It was supposedly on this day in 1820 when tomatoes were officially proven non-poisonous! Robert Gibbon Johnson stood in front of a large crowd in Salem NJ and ate two tomatoes -- followed by his not getting sick and dying. Why did people think they were poisonous? A theory is proposed on this page:Rich people in that time used flatware made of pewter, which has a high-lead content. Foods high in acid, like tomatoes, would cause the lead to leech out into the food, resulting in lead poisoning and death. Poor people, who ate off of plates made of wood, did not have that problem, and hence did not have an aversion to tomatoes.
There is one tomato that somehow carried secret messages from God inside. They were written right there when she cut it open. Gives new meaning to the phrase, "It is written". There's another website with a decidedly different opinion: Tomatoes are evil. Maybe in Madagascar, this is considered camouflage... either that or tomatoes there are thought to be poisonous or evil.- Tomato -
4 comments:
I wish I could come up with a pun on those hot tomatos in the camy.
Er, well, I mean a good pun... {-;
This was great. I totally forgot that 'maters are a new world fruit.
I can't believe I have actually blogged tomatoes TWICE this month. I must have a fetish.
I read you comment over at Neil Shakespeare and laughed out loud. So I had to come over here and check out your blog. Woo Woo, I arrived on tomatoes day. LOL Actually it was a very enlightening post. Didn't know much about the history of the little red things. I am wiser now. Thanks :)
Big howdy to POP of MM! Happy to promote tomatology. I think I might avoid eating off pewter plates from now on.
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