July 3, 2021 – National Eat Your Beans Day | National Fried Clam Day

Sometimes Success Is Right Under Your Nose!

Welcome to July 3rd, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate slaying superstition and having the last laugh. 

The Greek philosopher Pythagorus is the father of geometry. What’s less well-known is that he was also a strict vegetarian. However, he refused to eat beans, a staple of most vegetable-based diets. The reason was based on superstition. He believed that beans, fava beans in particular, contained the souls of the dead. He was so freaked out by beans that he wouldn’t touch them or walk through gardens where they were growing. And this was ultimately his downfall. Legend has it that Pythagorus was fleeing from soldiers when he came across a field full of fava bean plants. Rather than run across to escape, he stopped in his tracks and was killed. On National Eat Your Beans Day, don’t fear the magical fruit that could be the key to longevity!

Sometimes a wisecrack can pay off big.  For Chubby and Bessie Woodman it all started on July 3, 1916 in Essex, Massachusetts. The Woodmans sold groceries, fresh clams and potato chips from a small roadside stand.  On this particular day, business was slow and a wise cracking fisherman suggested they fry up some clams.  What started as a joke got the Woodmans thinking. Their homemade chips were already good, so they shucked a few clams, tried out different batters and the very next day they enjoyed the last laugh.  The fried clams were an instant hit.  And six generations later you can still visit Woodmans for this New England favorite. On National Fried Clam Day celebrate a bright idea worth more than a few clams.  

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.


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