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Brian Petro

@smartguyinatie.com
165 followers 241 following 287 posts

Food and drink historian, educator, and nerd. Looking at what we eat from the intersection of culture and curiosity.

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Reposted by Brian Petro
VegPlotter: Online Vegetable Garden and Allotment Planner @vegplotter.com · 27/05/2026
Juicy watermelon! The secret to a sweet crop? Cut back on watering a week before harvesting. Originating in ancient Egypt, they were a crucial water source. Try a watermelon gazpacho with cucumber and jalapeño for a refreshing, spicy kick! #Watermelon Grow guide here: vegplotter.com/grow-guides/...
three ripe watermelon with dark and light green stripes still on the ground and on the vine
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Reposted by Brian Petro
NE Ohio Regional Sewer District @neorsd.org · 07/02/2026
millions will stream sunday’s super bowl without seeing this ad.
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 04/02/2026
#OnThisDate, 3 Feb 1815, the first commercial #cheese factory was founded in Switzerland. They were able to make the cheese more consistent in quality while also aiding local farmers. #FoodHistory #History #SayCheese
On this date, 3 Feb 1815, the first commercial cheese factory was founded in Switzerland. They were able to make the cheese more consistent in quality while also aiding local farmers.
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 02/02/2026
#OnThisDate, 2 Feb 1897, Alfred Cralle was awarded patent 576,395 for an "Ice Cream Mold and Disher." Originally from VA, he ended up in Pittsburgh working in a drug store and hotel. He noticed it was hard for people to scoop #icecream, and decided to solve the problem. #BlackHistory #FoodHistory
On This Date, 2 Feb 1897, Alfred Cralle was awarded patent 576,395 for an "Ice Cream Mold and Disher." Originally from VA, he ended up in Pittsburgh working in a drug store and hotel. He noticed it was hard for people to scoop ice cream, and decided to solve the problem.
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 01/02/2026
#OnThisDate, 1 Feb 1960, four Black men sat at a Woolworth's dining counter in Greensboro, NC. They were refused service, but refused to leave. This began a series of nonviolent protests around the country. This act attracted nationwide media attention. #BlackHistoryMonth #FoodHistory #History
On This Date, 1 Feb 1960, four Black men sat at a Woolworth's dining counter in Greensboro, NC. They were refused service, but refused to leave. This began a series of nonviolent protests around the country. This act attracted nationwide media attention, elevating the average American's knowledge of their cause.
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 26/01/2026
#OntThisDate, 26 January 1838, the first major temperance law in the country was passed in Tennessee. It only prohibited the sale of "spiritous liquors" in taverns and stores. The punishment for breaking the law was at the discretion of the court. #History #FoodHistory #Temperance
First Prohibition law passed in TN on this date, 26 January, 1838. It prohibits the sale of spirits in taverns and stores.
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Reposted by Brian Petro
Eric Feltman @chefericfeltman.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
🍐 Stacked pear and Brie with walnuts and a light champagne honey scented with lemon and nutmeg. Simple and smooth when savored slow, the kind of small plate that feels like an earned reward at the end of the day. #TheOutpost #Cooking #Cooksky #Foodsky #Recipe Click here for recipe 🍽️🍜👨‍🍳🐝🦋
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
"Saul" and "Juan" work as irrigators in CAs Imperial Valley. Here they are removing the irrigation from the broccoli rapini fields, so that the machine can come in to harvest the crop. #WeFeedYou
Irrigators removing the irrigation pipes from a field so the crop to be harvested
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
"Moises" shares, "It was 29° in Sunnyside WA when we arrived at 6:30am this day to begin pruning cherry trees. It is so cold it's hard to feel your hands. It's a hard job. We must balance on a ladder cutting branches with heavy shears. We earn minimum wage." #WeFeedYou
Workers pruning cherry trees
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Eric Feltman @chefericfeltman.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
🦆 Crispy duck tenders tossed with chilies, basil, and a glossy Thai sauce. Bell pepper adds brightness, basil brings perfume, and the duck stays tender inside its crisp shell. A fast, fragrant stir-fry with real table presence. #TheOutpost #Cooking #Cooksky #Foodsky #Recipe Click for recipe 🍽️🍜👨‍🍳🐝🦋
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 09/01/2026
#OnThisDate, 9 Jan 1980, Rupert Holmes' "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" regained the #1 spot in the country. Holmes has stated as late as 2019 that he has not tried a pina colada. After his music career, he became a playwright and an author. #FoodHistory #History
Cover to the single "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes. It shows a man in white, handcuffed.
