CHERI GILLARD
  • Author
  • Speaking
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Editing Services

National Something Day: Say “Cheese”

6/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Today is national cheese day. Who doesn’t love cheese? It’s on or in everything. What would Olive Garden or Pizza Hut be without cheese? Or Salsa Brava or Chipotle? Or a visit to France? Or Switzerland? Wisconsin? Or your favorite cheese burger place? From the finest Neuchateloise Fondue to Cheez-Whiz, the stuff is everywhere. The only food without cheese that I can think of is from Asia, or India (though Amy’s meals has those really yummy Indian meals with chunks of some cheese in with the spinach). Around the Western side of the world, cheese is ubiquitous.
We even mention it when we want to look good for pictures. “Say cheese” is the standard for English-speaking photo shoots to get the teeth to come together just so, and the corners of the mouth to lift in a pleasant position, to suggest one is most pleased about the situation in which one finds oneself. Of course, this is a new-ish kind of convention. None of the pictures you see of Civil War soldiers or Sod Busters have them saying “cheese.”
 
Some say the practice started in about the 1940s. No one really knows who started it, but one of the earliest references showed up in 1943 in the Big Spring Herald, a western Texas newspaper. It states, “Now here’s something worth knowing. It’s a formula for smiling when you have your picture taken. It comes from former Ambassador Joseph E. Davies and is guaranteed to make you look pleasant no matter what you’re thinking. Mr. Davies disclosed the formula while having his own picture taken on the set of his ‘Mission to Moscow.’ It’s simple. Just say ‘Cheese.’ It’s an automatic smile. I learned that from a politician,” Mr. Davies chuckled. “An astute politician, a very great politician. But, of course, I cannot tell you who he was…” Some suggest it was Roosevelt who gave him the toothy advice. Ol’ FDR certainly knew how to mug for the camera, so that’s a viable possibility.
 
Whether you’re eating cheese today, or saying “cheese,” remember it’s a day set aside nationally to celebrate the substance. Enjoy it, and consider sprinkling on an extra portion of parmesan, or zapping that ’dog with an extra dollop of the Whiz.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Want my stories delivered right to your inbox? I can do that! Click the button below to sign up and I'll make sure to send my post right to you each week.
    ​Welcome aboard!
    Click here to sign up!

    Life with Quadruplets

    As a mother of quadruplets, I've had plenty of crazy experiences raising "supertwins." I blog a lot of memories about my kids. Sometimes just my thoughts on things. I get those sometimes—when my brain works. Which is about one third of the time. 

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Blog Hop
    Book Reviews
    Cakes
    Cooking
    Count Down!
    Eating
    Flash Fiction Friday
    Giveaways
    Growing Up
    Halloween
    Just The Two Of Us
    Life Philosophy
    Mommy Mumday
    National Something Day
    Op Ed
    Photos
    Raising Quadruplets
    Throw Back Thursdays
    Time Travel Trivia Quiz
    Today In History
    Write On!

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Author
  • Speaking
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Editing Services