Whether you stack it high or thin, National Sandwich Day on November 3rd recognizes one of America’s favorite lunch items.
- The sandwich is believed to be the namesake of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, following the claim that he was the inventor of the sandwich.
- This concoction didn’t get its name until 1762 when the 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, a British statesman, got hungry during a marathon poker game
- Among the many varieties of sandwich popular in the United States are the BLT, cheese sandwich, Club sandwich, Dagwood, French dip, hamburger, Monte Cristo, Muffuletta, pastrami on rye, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cheesesteak, pilgrim, Po’ boy, Reuben, sloppy joe, and submarine.
- The average American will have consumed 1,500 PB&Js by the time they graduate high school.
- The first written usage of the English word appeared in Edward Gibbon’s journal, in longhand, referring to “bits of cold meat” as a “Sandwich”.
- Depending on the region, hero sandwiches have been called many other names, including hoagie, grinder, and sub. The latter comes from Benedetto Capaldo’s Italian deli in New London, Conn., during World War II. The deli received an order from the nearby US Naval submarine base for 500 hero sandwiches. From that day forward any time a customer ordered a hero sandwich the employees at the deli called it a “sub.”
- Americans eat more than 300 million sandwiches every day – an amazing statistic since there are slightly more than 300 million Americans.
- The most popular sandwich in America is the standard ham sandwich (ham, cheese, and mustard or mayonnaise), followed by the BLT.
- 60% of sandwiches sold globally are actually hamburgers.
- The verb ‘to sandwich’ is 200 years old. It was first used in 1815 to mean ‘to have a light meal’.
- The first reference of peanut butter paired with jelly on bread was rumored to be published in the United States by Julia Davis Chandler in 1901.
- The earliest reference to a ‘bacon sandwich’ listed in the Oxford English Dictionary was by George Orwell in 1931.
- On the night of February 1, 1976, Elvis Presley took his private jet from Graceland to Denver and back in one night because he was craving an 8,000 calorie sandwich made from a hollowed out loaf filled with an entire jar of peanut butter, one jar of jelly, and a pound of bacon. The event made the Fool’s Gold Loaf sandwich famous.
- John Young, the pilot of Gemini 3, was reprimanded for smuggling a corned beef sandwich onto the spacecraft. – Source
- The United States is considered the origin of at least 60 different kinds of sandwiches. – Source
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[…] Americans eat more than 300 million sandwiches every day. That’s a lot of sandwiches! It’s also a lot of calories. Sandwiches are typically full of carbs and lunch meats that are fatty and tainted with tons of preservatives too. […]