Know it all

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) wore a silk top hat to his 1961 presidential inauguration. He left the hat on the chair when he rose to give his inaugural address. Americans were shocked to see a hatless president.

***

Panama hats are made in Ecuador. The hat got its name because the hats were exported from Panama, and workers on the Panama Canal wore the hats.

***

The Panama Canal was built between 1904 and 1913 by 56,000 workers. The waterway connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

***

Ships pay tolls to cross the Panama Canal. The highest toll paid was $208,653, paid by the Norwegian Star passenger ship in 2001.

***

The lowest toll paid to cross the Panama Canal was 36 cents, paid by American athlete and author Richard Halliburton (1900-1939) who swam the canal in 1928.

***

Ruth Wakefield (1903-1977) was the inventor of the Toll House Cookie. Wakefield made food for the guests at the Toll House Inn, a tourist lodge in Massachusetts she owned with her husband. In 1930, Ruth added Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate to her cookie dough, thinking it would melt. The chocolate softened, but kept its shape, and became the first chocolate chip cookie.

* *****

Can you name the 10 ingredients in the classic Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe? See answer at end.

***

Half of the cookies baked in American homes are chocolate chip.

***

The Easy-Bake oven first came on the market in 1963. The original toy oven, which uses a light bulb as the heat source, was turquoise with a carrying handle.

***

The Easy-Bake Potato Chip Maker was introduced in 1973.

***

Herman Lay (1909-1982) began his career in snack foods in 1932 as a traveling snack salesman. He worked for the Barrett Food Products Company in Georgia delivering potato chips in his Model A Ford. Lay was so successful that he established the H.W. Lay Distributing Company in 1934.

***

Elmer Doolin of Texas began The Frito Company in 1932. He purchased the corn chip recipe for $100 and began making the chips in his mother’s kitchen.

***

The Frito Company merged with the Lay Company in 1961. Frito-Lay merged with Pepsi Cola and became PepsiCo four years later.

***

The Frito Bandito, voiced by Mel Blanc (1908-1989), was the cartoon mascot in Frito Lay Corn Chip commercials in the late 1960s, The mascot was retired in 1971 due to pressure from the Mexican-American Anti-Defamation Committee who thought the Bandito was a negative stereotype.

***

Mel Blanc (1908-1989), famous for being the voice of Bugs Bunny, is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. His headstone reads “That’s All Folks.”

***

Postage stamps featuring Warner Brothers characters were issued in 1997. A special collector series of 10-cent Bugs Bunny stamps was the first self-adhesive souvenir sheet issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

***

Answer: The ingredients are flour, baking soda, salt, butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, semi-sweet chocolate chips and nuts.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? Email knowitall(at)smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 ext. 114.