Great Moments in Grease History

George Washington reportedly attends a barbecue in Alexandria, VA. How he manages to get the sauce stains out of his wooden choppers remains a mystery.

Belgian fried potatoes become all the rage, but we Americans will forever know them as French Fries. Keep your chin up, Belgium: at least you have a lock on big fluffy waffles, and that counts for something.

Sea Captain Hanson Gregory punches a hole through a ball of dough and deep-fries it, creating the first modern doughnut. Hanson shows his mother how to make his delicious snack, then mom shows Hanson how to scrub the grease splatters off her kitchen walls.

Café Du Monde opens in New Orleans, and becomes the world’s most famous purveyor of a sugary, fried pastry known in France as the beignet. Visit this still-operating café today and you’ll only see beignets and coffee on the menu. Because, really, what more could you possibly want?

Ed Waldmire Jr. introduces the world to a fried sausage-on-a-stick that he unappetizingly calls The Crusty Cur. We applaud the marketing mastermind who wisely renames it the Corn Dog.

Louisiana chef Paul Prudhomme patents the Turducken: a chicken within a duck, within a turkey. Other food-within-food creations such as the Cowlambpig and the vegetarian-inspired Turnipcelerymelon, have not been as successful.

Deep Fried Bubblegum wins the Most Creative category at the State Fair of Texas, but fails to earn the Most Delicious title. That honor, for obvious reasons, goes to Buffalo Chicken in a Flapjack.