Hecho En Mexico

A small sampling of the many things Mexico has given us

This past Friday was International Chocolate Day, and since the international community can thank Mexico for chocolate, it got me to thinking about other inventions that Mexico has given the world. Here's a short list, in no particular order (except that Chocolate is first because I've already opened with it):

Chocolate

It is believed that during the Mesoamerican period, the Olmec civilization (who occupied a region in what is now Veracruz and Tabasco, Mexico) first fermented cacao beans in order to make them palatable to humans. The Mayans and Aztecs adopted the Olmec's cacao fermentation process and made their own chocolate products. The Spanish invasion and colonization of Mexico introduced chocolate to Europeans. The Europeans, of course, eventually added sugar to chocolate and would go on to create the zenith of all chocolate products: the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Speaking of peanut butter

The Aztec and Inca empires were the first known producers of peanut butter, which they made by roasting the peanuts and grinding them into a paste.

Chewing gum

Since we're on a snack food roll here: the Mayans were the first to chew gum, which they created using the sap from trees. The Aztecs put their own spin on it, by both flavoring it, and using it to stick things together.

Popcorn

Did all food products invented in Mexico end up on movie theater floors? It's starting to feel that way. Anyway, you all know that corn was first cultivated in Mexico - because you've read my article Amid the Alien Corn. The Zapotecs were the first to take corn kernels, dry them and then heat them into the exploded crunchy kernels we all love today.

Caesar salad

The invention of the Caesar salad is generally attributed to Caesar Cardini, a restaurateur whose Tijuana restaurant was running low on supplies during a 4th of July rush in 1924. Caesar threw together the salad that bears his name using some of the ingredients that he still had on hand. It should be noted that several other staff members of Caesar's Tijuana restaurant claim that they invented the salad. It should also be noted that the original Caesar salad contained no anchovies. That abomination occurred later, probably after the salad migrated north to the United States.

Earthquake resistant foundations

Given that Mexico sits on the Ring of Fire, and is therefore quite seismically active, it is no surprise that the modern earthquake resistant building foundation was invented by a Mexican engineer, Manuel González Flores.

The above is a quite abbreviated list. We could go on with things like: color television, guacamole, oral contraceptives, universal education, tequila, saunas, and the margarita. And so much more. If it weren't for Mexico, we'd be eating some awful thing that isn't microwaved popcorn while watching our TVs in black-and-white.