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Discover the World's Tastiest Secrets: Top 6 Fun Facts About Lunch You Never Knew!

illustration of lunch
Get ready to take a bite into some delectable morsels of knowledge as we delve into the fascinating world of lunchtime fun facts!

1. Lunchables: The Childhood Empire

Once upon a bologna-drought, the folks at Oscar Mayer cooked up a plan to court a younger clientele: empires have risen and fallen, but the Lunchables dynasty perseveres. Spanning from the late '80s, their conquest stormed lunchboxes nationwide, accumulating a $200 million bounty within a mere 12-months! Today, these child-charming delicacies don various guises, including Around-the-World-renegades and the occasionally spotted Brunchables breakfast brigade.
Source => retropond.com

2. Bento Boxes: The Joy-Sparking Lunch

Who needs Marie Kondo when you've got bento boxes to spark joy in your lunchtime regime: these Japanese lunchboxes started as a practical meal for field workers, but blossomed into a cultural sensation blending vibrant seasonal ingredients, well-thought-out presentation, and a focus on nutrition and portion control - outshining your average lunch container with their touch of zen organization and mouthwatering aesthetics.
Source => npr.org

3. Sandwiches: The Millennia-Old Invention

Hold on to your crusts, sandwich enthusiasts: The world's first sandwich didn't actually get hipstered into existence by the 4th Earl of Sandwich; sandwiches have been popping up in various forms for millennia, with ancient Jews noshing on matzoh sammies during Passover and Mediterranean peeps rolling bread with fillings like the original OGs, long before the 17th-century Earl decided to be the bread maestro.
Source => history.com

4. From Rabbit Fur to Yeti: Ice Box Evolution

Long before the mighty Yeti and Igloo coolers embarked on an epic battle for icy supremacy, a fluffy-bunny incarnation had pioneer picnickers chillin' like villains: Back in 1802, Maryland farmer and engineer Thomas Moore invented the first portable ice box, an oval cedar tub insulated with rabbit fur, to transport butter from Georgetown to his Montgomery County home. Moore's fluffy innovation would eventually inspire the 1928 Coke cooler and Richard C. Laramy's 1953 portable ice chest, forever known as the "Kampkold."
Source => bisoncoolers.com

Automat: The Gastronomical Jukebox

5. Automat: The Gastronomical Jukebox

Before the era of burger-flipping robots and touch-screen self-checkouts, hungry lunch-goers experienced the finest in coin-operated cuisine, decked out in dining spaces worthy of Gatsby himself: The Horn & Hardart Automat, first introduced in 1902 in Philadelphia and later in Times Square, revolutionized lunchtime with freshly prepared, high-quality meals dispensed like a gastronomical jukebox, in elegant surroundings that featured marble counters, stained glass, and Art Deco accents.
Source => history.com

6. Cafeteria Mystery Meat: Revealed!

Ever wondered how the cafeteria always manages to serve its trademark "mystery meat"? Behold the grand reveal: The National School Lunch Program, established in 1946, has been providing low-cost or free nutritionally balanced lunches to children in public and nonprofit private schools, as well as residential child care institutions for over 70 years!
Source => fns.usda.gov

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