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Beans ‘n’ Franks Day

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Today is Beans ‘n’ Franks Day. July is National Hot Dog Month. July 14 is National Hot Dog Day. We’ve no idea when hot dogs and baked beans were first combined.

The 500th birthday of the frankfurter was celebrated in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1987. Citizens of Vienna (Wien), Austria, dispute Frankfurt’s claim, citing their city’s name as proof the wiener was invented there.

The dish known as baked beans is of unknown provenance. In most recipes, then as now, beans were stewed, not baked. It was one of the first canned convenience foods, eaten by soldiers during the American Civil War.

Somewhere along the way, franks were added to the beans. It was a match made in culinary heaven. Whether you enjoy them separately or together, have a happy Beans ‘n’ Franks Day!

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Leap Year Only Flitch Day

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July 9, 2025: Flitch Day awards a side of bacon to a couple still in love after a year and a day of marriage. It is only celebrated every leap year, so the next one will take place in 2028. Here’s the post for last year, which was a momentous occasion.

flitch day

Flitch bearers, 2016

July 9, 2024: Today is Flitch Day, a custom dating back to 1104 in a village in Essex, England.

First, a little background is in order. A flitch is half a pig, cut lengthwise, salted and cured, also known as a full side of bacon. The story goes that a year and a day after their nuptials, Lord Reginald Fitzwater and his wife disguised themselves as peasants and traveled to the local monastery to beg blessings for their happy marriage.

The monk who received them was so impressed by their devotion that he gave them a flitch. In what could be called the first episode of Undercover Boss, Lord Fitzwater revealed his identity and promised his land to the monastery. He had one condition: the monks must award a flitch to any couple who could prove their love after a year and a day. (Who better to judge marital bliss than men who’ve taken a vow of chastity?)

The word of the tradition, known as the Dunmow Flitch Trials, spread. Author William Langland referred to it in his 1362 book, The Vision of Piers Plowman. In the early 15th century, Geoffrey Chaucer alluded to it in The Canterbury Tales.

Records weren’t kept until 1445, when Richard Wright of Norwich was victorious, according to documents preserved in the British Museum. One hundred years later, King Henry VIII closed the monasteries, but the trials endured, overseen by the current Lord of the Manor.

In 1832, George Wade, Steward of Little Dunmow, declared the contest “an idle custom bringing people of indifferent character into the neighborhood.” The Dunmow Flitch Trials declined in popularity and eventually lapsed entirely.

The custom was revived following the success of Harrison Ainsworth’s novel, The Flitch or The Custom of Dunmow, published in 1854. In it, he told the tale of a man so desperate to win the flitch that he married a succession of wives to find his perfect match.

Dunmow Flitch Trial winners, 2024

The event has been held in Great Dunmow ever since. After World War II, it was decided that the trials would only take place in leap years. Luckily, 2024 is such a year. This year’s celebration is especially important because Emma Hynds and Emma D’Costa, who have been married for under two years, have become the first same-sex couple to win the flitch. The rest of us have four more years to perfect our marriages. Or we could just buy a side of bacon and call it a day.

Did the phrase “bring home the bacon” originate with this contest? Though many believe so, we may never be certain. By the way, losers aren’t sent home empty-handed. They receive a consolation prize of gammon, the hind leg of a pig. The one thing we know for sure is that this is no fun for the pigs.

Happy Flitch Day!

International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship

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international cherry pit spitting festivalJuly 5, 2025, is the 52nd Annual International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship, held each year in Eau Claire, MI, on the first Saturday of July. It has been billed as a “Spit-tacular Day” where you can “spit your pit in public with only a minimal loss of dignity while gaining fame.”
It’s the only cherry pit spitting contest recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. (In case you’re curious, the world record belongs to Brian “Young Gun” Krause, 37, of Lansing, MI,  who spat his pit a whopping 93 feet 6½ inches in 2003.)

