NATIONAL PEANUT DAY- SEPT 13

There’s a very funny bit in the Marx Brothers’ classic film, “Duck Soup,” where Chico runs a peanut stand. We won’t give it away here but it’s something to watch on National Peanut Day, an annual event that rolls around every  September 13.  It’s incredible that such a small groundnut has everybody talking today!

National Peanut Day History

The peanut is officially a legume, closely linked to beans or seeds, even though it contains the term “nut” in its name. Peanuts likely originated in South America in approximately 1500 BC and are a subterranean plant. They spread over the world and rose to fame in North America somewhere in the 1700s, but they weren’t grown economically for a long time after that. The food gained popularity after PT Barnum’s circus started selling hot roasted peanuts.

They even gained popularity at baseball games, a sport that is uniquely American. After that, peanut butter made its debut at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. The worth of peanut plantations in the US today is above $1 billion, making it a very successful industry. This business is primarily made up of peanut butter, with the remaining 50% coming from snack nuts and confections created with peanuts. National Peanut Day is currently being observed.