Cuban Sandwich Day
August 23
While an early cousin of the Cuban sandwich was born in Cuba proper, the Cuban sandwich as we know it today originated in Tampa, Florida’s cigar-producing neighborhood of Ybor City in the late 1800s and caught on by the early 1900s. It was popular among workers in the district’s many cigar factories. While it’s called a “Cuban” sandwich after the Cuban immigrants who settled in early Ybor City and influenced the sandwich the most, the ingredients are also a nod to the southern Italian bricklayers and the German cigar workers who also immigrated there. Salami was added via the Italian bricklayers, who found that placing a hot brick on top of the sandwich for a few minutes pressed it flat and made it taste better. Mustard was a condiment flavor preferred by the Germans. It also did not spoil in the Florida heat. That is why there is no mayo on a traditional Cubano – refrigeration was scarce in Tampa in the early 20th century.
International Dogs for the Blind Day
August 23
A first-century mural dating from the Roman ruins of Herculaneum and a 13th century Chinese scroll are believed to be among the earliest depictions of dogs leading people who are blind. Guide dogs are trained to lead around obstacles, including hazards like low branches that may be above the height of the dog but not of its owner. The dogs learn to be responsible for a space two times as wide and up to three times as tall as themselves to keep their owners safe. Guide dogs are trained to display “intelligent disobedience” — they will actually refuse to obey an unsafe command from their owners if they see a danger their owners may have missed, such as a car that ran a red light.
Today’s Birthdays of Note…
Woody Harrelson – Actor – born in Midland, Texas
River Phoenix – Singer & Actor – passed at age 23 – born in Madras, Oregon
