More Than Just a Bagel

 

A History Lesson

Bill Christopher,

Most people think of bagels as being a delicious member of the bread family. They are content to simply enjoy the multitudinous types and flavors available and that's OK. But how many know about the bagel's important role in history?
A little research on the topic would be a revelation and enhance the serious bagelistas' appreciation of this tasty staple.
For example, few people know that U.S. President George Washington substituted a silver dollar to throw across the Potomac instead of a pumpernickel and rye bagel.
"Martha would kill me!" he exclaimed before giving the coin a mighty toss.
About 75 years later, President Lincoln munched on a blueberry bagel while penning the immortal Gettysburg Address. A close examination shows a small cream cheese stain in the lower right-hand corner of the original document.
Artist Vincent Van Gogh, the man who left us with so many beautiful paintings, reportedly used a plain bagel to paint many of the hypnotic background swirls in his work. It is also rumored (but not verified) that Van Gogh had run out of his cherished sun-dried tomato bagels the morning of the day he took his own life.
Coincidence?
Another little-known fact is that, in the last years of his life, Thomas Edison experimented with an invention that he hoped would be able to detect if bagels had souls. Edison considered eating cinnamon sugar and chocolate chip bagels a spiritual experience and wanted to prove it scientifically.
Archeologists who discovered the Dead Sea scrolls in the late 1940s also uncovered small, round objects with noticeable holes in the middle that appeared to have beren calcified bagels eaten by the ancient Hebrews. Were bagels part of some sort of early worship ritual not spoken of in scripture? Did believers enjoy an ancient version of today's beloved bagel, perhaps with their favorite beverage, before heading to the Temple?
No one knows for sure but it makes for some interesting navel-gazing.
In the world of sports, baseball slugger Babe Ruth was known for his prodigious appetite for food and drink. Several old-time New York Yankees claimed that Ruth would often consume a dozen bagels before games. They say he loved any kind and would top-off his feast with a big cigar.
In the 1960s, the Beatles recorded a song called "Strawberry Fields Forever." The enigmatic lyrics have fascinated and puzzled fans ever since. But if one listens closely to the fade-out, you can hear John Lennon say the words "Cranberry Nuts," an obvious reference to that variety of bagel.
Few folks realize that the famous 1979 riots in Levittown, PA were not caused by the gas crisis. Rather, the truckers were upset with a new Federal law that forbade eating while behind the wheel of large trucks. This ban extended to bagels and it was too much for the hard-working truckers to take.
"Hell no! We want our chewy dough!" they chanted.
Bagels made those long trips tolerable and things didn't quiet down until the government promised to rescind the mandate, effective immediately.
These are just a few examples of the bagel's role in past events. As great as bagels are, how much would more would people appreciate this treat if they knew its' contribution to the world we live in.
A bagel isn't just a bread product, made of yeasted dough, shaped like a ring and then baked.

It's a part of history!