Did you know…? 15 Facts about BACON!
At The Breakfast Shoppe, we LOVE bacon! So when we saw that List.com has complied some amazing (and some hard to believe- bacon fat explosives?) facts about our beloved breakfast staple, we had to share it with you. You’re about to learn things about bacon that you never knew, and for even more facts, you can read the entire article here: https://list25.com/25-crazy-bacon-facts-that-will-blow-your-mind/5/
Next time you visit The Breakfast Shoppe, be sure to try our newest Secret Menu item, The B.S.I.B.C.B.A.B.L.T Sandwich! Yes, since we are the local bacon watering hole we had to add up a menu offering to go with these fun bacon facts. So, here is our new LTO (limited time offering) secret menu item: The Breakfast Shoppe Italian Bacon (aka Pancetta) Canadian Bacon (brined and smoked pork loin) American Bacon (you know what these crispy strips are!) Lettuce Tomato Sandwich on 3 pieces of toasted white bread, chips, and drink for $9.99. Ask your server today!
Bacon is one of the oldest processed meats.
The Chinese were the first to cook salted pork bellies over 3000 years ago.
The word “Bacon” originally referred to the back of a pig.
“Bacon” comes from the Germanic root “-bak” which referred to the back of the pig used for the meat. Old High German “bakko” later became the French word “bacco” which the English then adopted to name any pork dish as “bacoun.”
Origin of “Bringing Home The Bacon”
You may recognize the phrase “bringing home the bacon” as a reference to making money. But in 12th century England, this phrase meant something completely different. Back then, churches would award a side of bacon (which they called a “flitch”) to any married man who swore before God that he and his wife had not argued for a year and a day. Therefore, men who “brought home the bacon” were looked upon as good husbands and citizens.
It helped make explosives during WWII.
During WWII, the U.S. government urged citizens to donate their excess bacon fat to the army. A whole committee was even created for it: The American Fat Salvage Committee. The fat was used to make glycerin which in turn was used to make bombs.
Hardee’s helped rekindle bacon’s popularity.
In the 80’s, the dieting trend discouraged the consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol which hurt the mass consumption of bacon. However, by the 90’s, the fad’s hold on the American public started to wane, and in 1992, Hardee’s produced one of the first fast-food burgers served with bacon: the Frisco Burger. It was a hit. This not only rekindled America’s love for the tasty pork strips, but also convinced other fast-food companies to add bacon to their burgers.
The average consumption of bacon
The average American consumes 18 pounds of bacon per year. That’s a lot of bacon.
Bacon camp?
Why not go on a bacon camp? Held every year in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Camp Bacon offers a wide range of bacon related activities which include speakers, cooking classes, and of course, bacon tasting.
There’s an app for that!
Would you like to wake up to the exhilarating smell of bacon on the skillet without the hassle of bacon on the skillet? There’s an app for that (or at least there was). The Oscar Mayer’s bacon alarm app uses the sound and smell of frying bacon to wake you up. We’re not joking. The app uses a small iPhone attachment to send out the bacon aroma. Unfortunately, only a limited number of the devices were made. Furthermore, the gadgets were never sold. Rather, they were given away as part of a contest.
Bacon has a dating app?
Speaking of apps and bacon, Oscar Mayer launched an app called Sizzl which helps “true bacon lovers…find each other and potentially meet their soulmates in life and in bacon.” Sizzl is like other mobile dating apps in that it accesses your Facebook profile to retrieve your information. It then polls you on your favorite type of bacon. And get this: instead of swiping right or left, you press and hold a “sizzl-meter” for the person you like.
There’s a bacon sculpture of Kevin Bacon.
Of course there is! Artist Mike Lahue created the bacon masterpiece with seven bottles of bacon bits, glue, and five coats of lacquer. The bacon bust of Kevin Bacon was commissioned by J&D Foods, a Seattle company that specializes in bacon products, as part of a partnership with website “What Do Bacon Do?” with the intention of raising money for Ashley’s Team (a non-profit organization that aims to “bring joy to childhood cancer patients and their families”).
Bacon is addictive.
Do you find yourself uncontrollably drawn to bacon? If so, you might have a legitimate bacon addiction. Scientists have found that some fattening foods are as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Among those foods listed? You guessed it. Bacon.
Bacon cologne lets you smell like your favorite food.
Can’t get enough of that sweet, delicious bacon smell? There’s a bacon cologne for that. A scent by Fargginay, bacōn (pronounced “bay-cone”) is the world’s first bacon fragrance.
The first meal on the moon was…
Bacon. Of course, they had other things with bacon as well, like peaches, sugar cookies, pineapple-grapefruit drink, and coffee.
Scientists are growing bacon.
It might not be long before your bacon is grown in a lab. Scientists have been experimenting with a technique that allows them to turn pig stem cells into strips of meat. The possibilities are endless! This could help curb world hunger, global warming, and make meat production more humane.
Bacon can make your unborn child smarter.
New research shows that bacon contains choline, which plays a critical role in fetal brain development. Choline can also be found in eggs, liver, beef, salmon, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and breast milk
