National Pancake Day.

Free pancakes until 10pm at IHOP. [X].
(no, not those in the picture. i wish)

Just some fun facts in honor of pancakes.

• The first pancake-type foods were eaten by the Ancient Romans and were called Alita Dolcia, which is Latin for “another sweet.” They were made from a batter of eggs, milk, water and a little flour and were served with honey and pepper.
• The pancakes we know today were invented in Medieval Europe with the first pancake recipe appearing in a 1430 C.E. manuscript.
• According to the Harvard Concordance to Shakespeare, Shakespeare mentions pancakes four times in two plays: “All’s Well that Ends Well” and “As You Like It.” Both plays were comedies and both characters referencing this food were clowns.
• In Sweden, pancakes are traditionally served as a winter dessert following a meal of pea soup. These pancakes are called “plattar” and are served with jam or lingonberries.
• In the United States, pancakes are often served for breakfast. English settlers brought them over from Europe, though Native Americans had their own version, called nokehick in the Narragansett language. These pancakes were made of cornmeal and were called “Indian cakes” as early as the year 1607.
• National Pancake Day is based on the tradition of Shrove Tuesday. It is also known as Mardi Gras in the U.S., which means “Fat Tuesday” in French. Shrove Tuesday is the day before the Catholic season of Lent begins and in the Middle Ages it was common to prepare for the austerity of Lent by using up all the eggs, butter and milk in your pantry. Considered luxuries, these ingredients were forbidden during Lent so they were often made into huge batches of pancakes. This year Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is on February 25th.
• Many customs surround the celebration of Pancake Day. For instance, in the small town of Olney, England there is an annual Pancake Race that’s been a tradition since the year 1445. According to legend, it all began when an Olney housewife heard the church bells begin to ring one morning, summoning everyone to service. She was so anxious to get there that she ran outside with her skillet and pancakes. Nowadays this story is reenacted when contestants line up, skillets in hand, waiting for the “pancake bell” to ring. Once it does they begin tossing their pancakes in the air - and catching them too - as they race 400 yards to the church. When they reach the finish line they have to toss their pancakes one more time, then everyone enjoys a community pancake party. Sounds like fun!
• In 1950 the town of Liberal, Kansas decided it wanted in on the Pancake Race fun. The town has been competing with Olney in a good-natured transatlantic Pancake Race rivalry ever since.
• The world record for pancake tossing is 416 flips in two minutes.
• The world’s biggest pancake was cooked in Rochdale, England in 1994. It was 49 feet in diameter, weighed 3 tons and had an estimated 2 million calories. I wonder how they flipped it??
• In France, it is customary to place a coin in your hand, then make a wish as you touch the handle of your skillet and flip the pancake. On Shrove Tuesday pancakes are symbols of renewal, family life, hope and good fortune to come. [X].