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 07/01/2026
#OnThisDay, 7 Jan 1784, the D. Landreth Seed Company was founded. They have been providing seeds of all varieties, from vegetables to flowers to grass for the lawn. Their seeds were bought by many founding fathers, and they now deliver globally. #FoodHistory #History
Bloomsdale Farms, 1914
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 06/01/2026
#OnThisDate, 6 Jan 1929, Sheffeld Farms in New York introduced milk in a carton. Up to this point, milk was delivered in glass bottles, which were heavy and had to be collected, washed, and delivered for each use. The cartons were disposable and more convenient. #History #FoodHistory
Vingate milk cartons from Summi Farm, MN.
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Reposted by Brian Petro
Discontinued FoOoOods! 👻🎃 @discontinuedfoods.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Super Mario Bros. Cookies (1992-1993): A line of bite-sized cookies, shaped like a myriad of characters from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. Available in Chocolate, Honey, and Cinnamon varieties...check this 🧵for more info!
A black and white ad for Super Maio Bros cookies, with an image of three boxes, each open at the top, from which artwork from Super Mario manuals and materials emerge, along with cookies shaped like caped Mario, Yoshi, and Princess Peach
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culina vetus (Volker Bach) @culinavetus.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
A 1547 recipe for #medicinal #rose honey and rose sugar to soothe aching throats. I could use it myself right now. www.culina-vetus.de/2026/01/05/r... #culinaryhistory #foodhistory #earlymodern #medicalhistory
Honey - this is the chapter illustration of a late fourteenth century Tacuinum Sanitatis. The illumination shows three bee skeps on a board, surrounded by bees flying and landing to enter their hives. Honey was prized for a multitude of assumed medicinal qualities and features in many 'health food' recipes of the medieval and early modern periods in Germany.
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Reposted by Brian Petro
United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Workers in King City CA are harvesting broccoli. They earn piece rate so try to go as fast as they can so they could earn more money. However this field has been harvested before and this is the last pass. It is hard to harvest enough to make more than minimum wage. #WeFeedYou
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 05/01/2026
#OnThisDate, 5 Jan 1943, American agricultural #scientist George Washington Carver passed away. While most know him for developing new uses for peanuts, he promoted ways to reduce soil depletion and environmentalism. He helped many poor Black #farmers make the most of the soil they had.
#OnThisDate, 5 Jan 1943, American agricultural #scientist George Washington Carver passed away. While most know him for developing new uses for peanuts, he promoted ways to reduce soil depletion and environmentalism. He helped many poor Black #farmers make the most of the soil they had.
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
"Raul" is repairing irrigation pipes for next year in Soledad CA. "During the season, many pipes break. Now that there isn't a lot of irrigation going on, us irrigators are taking advantage of the opportunity to repair the damaged ones." #WeFeedYou
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Eric Feltman @chefericfeltman.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
🍕 Warm, simple, and exactly what a slow weekend wants. A buttery crust, crisp bacon, melted cheese, and soft eggs coming together in one easy, golden pie that feels like brunch without trying too hard. #TheOutpost #Cooking #Cooksky #Foodsky #Baking #Bakesky #Recipe #Pizza Click for recipe 🍽️🍜👨‍🍳🐝🦋
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
"Soco" is laboring removing weeds and dry vines in Tulare County, so that the vineyards are ready for the pruning season. She works 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday, earning minimum wage. She is a single mother and works very hard to provide for her children. #WeFeedYou
A farm worker removing weeds and dry vines
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Wine Enthusiast @wineenthusiast.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
It's always white wine season. Learn about the whole process of making it.👇
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smitten kitchen @smittenkitchen.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
My mom's apple cake is an avalanche of apples, a tiny bit of batter, and a cascade of cinnamon baked into a hulking mass of fall awesomeness in a tube pan that people will demand you make again and again. smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms...
