The Caesar salad was reportedly improvised in Tijuana during a Fourth of July rush in 1924

pop & funWikipedia1924 · Tijuana, Mexico

The Caesar salad was reportedly improvised in Tijuana during a Fourth of July rush in 1924

the gist

The Caesar salad is generally credited to Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant restaurateur who ran restaurants in San Diego and in Tijuana, Mexico. According to his daughter Rosa, he invented it in 1924 when a holiday rush left his kitchen short of ingredients, so he made do with what he had. Its signature tableside tossing added a theatrical flourish. The popular myth that Julius Caesar invented it is false, and the original recipe reportedly used Worcestershire sauce rather than the anchovies found in most modern versions.

so what

The salad's origin shows how Prohibition-era cross-border dining shaped American food culture, since Americans crossed into Tijuana to drink and eat. Its spread through Hollywood restaurants in the late 1930s helped turn an improvised dish into a standard menu item.

fun fact

Many modern Caesar salad recipes use anchovies, but Cardini's daughter said the original relied on Worcestershire sauce instead.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