National Frappe Day
October 7
According to wholelattelove.com, the modernized frappe that we love today was actually invented by accident at the International Trade Fair in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1957. Dimitris Vakondios, an employee of the Nestlé company, took a quick break from work to make his instant hot coffee. He realized that he couldn’t find hot water, so he decided that using cold water for his coffee was better than having no coffee at all. He added ice, instant coffee, and cold water in a shaker, and created Greece’s famous chilled beverage, the Frappé. After Greece claimed the frappé as its most popular drink, countries around the world followed suit, creating their own variations of the chilled beverage.
World Cotton Day
October 7
Cotton grew in the Middle East for thousands of years, and in 800 A.D., Arab merchants brought it to Europe, where it became an increasingly popular crop over the coming centuries. Cotton was known worldwide by the 1500s, with European colonists planting it in North America as they settled the colonies. As the United States developed, cotton was one of the primary crops that fueled the trade economy. Up until the late 1700s, spinning cotton was quite time-consuming, and the fabric industry’s use of cotton was limited by the speed at which they could spin the raw fibers. That all changed when Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin in 1794. This machine removed the seeds from cotton, which sped up the spinning process considerably. As a result, the demand for cotton increased dramatically. As of 2015, the United States produces about 18 million bales of cotton per year, making the country the third leading producer of cotton worldwide. Only China and India produce more cotton than the USA. Other large producers of cotton include Pakistan, Brazil, and Uzbekistan. Worldwide, more than 100 nations grow cotton.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Vladimir Putin – President of Russia – born in St. Petersburg, Russia
Simon Cowell – TV Personality – born in London, England
