, though it largely remained a necessity of food preservation and was used as a seasoning only by the wealthy. Throughout the Middle Ages, upper-class hosts even made sure their guests of honor were seated next to elaborate, expensive salt cellars at the dining table.

A Pinch of Pepper

Around the same time, black pepper was experiencing peak popularity in medieval Europe. Native to India’s Malabar Coast, pepper was used in local cooking as early as 2000 BCE, but as trade networks expanded, the spice became highly prized in the Roman Empire, where it was as valuable as gold. Like salt, it remained a top commodity and a luxury for centuries throughout Europe due to difficulties importing it from tropical regions — as well as for its supposed medicinal properties. Black pepper was believed to aid digestion, ward off diseases, and treat ailments such as arthritis and gout.

By the mid-17th century, however, these medical beliefs were waning, and the spice trade shifted significantly as new imports such as coffee, chocolate, and tobacco entered the scene. Food preferences also changed, reflecting refinements in regional cooking, especially in France.

A New Culinary Concept

Historians trace the most likely implementation of salt and pepper into everyday cooking to the rise of French haute cuisine in the 17th century. French chefs such as François Pierre La Varenne, who contributed to the influential 1651 cookbook Le Cuisinier Francois (The French Cook), began reducing the amount of spices used in cooking, instead aiming to emphasize ingredients’ natural flavors. This style of cooking also introduced a clear separation between savory and sweet dishes in a meal. Salted foods were served first to stimulate the appetite, while sweet dishes were saved for the end to satisfy it. Pepper, one of the few spices that flavored food without overpowering the taste, didn’t work well with sweets — but it did pair well with salt, and both were relegated to a meal’s savory servings. This shift in French cuisine was a major influence throughout Europe, especially after the cookbook’s first English translation in 1652.

Everyday Essentials

Much the same way pepper proliferated in Europe via land and sea routes, the spice and its culinary uses were introduced to the Americas through European colonizers. Salt, of course, was naturally occurring, but was made more easily available in the Americas with the arrival of colonial settlers and an influx of goods from European imports. Following the American Revolution, New York and Virginia became hotspots of domestic salt production, while Massachusetts emerged as an early-19th-century pioneer in the North American pepper trade. Both were in easy abundance for the early citizens of the United States.

By the early 20th century, most U.S. homes had refrigerators, and salt’s role as a food preservative had diminished — its primary role was in cooking. After anticaking agents such as magnesium carbonate were added to salt in 1911, salt shakers became practical and widely used. Salt and pepper had long been habitually used together, so pepper shakers appeared shortly after, and the pair’s status as everyday cooking essentials was cemented.

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