Attention, class: Today we solve the riddle of the great peanut butter controversy . . . as in, who really created that sandwich spread?
In my review of "The Road to Wellville," which ran in the Deseret News Weekend section on Friday, Oct. 28, I stated that Dr. John Harvey Kellogg - of Kellogg's Corn Flakes fame - is credited with some 70 "inventions," including peanut butter.But alert movie fan Earl Burnett took issue with that claim and wrote a letter saying I was mistaken. "George Washington Carver invented peanut butter and 300 uses for the peanut!"
Well, my information about Kellogg came from the "Road to Wellville" press kit, which is written by movie studio flacks - publicity folk who are notorious for their lack of research. (And I should know - after all, I'm the guy who took their word for it and copied the claim for my review!)
Recognizing that this burning issue was in need of clarification, I knew I could no longer get away with merely taking the word of someone else. It was time to do some actual, honest-to-gosh, foot-to-the-pavement research of my own.
So, I asked Deseret News librarian Tamra Carlson to do just that.
What did she discover? Well, it is true that Carver came up with some 300 uses for the peanut - including a milk substitute, face powder, printer's ink and soap. But apparently, peanut butter was not among them.
From some Deseret News archival material, and with help from the Salt Lake City Library, which in turn made contact with the Peanut Advisory Board, here's what we discovered:
- The peanut has been a viable commercial product in the United States since 1800, when its use for oil, food and as a cocoa substitute became common. Roasted peanuts became a staple at baseball games around 1850.
- But peanut butter came along just 104 years ago, when an anonymous St. Louis physician tried running some roasted peanuts through his kitchen food grinder and came up with a peanut spread. He found the new treat was high in protein and could be easily digested by his older patients. (Why his name is unknown, by the way, could not be adequately explained.)
- It wasn't long before Kellogg, already a tycoon with his breakfast cereals, discovered peanut butter and took out a patent on the product.
- By 1900 commercially produced peanut butter was in the stores, and by 1914 there were several dozen brands on the shelves.
- It was after 1914 that Carver began to focus his attention to peanuts. His research received national attention in 1921 when he lectured before Congress on the many uses of goobers.
- Today, 83 percent of all Americans buy peanut butter, and peanut butter accounts for 65 percent of the U.S. peanut crop.
- Men prefer creamy peanut butter, while women prefer crunchy - and the men's favorite adds up to 60 percent of all peanut butter sales.
- And, most importantly, the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth is called arachibutyrophobia!
I have also concluded that filmmaker Alan Parker might have had a more interesting movie on his hands had he profiled Carver rather than Kellogg.
Now, who do you suppose invented jelly?
- JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME'S "Timecop" has become his biggest hit, earning some $47 million - and it will probably do even better overseas.
But he hasn't quite hit that magical $50 million mark, domestically - though that may happen with dollar-house earnings over the next month or two.
The most popular pre-"Timecop" flick for the Belgian-born, martial-arts tough guy was "Universal Soldier" ($36 million in domestic grosses) which was also a sci-fi epic (co-starring Dolph Lundgren). Next on the Van Damme popularity scale, comes "Hard Target" ($321/2 million), directed by Hong Kong action artist John Woo. And "Double Impact," with Van Damme in twin roles, earned $30 million.
Ever since the dismal "No Retreat, No Surrender" in 1986, Van Damme has watched his movies' earnings steadily rise, though his 1993 effort "Nowhere to Run" dipped rather drastically.
It seems clear, however, that science fiction is where he makes his greatest impact. So, naturally, his next film is based on a video game, "Street Fighter," scheduled to open in theaters next month.
After that, however, he's trying a swashbuckling pirate epic, to be directed by "Timecop's" Peter Hyams. And then Van Damme will make his directing debut.
Why not? If Steven Seagal can do it . . . .
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK: James Spader, who usually plays yuppie villains but is currently starring in the hit sci-fi epic "Stargate":
"It's the first film I've made that I've even seen the possibility that I might be on a lunch box."