On This Day ...
Jun. 14th, 2008 03:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Once in a while I like to celebrate an anniversary of something important to me. On July 23rd 2003, I celebrated the 100th anniversay of the invention of the ice cream cornet by an American chap; and recently, I celebrated the 50th, or perhaps the 49th, anniversary of Discordianism.
And so we come to today's little celebration.
In 1908, on this day, an American gentleman by the name of Thomas Sullivan of New York came up with an invention which, one hundred years on, is a staple of most every Brit's life.
The tea bag.
(No, not the sex act. The small paper sachet filled with tea that you introduce into boiling water. I swear to you, some people and their dirty minds ...)
The story goes, this genius of a man was trying to cut costs when sending samples of his brews to his American customers. So he placed individual samples into small silk pouches. Someconfused unwittingly insightful Americans, not knowing what to do, simply popped the pouches into boiling water.
Tetley didn't take up the idea, setting a craze into motion that eventually became an iron-clad habit harder to break than heroin, until 1953 - 55 years ago.
There are folks who will swear by the health benefits of black tea vs. green tea, but in truth there are only two things most Brits want to know about their cuppas.
(1) Milk or black;
(2) How many sugars.
Happy birthday, tea bags.
In other news, Russell T Davies was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Honours List today.
And so we come to today's little celebration.
In 1908, on this day, an American gentleman by the name of Thomas Sullivan of New York came up with an invention which, one hundred years on, is a staple of most every Brit's life.
The tea bag.
(No, not the sex act. The small paper sachet filled with tea that you introduce into boiling water. I swear to you, some people and their dirty minds ...)
The story goes, this genius of a man was trying to cut costs when sending samples of his brews to his American customers. So he placed individual samples into small silk pouches. Some
Tetley didn't take up the idea, setting a craze into motion that eventually became an iron-clad habit harder to break than heroin, until 1953 - 55 years ago.
There are folks who will swear by the health benefits of black tea vs. green tea, but in truth there are only two things most Brits want to know about their cuppas.
(1) Milk or black;
(2) How many sugars.
Happy birthday, tea bags.
In other news, Russell T Davies was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Honours List today.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-14 07:55 pm (UTC)Teabagging
Date: 2008-06-14 08:42 pm (UTC)That, and the partner must really get off on hairy balls ...