Emily’s topic sounds really interesting, and I am looking forward to the research that we will all find on this topic! After seeing her list of items that were introduced at the World Fairs, I wanted to look into it more and see if I could add any more products to her list, especially after hearing that she wanted to focus on foods that are still very popular today. One food that I found was bananas! They were introduced at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia!!
The banana trees (also called Musas trees) were brought over from Brazil and kept in the Agricultural Hall. They were said to be exotic yellow fruit that were sold for 10 cents a piece. They were sold in tinfoil and meant to be eaten with a fork and knife.
Another food item, that Emily had mentioned, was Hire’s Root Beer. This beverage was created by a man named Charles E. Hires on his honeymoon. He created it using roots, berries and herbs. It was introduced at the 1876 Centennial Exposition and became very popular because it just so happened that that year, there was a very bad heat wave. Therefore, Hires sold his root beer packages (the ingredients to make the root beer – roots, herbs, and bark – or 3 oz condensed versions of the extract to make the root beer) for 25 cents a piece. Today, Hire’s root beer is still around and doing well. It is part of the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group that is based in Texas.
Condensed extract for Hires’ Root Beer
Citations/URLS:
Saldanha da Gama, José de, and Centennial Exhibition (1876: Philadelphia, Pa.). Notes in Regard to Some Textile Plants of Brazil, at the International Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876: by José de Saldanha Da Gama. New York: “O Novo Mundo” Printing Office, 1876. Smithsonian Collections Online. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/25483/party-its-1876-12-items-centennial-exposition
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