As my mother used to say as me, my sister, brother and father would call out the correct answer to some obscure Jeopardy question, “Why do you people know this?” Because it is out there and we just love to know useless facts.

If you like trivia here is more at the Daily Commercial.

Here’ are a few interesting facts on how coupons became coupons:

– In 1894, Atlanta businessman and co-owner of Coca Cola, Asa Candler, used handwritten tickets for a free glass of Coca Cola to help market his new soft drink. Within one decade Coca Cola was in every state and within two decades one in every nine Americans had received a free Coca Cola soft drink.

– One year later, grocer C.W. Post began using coupons to help sell groceries. His coupon gave people a one cent discount on his new breakfast cereal, Grape Nuts.

– By the 1940s chain supermarkets, which were popping up all over the country, continued the tradition of using coupons that the smaller neighborhood grocery stores had developed.

– In 1957, The Nielson Coupon Clearing House was established devoted entirely to coupon redemption.

– Half of all American households were clipping coupons by 1965.

– The first National Coupon Month was in 1998. In 2000, the program expanded to help parents teach children about the importance of saving money.

I have never seen coupons for Farmers’ Markets but what they are doing up in British Columbia is a brilliant idea. Not only are they giving people coupons but they are showing them how to cook with the healthy food.

With America’s obesity problems this is definitely something we should try.

Nanaimo families are cooking up healthier meals thanks to a program that provides coupons for local produce.

The Farmers’ Market Nutrition and Coupon Project, offered by the B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets, gives low-income families and pregnant women $15 a week in coupons to buy produce, meat and dairy products from their local farmers’ market.

In Nanaimo, the association partnered with the Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre and Nanaimo Community Kitchens Society for the 2009 season.

Participants in the program attend cooking and skill-building programs to learn how to prepare nutritious food using fresh ingredients.

Chris and I were talking last week we discussed what exactly is AboutCalories.com? Are we a blog or are we a web site? I submitted to him that we were a “blog and a half“.

We hope to have all the interest and immediacy of a blog. But we also have the type of additional content that you find on a solid well-rounded web site. Voila – the best of both worlds.

AboutCalories.com has been on the Internets since 2004, we put it up online as a test just to house a copy of the USDA Calorie and Nutrient Database. Much to our surprise we did get quite a bit of traffic but we really hadn’t the foggiest clue what to do next with the site. So we let the site languish as we went about our business.

However, over these past 5 years both Chris and I have each developed an interest in eating healthier while saving as much money as possible. I guess getting old and poor will do that to you. So now suddenly AboutCalories.com had its raison d’etre.

We have spent the last few months compiling the content to re-launch the site. You will find the USDA calorie database as well as the new fast food database, seasonal recipes, coupon links and a host of other useful information concerning saving money and food.

We are going to make a real effort to making this site something I hope you find useful. So much so you come back often.

TTFN
Roxanne