Welcome to Wiser Now’s weekly email blast which reflects my eclectic interests and, I hope, yours. January is National Soup Month, so this week my focus is on Soup – not necessarily covering everything from soup to nuts, but everything I could condense from Duck Soup (the movie) to tomato soup cake (the Campbell’s recipe). Come in and sit down. Soup’s on!

I hope you find these offerings fun, and perhaps even useful, and welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com) And if you haven’t yet pressed the subscribe button so this newsletter doesn’t go to spam, please do so now.
The Quirky Quote
Good manners: The noise you don't make when you're eating soup. ~ Bennett Cerf
The Quirky Facts
Soup in some form has been around for a long time. The first example of what was thought to be a soup bowl because of its scorch marks was discovered in a cave in China and believed to date back to 20,000 BC. But ancient cooks may have simply dug a pit, lined it with animal skin or gut, filled this makeshift pot with water, and dropped in some hot rocks. Boiling water with hot rocks was known by Neanderthals about the same time, and it's thought they may have boiled bones to make a broth – not quite chicken noodle soup, but a start. 
According to this article, the conquering ancient Romans brought Gazpacho to Spain and by the 7th century CE, the Chinese were busy perfecting wonton soup. The soup spoon was an invention necessitated by the 14th to 16th century European fashion of wearing stiff ruffs around the neck that made drinking from a bowl a sloppy business. Soups gained a reputation for being “restorative” in the 18th century. As Kurt Vonnegut would have said, “And so it goes.” Check Resources to learn more.
The Quirky Observations
As a soup-lover I am far from a soup snob, having grown up with Campbell’s tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches as the ultimate comfort lunch. Campbell built its reputation on providing a (relatively) healthy, convenient meal at an affordable price (10 cents a can until well into the 20th century). It never sought gourmet status. It did aspire to being everywhere and succeeded. (You can find its soup in almost every country in the world.) And it aspired to helping the ordinary housewife expand her cooking repertoire. From its test kitchens came the tomato soup cake and mushroom soup green bean casserole that have been around at least since the mid-20th century.

In researching Wiser Now Wednesday topics I try to identify all the places they might pop up:
Personality quizzes are available on every imaginable topic including dozens on soup. Answer a few questions and the quiz creator’s algorithm will tell you what kind of soup you are most like. See Resources for a few samples. I think these are fun to take, but not necessarily accurate. The results of three different quizzes pegged me as gazpacho, clam chowder, and French onion soup. Hmmm.
  • Movies must include the Marx Brothers 1933 “Duck Soup” of course, but few others have a specific soup in the title other than “Tortilla Soup (2001) and “Ratatouille” (2007);
  • Other than the “Mmm, mmm good” jingle for Campbell’s soup, all the songs I could find about soup were too unappealing to note;
  • There are hundreds of quotations about soup, most of which are about what a comfort they are;
  • There are lots of idioms like describing fog as “thick as pea soup”;
  • And there are odd things that simply come to mind like the French word “soupçon” which means “a little bit, a trace” but is pronounced somewhat like “soup’s on” if you pronounce “on” mostly through your nose and with only the tiniest trace of an “n”.
The Shameless Request
If you enjoy my weekly eblasts, please share them, and if you represent an organization that would like a customized version, or would like to become a sponsor, please send me a note at Kathy@WiserNow.com.
The Questions
  • Do you like soup? If so, what kinds?
  • Do you have memories of soup as a comfort food? Share them.
  • Have you ever tried something like making cake with a can of soup? Did you like the result?
  • Do you have the patience to make your own soups from scratch? Would you consider yourself a soup gourmet?
The quiz – Campbell Soup Trivia
A few fun facts for you to guess at:

1. Although it didn’t officially add “Soup” to its name until 1922, Campbell Soup Company had its beginnings in 1869 as a

___ canned vegetables and condiment company
___ fruit preserves company
___ combination of both

2. It’s success as a soup company was due to the hiring in 1897 of the young chemist John T. Dorrance, who was able to reduce the amount of water in the soup, thereby lowering the costs for packaging, shipping and storage, and enabling it to reduce the price to consumers to 10 cents, a third of its competition’s price. By how much did he condense each can of soup?

___ 1/3
___ 1/2
___ 2/3

3. The red and white color combination on the iconic Campbell soup label is said to have been modeled after the colors of

___ The Red Sox baseball team
___ The Cornell University football team
4. The front of the Campbell soup can label features a medallion. What does it represent?

___ A medal of excellence won at the Paris World’s Fair in 1900
___ A bronze medal won at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904

5. The chubby-cheeked Campbell Soup Kids have been around since 1904 and were reportedly modeled after the artist’s own round face, wide eyes and a turned up nose.

___True
___ False

6. In the early '60s, pop artist Andy Warhol exhibited his now-iconic paintings of Campbell's Soup cans. The company sued, but they settled out of court.

___ True
___ False

7. Part of the success of Campbell Soup Company has been its astute diversification. Which of the following brands does it NOT own?

___ Pepperidge Farm (cookies), Goldfish (crackers), SpaghettiOs, Kettle (potato chips), Snyder's (pretzels), V8 (vegetable juice). Prego (pasta sauce), Pace (salsa)
___ Quaker Oats (oatmeal), Sabra (hummus), Tropicana (fruit juice), Rice-A-Roni (rice), Lipton (tea), Cheetos (snack food)
Answers to the Quiz
1.    Both
2.    ½ - that’s why you add a can of water
3.    The Cornell University football team. Reportedly, one of the company’s executives who attended a game in 1898 and saw them in their crisp new uniforms was impressed with their visibility and thought it would be good for their soup labels, too, which at the time were blue and orange. Others have taken note. Think Target, Netflix, Kia, Levi, Disney, Chick-fil-A . . .
4.    They won it in Paris for "Excellence," but excellence in what was unstated.
5.    True. The artist was children's book illustrator Grace Wiederseim. Her husband, Theodore worked in Campbell's advertising department, and when she once added the children’s faces to one of his layouts, the company executives loved it. Over the years they have gotten a little taller and thinner.
6.    False. The company sent a lawyer to check out the exhibition, but ultimately they wisely decided it was good publicity.
7.    The answer is Pepperidge Farm, etc. The others are Pepsico brands. Both companies own many more brands.
My multiple goals are to amuse and inspire you, to share what I and people whom I admire are doing, to stimulate your curiosity and spur you to action. I hope you enjoyed this offering. You can access previous issues here. I welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com)