There are some interesting ground rules. The spitting range is available for practice spitting from 10:00 a.m. until noon. Those wishing to practice are limited to a maximum of three spits.

No foreign objects may be held in the mouth which would give an advantage in spitting the pit. Denture racks will be provided for those wishing to remove their teeth.

We assume organizers accept no responsibility for lost property due to someone mistakenly taking the wrong dentures after the contest or intentionally taking someone else’s because they’re a nicer set of choppers. (Note: The perpetrator will be the person who never smiles when you’re around.)

Contestants must select three cherries from the regulation variety (Montmorency) supplied by the tournament committee. Cherries must be washed and chilled to 55-60°F pit temperature.

When called by the tournament judge, the contestant has 60 seconds to insert the whole cherry, chew and swallow everything but the pit and get to the line. No part of the cherry may be removed after insertion. The spit is forfeited if a pit is swallowed. Hands must stay below the shoulders to prevent popping one’s cheeks.

Spitters must stand flat on the ground — or ground level platform — to spit. Spitters are prohibited from using any kind of mechanical or other device to improve body thrust or spit length (including hydraulic hoists, wall support, etc.)

The contest is serious business. In addition to a distance judge, line judge, timekeeper, and scorekeeper, there is an official tournament judge, honorary judges, an emcee, and announcer—described as spit-by-spit announcer and color man—and a pit sweeper, which has our vote for least glamorous duty.

The first champion back in 1974 was Dan Kingman of Dowagiac, MI, with a distance of 41 feet. In 2015, Megan Ankrapp of Buchanan, MI, took the prize with a spit of 49 feet ¼ inch. Who will break Guinness Book’s world record? Do you have what it takes? It’s never too late to start practicing, preferably outside, where it’s less messy.

This year, if you have DirectTV, you can tune in for the festivities. Enjoy, but please refrain from spitting in the house. It’s hard to get the stains out of the carpet.

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National Waffle Iron Day

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national waffle iron dayNational Waffle Iron Day celebrates one of the world’s favorite kitchen appliances. Although today’s date appears to have no historical significance, from Medieval communion wafers to Nike sneakers, there’s no doubt that the waffle iron has made quite an impression on world history.

The waffle iron’s earliest known predecessor is the Medieval fer à hosties, irons used to make communion wafers. Introduced during the 9th-10th centuries, the plates bore images of Jesus and his crucifixion, which were imprinted on the wafers during the heating process.

The Belgian waffle we enjoy today originated in the 1300s, when two metal plates were hinged together and attached to a long pole, making it possible to cook over an open fire without risking burns. The plates often depicted a family’s coat of arms or other personally significant images.

In 1869, the first U.S. patent for an “Improvement in Waffle-Irons” was awarded to inventor Cornelius Swartwout, who revolutionized the waffle-making process. He fitted his design, intended for use on a stovetop, with an innovative handle that allowed for opening, closing, and turning the cast-iron plates, which were joined by a hinge that swiveled within a cast-iron collar.

In 1911, General Electric made a prototype of an electric waffle iron but didn’t produce and sell the design until 1918. We’ve been unable to ascertain the reason for the delay, but we would guess that the company was perfecting the cooking process to create consistent results while adding safety measures to reasonably avoid fire hazards. (We say “reasonably” because this was a time when consumers were expected to take responsibility for common-sense precautions and wouldn’t, say, sue G.E. if they left the iron on all day and burned down the house.)

The prize for the most creative use of a waffle iron goes to Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, an Oregon track coach who was trying to create a lightweight sole with excellent traction. Sometime in 1970, Bowerman was inspired by the waffles his wife had made for breakfast. He commandeered the waffle iron and filled it with melted urethane. Although Bowerman forgot to grease the iron and it glued shut, he persevered, and the profit from the sneaker empire he created was more than enough to replace the family waffle iron.

To celebrate today, you don’t need to invent anything more involved than your choice of waffle toppings. Just grab a napkin and have a yummy National Waffle Iron Day!

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