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 08/09/2025
#OnThisDate, 7 Sep 2002, the world's largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich was made in Oklahoma. Weighing in at 900 lbs., it had 350 lbs. of pb and 144 lbs. of jelly. There is no record of the flavor of the jelly. The current world record was set in 2010. #Food #FoodHistory #PBJ
A world record peanut butter and jelly sandwich was made on this day, 7 Sep 2002, in Oklahoma. 

This image is not that sandwich.
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
This tractor driver in NorCal is calling it a day from preparing the soil for the next planting. Grape orchards can yield for 30 years before needing to be pulled and replanted but often wine grape plants will be replanted more often to keep the grape quality. #WeFeedYou
Tractor driver in NorCal calling it a day from preparing the soil for the next planting.
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SciFood Blog @scifood.blog · 07/09/2025
Some Sicilian food porn www.decanter.com/learn/sicili...
decanter.com
Savour Sicily: The essential food and wine pairings you must try - Decanter
Sicilian food and wine – an island for foodies keen to indulge in fresh seafood, ripe vegetables and classics such as arancini and cannoli.
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smitten kitchen @smittenkitchen.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
This is my go-to weeknight-friendly (i.e. everything is done, including the nonnegotiable grilled cheese alongside, in under an hour) tomato soup. Grape or cherry tomatoes do the heavy lifting here, providing flavor, nuance, and sweetness I wasn’t getting canned. smittenkitchen.com/2024/03/week...
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
It's the peak season in the grape harvest in Arvin CA. "Sonia" is taking boxes back to her packing station. When packed with grapes, each box can weigh up to 22 lbs. It was 11:30 AM on this day and the temperature was already 91°. #WeFeedYou #CALOR
A grape vineyard showing the packing stations in a worker carrying empty boxes to her station
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SciFood Blog @scifood.blog · 06/09/2025
Good run down on the chemical nasties to watch out for in food (and other products) www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
Ingredient red flags: how to spot the chemicals to avoid in food, kitchenware and cosmetics
Should your makeup be fragrance-free? Is it time to purge your kitchen of plastic? Are all food dyes dangerous? These are the everyday ingredients that could be harming your health
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
"Mateo" is a tomato dumper in the Gilroy CA area. His job is to take the buckets of tomatoes from the pickers and dump them into the trailer. This is a prime job as he is paid by the day vs hourly and he earns $158/day. #WeFeedYou
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Discontinued FoOoOods! 👻🎃 @discontinuedfoods.bsky.social · 14/08/2024
Bart Simpson's Eat My Shorts Cereal (2003-2003): This limited edition cereal was a UK/Ireland exclusive. It featured frosted, golden syrup-flavored multigrain cereal pieces, shaped like...Bart Simpson's shorts.
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 06/09/2025
#OnThisDate, 6 Sep 1916, Piggly Wiggly first opened in Memphis, TN. Founded by Clarence Saunders, he was elusive about how he came up with the name. He told people that he saw pigs wiggling under a fence, and that is where the name came from. #Food #FoodHistory #FirstSelfService
Vintage photo of Piggly Wiggly, date and location of the photo unknown.

Piggly Wiggly was founded on 6 Sep, 1916 by Clarence Saunders.
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DaytonDining @daytondining.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
A weekend full of entertainment, arts & crafts, food, car show, 5k and more at the Beavercreek Popcorn Festival! dayton937.com/event/beaver...
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SciFood Blog @scifood.blog · 21/08/2025
German food is great www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/ar...
yahoo.com
From sauerkraut to schnitzel, a non-foodies’ guide to German food
Without a single "wurst" pun.
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
"Today in UFW History - 8/21/88: Cesar Chavez ended his 36 day fast over the pesticide poisoning of farmworkers & their children during a mass at the UFWs “Forty Acres” property attended by Ethel & Kerry Kennedy, Rev. Jessie Jackson and 1000s of farm workers and supporters.
