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| Four Seasons Hemet Herald | April 2017 | 37 Did You Know? By Micki Rosen, resident of Four Seasons Beaumont DID YOU KNOW THAT APRIL 2 IS PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY DAY? PB&J is the most popular sandwich in America. Peanut butter was first invented by the Aztecs, who ground roasted peanuts into a rich nutritious paste. Peanut paste has been used all over the world in many different derivations ever since, being an absolute foundation of many cuisines. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were thought to be invented during the Civil War, when the men mixed their peanut ration and jelly ration to create a delicious new treat while out on the battlefield. DID YOU KNOW THAT APRIL 11 IS BARBERSHOP QUARTET DAY? On April 11, 1938 the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing In America was founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, marking the official celebration of Barbershop Quartet Day. The image of four men wearing straw hats singing together with complex harmonies could be considered a cultural cornerstone of the 1940s. However, "barbershop quartet" is by no means an American invention; the popularity of barbershops in England during the time of Shakespeare extended to in-house entertainment, often taking the form of a lute player providing a melody for the queuing patrons to harmonize with. This idea and practice became popular in America in the West during the late 1800s, though a banjo was used instead of a lute. DID YOU KNOW THAT APRIL 16 IS EGGS BENEDICT DAY? The origin of Eggs Benedict is shrouded in myth and mystery. There are those who profess that it was the favorite breakfast of the notorious betrayer Benedict Arnold, and became a favorite of the British after his defection from the American Revolutionary forces. Others say that its origins are far more recent, being the result of a hangover remedy ordered by one Lemuel Benedict, a stock broker who celebrated a bit too hard the night before. The restaurant was so impressed with Benedict's order that it made a few modifications and put it on the menu. DID YOU KNOW THAT APRIL 27 IS MORSE CODE DAY? The year was 1836, and Samuel F. B. Morse was working on something with a pair of compatriots that would utterly change the way the world transmitted information. What they would develop would be the device and technology that would drive communication until the radio finally became fully developed years later. Even then, radio was often used to transmit Morse Code over long distances, as even weak signals could often carry a comprehensible message in Morse Code. It also has the distinction of being a coded language that a human with the right experience can translate by ear, at speed, without a decoder. While it was developed for English, the alphabet has frequently been modified for other languages, making its reach and use universal in nature. DID YOU KNOW THAT APRIL 29 IS ZIPPER DAY? On April 29, 1913 Swedish-American scientist and inventor Gideon Sundback received a patent for a curious contraption he called "hook- less fastener." Although similar inventions had been around since the 1850s, his version is widely accepted as the first modern zipper. The zipper found numerous applications and grew in popularity, thanks in part to the US Army who stepped in as an early adopter of this functional and fashionable invention.

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