Spreading the Pain

Lightfoot: “Caedmon, a question for your advanced mind.” Caedmon: “Buttering me up already?”
Lightfoot: “Perceptive of you. I was wondering what happened to oleomargarine.” Caedmon: “A term from the late 50s. Shortened to ‘margarine,’ it was then changed simply to ‘spread,’ as in ‘vegetable oil spread.’ I’d be surprised if anyone used the word anymore.”
Lightfoot: “Actually, I was talking about the great Irish bullfighter, Olé O’Margarine.”
Caedmon: “Okay, I walked into that one.” Lightfoot: “I want to spring it on Theo. Don’t spread it around.”

People are going to question my accuracy on this one; I’m including a treatise on the subject, just to be sure.

Origins go back to an 1813 discovery of margaric acid, and Napoleon III’s challenge to create a butter substitute for his armies and the lower classes, which led Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès to create “oleomargarine” in 1869. Although government requirements regarding the composition of oleomargarine changed just after WW II, “oleomargarine” was still a term used generically until “margarine” (and its approved ingredients) caught on. There’s a lot more to this story, but it would bore all but the most devoted trivia fans.

Meanwhile, enjoy the terrible joke. I didn’t even include the greater hurt of the French word for bread. Look it up.

Chapter

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