Pickle Platters International has its own official limerick and theme song -- the ever popular PICKLE POLKA.
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NEWSLETTER
Interested in trivia? You're a history buff you say? Subscribe to the Best Maid/Del-Dixi newsletter - "Off the Vine" - and receive quarterly pickle updates via email!
...battle of bunker hill wasn't
The first major battle of the American Revolution was not on Bunker Hill…but on the next hill over and named Breeds Hill.
The famous, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes," statement was made on Breeds Hill by the American commander.
The battle started with heavy casualties on both sides. Heavily outnumbered, the Americans fell back from Breeds Hill to Bunker Hill for another fight.
On the two hills the British suffered over 1,100 killed and injured; the Americans sustained over 440 killed and injured.
Thus was born the Revolution, which eventually led to the establishment of the United States of America.
...accident prone wife=success
Earle Dickson's bride in 1920 was dangerous in the kitchen. She constantly cut and nicked her fingers. Earle, who bought cotton for Johnson & Johnson, would spend evenings bandaging his wife's wounds of the day. Shortly the bandages would slip and fall off.
Earle decide to create a bandage that would stay put. He placed a wide strip of surgical tape on the table with the sticky side up. Down the middle he placed a narrow strip of gauze. With a covering of crinoline to protect the adhesive, he rolled it up.
The next day she had a new wound. She clipped off a few inches of Earle's rolled bandage, peeled off the crinoline and applied it over the cut. Success!
He showed it to his boss who knew a winner when he saw one. At the end of the year they were producing Band-Aids by the millions to protect the cuts and scrapes of America.
And Earle became company vice president.
...6-horsepower for 40 ton boat
Today's fishing and ski boats often have 150 to 200 horsepower engines.
Back when the pace was slower boats moving up and down eastern canals were pulled by a rope hooked to a horse walking along the shore.
Rivers required on-board power. In 1807 as many as six horses walked in circles around a capstan provided the power for the paddlewheels of 40 ton boats to move up and down the Ohio River.
Blind horses were preferred as they were less likely to get "spooked".
After about 25 years the steam engine took over the task of powering riverboats and put most blind horses out of work.
...most pleasing sound
It has been said that the smooth, pleasing sound of the violin is second only to the human voice.
A fine violin in the skilled hands of a virtuoso yields music fit for royalty.
The same instrument, called a fiddle, in the hands of American folk musicians can excite emotions of all levels from listeners.
Carved by woodcraft artisans, fitted and finished to perfection is a work of art to view in awe, even before a bow touches the strings.
Its history can be traced back to 9th century Europe with its ancestors most likely dating back to 5,000 years before Christ.
Whatever your taste in music, the violin/fiddle can soothe, excite, or enthrall you.
...banisters not quick way down
When people want to "slide down the banister" from the second floor, they need to think again.
To slide down a banister could be hurtful. Banisters are the vertical posts, usually with bulges and ridges, which support the handrail of a balustrade on the side of a stairway.
If one wants to have a smooth ride down a stairway, it would be better to use the handrail instead of the banister.
...youngest president not kennedy
While John F. Kennedy was the youngest man elected to the office of the President of the United States he was NOT the youngest to hold that office.
At Kennedy's inauguration he was 43 years old.
A swashbuckling outdoorsman and leader holds the honor of being the youngest president of the nation.
Theodore Roosevelt was only 42 years old when he took the oath of office as President after the assassination of William McKinley.
...hi-ho silver away
Thundering hoof beats and sounds of the William Tell Overture on the radio signaled thousands of youngsters that it was time for another thrilling adventure of the Lone Ranger and his trusty Indian sidekick, Tonto.
The triumphs of good over evil by this Western hero played weekly for 22 years and over 2,900 broadcasts. All shows were live, no tapes or editing in those days. The cast members were masters at reading their dialogue lines as the soundman created hoof beats, gunshots, doors slamming, footsteps and bodies falling. The end result was a vivid picture story in the minds of the listener.
To judge listener interest the station offered free popguns to the first 300 people to write in. More than 24,000 devoted fans took the time to swamp the station with letters.
...the complex human machine
Human babies have about 300 bones at birth. Later 94 of them join together leaving just over 200 bones. Of those remaining bones, over half are located in the hands and feet.
These bones are part of a system, which also includes 650 muscles, 100 joints and 50,000 miles of tubing that carries blood throughout the body.
...greek warriors
The forerunner of modern napalm has been attributed to Byzantine Greeks in about A.D. 700.
Most likely they combined naptha, petroleum, potassium nitrate and sulfur to create fire balls propelled from catapults toward fortifications, ships and men.
...sticky finger bartenders spawned idea
James Ritty owned a bar and was tired of his employees pocketing his money. So he invented "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier".
Entrepreneur John Patterson bought one of these machines for his retail store and turned losses into profits in one month.
In 1884 Patterson bought the rights to Ritty's invention which many thought was a goofy gadget.
Patterson changed the name of the "gadget" and by 1911 he sold his one millionth National Cash Register.
...sandwich not invented by the earl
The popular sandwich may have gotten its name from the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, but he did not invent it.
Peasants working in the fields of medieval Europe lunched on cheese between two pieces of bread.
Earlier and farther south, Arabs put meat inside bread. Meanwhile for hundreds of years a favorite Jewish Passover meal included a sandwich of nuts and fruit.
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