Can’t Live Without Coffee? Thank This Pope.

 

I can't live without my coffee. My all-time favorite comes from the Philippines. It's rich, robust and smooth with no acid taste, just coffee taste and smell.

Coffee is one of the most consumed drinks in the world, second only to water, enjoyed by millions every day. The drink was not always so ubiquitous, only becoming popular relatively recently during the 16th century. If you can’t start the day without first having your morning cup of coffee, then you should probably thank Pope Clement VIII.

Coffee was first introduced around the 9th century when Muslim shepherds noticed wild coffee beans were having a stimulant effect on their flocks of sheep. Clerics learned the techniques to cultivate the beans, and the drink quickly spread throughout the Muslim world.

When it inevitably found its way to Europe, the majority of Catholics treated it with a great deal of suspicion because it was the popular beverage of Islam, which Catholicism had been at war with for centuries. Because of its reputation, it gained the moniker “Satan’s drink.”

As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome, and coffee was first brought to Pope Clement VIII around the year 1600.

Initially, the pope’s closest advisers tried to get him to ban the drink, proclaiming it was “the bitter invention of Satan.” However, the pope wished to try it himself before issuing a papal decision.

After tasting it, the pope enjoyed it so much he declared that “This Satan’s drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We shall cheat Satan by baptizing it!”

Allegedly, he formally blessed the coffee bean because the drink was deemed less harmful than alcohol. After his blessing, it quickly spread throughout the rest of Europe and eventually the world, becoming a chief crop and the most popular beverage. Next time you enjoy your favorite brew, thank God for Pope Clement VIII.

Kilroy Was Here

 

Kilroy Was Here: The Story Behind the Iconic WWII Graffiti

WHO WAS KILROY?

 

For many, especially those born between 1913 and 1950, the name "Kilroy" brings back a flood of memories. This piece of American history is immortalized in stone at the National War Memorial in Washington, DC, hidden away in a small alcove.

 

So, who was Kilroy?

 

In 1946, the American Transit Association sponsored a nationwide contest through its radio program, "Speak to America," to find the real Kilroy, offering a prize of a real trolley car. Almost 40 men claimed to be the genuine Kilroy, but only James Kilroy from Halifax, Massachusetts, provided the necessary evidence.

 

James Kilroy was a 46-year-old shipyard worker during WWII, employed as a checker at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. His job involved counting the rivets completed by the riveters, who were paid by the rivet. To prevent double counting, Kilroy marked the inspected rivets with semi-waxed lumber chalk. However, riveters would erase his marks to get paid twice.

 

To combat this, Kilroy began writing "KILROY WAS HERE" in large letters alongside his check-marks, eventually adding a sketch of a chap with a long nose peering over a fence. This made it difficult for the riveters to erase his marks, and soon, his graffiti began appearing on ships leaving the shipyard.

 

With the war in full swing, these ships often went unpainted, leaving Kilroy's markings visible to thousands of servicemen who boarded them. The troops, amused and intrigued by the mysterious graffiti, began spreading the "Kilroy was here" message across Europe and the South Pacific, claiming it was already there when they arrived.

 

Kilroy became a symbol of the U.S. service-men's presence, appearing in unlikely places such as atop Mt. Everest, the Statue of Liberty, the underside of the Arc de Triomphe, and even in the dust on the moon. The legend grew, and it became a challenge for troops to place the logo in the most improbable locations.

 

In 1945, during the Potsdam Conference, Stalin used an outhouse built for Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill. After emerging, he reportedly asked, "Who is Kilroy?"

 

To prove his authenticity in 1946, James Kilroy brought officials from the shipyard and some riveters to the contest. He won the trolley car, which he gifted to his nine children as a Christmas present, setting it up as a playhouse in their yard in Halifax, Massachusetts.

 

And so, the tradition of Kilroy continues, a testament to the spirit and humor of the WWII generation. 

 

The Tradition Continues...Details occurred from Groton historical Society Newsletter