Cesar Chavez breaking his third fast by receiving communion from Ethel Kennedy. Photo by Victor Aleman
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 21/08/2025
What to do with this account? I want to make it all food, cocktail, and history-based. Just need to work on that voice and consistency.
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Workers in Western NY are setting and adjusting the poles around growing apple trees. They do this to train the young trees to grow in a way that allows for the most efficient use of space and sunlight. #WeFeedYou
New York apple orchard
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
We are deeply troubled by apparent raids in Southern California, including one involving a Penske truck filled with agents descending on day laborers today. While more investigation is needed, we have serious concerns that the federal government may be in violation of the federal judge's July TRO.
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
"Juana" just started working under a UFW contract and said “Thank you, God bless you!” to the senior workers who helped finish filling up her leek boxes at the end of the harvest day. #WeFeedYou
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Eric Feltman @chefericfeltman.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
🎂 This devilishly decadent six-layer chocolate cake is soaked in Grand Marnier, slathered in French buttercream, cloaked in ganache, and crowned with candied orange peel. Sinfully rich—and worth every bite. #TheOutpost #Cooking #Cooksky #Foodsky #Baking #Bakesky #Recipe Click here for recipe 🍽️🍜👨‍🍳🐝🦋
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 06/08/2025
Ummmmmm...whut?
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 06/08/2025
#OnThisDate, 6 August 1889, The Savoy Hotel in London opened. It was innovative for its day by offering guests electric lights, electric elevators, hot and cold water, and bathrooms in the most lavish rooms, and more innovations. #FoodHistory #HistorySky
The Savoy Hotel in London, opened on 6 August 1889. It was, at the time, one of the most luxurious hotels in the world.
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Discontinued FoOoOods! 👻🎃 @discontinuedfoods.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Corny Snaps (1975-circa 1981): A sweetened, corn/oat cereal in little, squiggly "s" shapes. Originally marketed with a grumpy bucktoothed turtle named "Shelly", until 1977, when the turtle was re-named "Snappy", and became a masked, Zorro-esque rapscallion.
The back and front of a blue cereal box, with the image of a red and orange turtle with buck teeth and a brimmed hatA red and orange turtle in a Zorro mask and red hat and cape, holding a blue cereal box with an image of himself on it, pouring milk into a bowl of "s"-shaped cereal
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Discontinued FoOoOods! 👻🎃 @discontinuedfoods.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Day #96: Pete's Dragon (1978)
A green metal lunchbox with the image of a green cartoon dragon with purple wings and hair, playing with a little boy with a shaggy 70's haircut, overalls, and a baggy shirt, in a forest
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 02/08/2025
Having the real conversations with firends: What is the best shape of #frenchfry, and why? #FoodSky
media.tenor.com
a man in a denim vest is laying on a pile of french fries .
ALT: a man in a denim vest is laying on a pile of french fries .
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
"Ana" is carrying 2 buckets full of tomatoes - each weighing 24 lbs. She rushes to approach the line of workers waiting in 90° heat for their tomatoes to be dumped into the trailer. Once she get credit, Ana rushes back into the field to harvest more. #WeFeedYou
A farm worker carrying two full 24 lb buckets of tomatoes out of the field
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 30/07/2025
Accurate. There is more than enough food in this country to feed everyone. No one should be going hungry.
My annual reminder that food banks are not part of our social safety net, they are a sign that our social safety net is not working - Jenny Wright on X
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 28/07/2025
#OnThisDate, 28 July 1907, Earl Tupper was born. Using waste materials from oil processing, he was able to create Tupperware. He founded the Tupperware Plastics Company in 1938, and by the 1950s Tupperware home parties were all the rage. #FoodHistory #FoodSky
Earl S. Tupper pouring liquid out of a Tupperware vessel. Tupper was born on July 28, 1907.
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Brian Petro @smartguyinatie.com · 26/07/2025
Dinner of champions? Maybe just Medieval monks?
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