Who Was the First Person to Spread Butter on Bread? Rumor has it that Copernicus, who had been working as an economic administrator, played a key role in directing the defense when a castle in Olsztyn, north-eastern Poland, came under siege from the Teutonic knights. To add to an already tricky situation, the castle was simultaneously subjected to a nasty bout of the plague, putting Copernicus’s plans at risk, as his soldiers were dropping like flies. Luckily for all concerned, Copernicus had earlier trained in medicine and he began to notice that only the soldiers who ate bread contracted the plague. Realizing that the bread had to be carried up several flights of steps from the kitchen, and was often dropped on the way, Copernicus’s inspired solution was to coat the loaves in a thin layer of churned cream. This meant it was possible to see which loaves had been dropped, and they could then be wiped clean (Copernicus was spookily ahead of his time here, since bacteria wasn’t discovered for another hundred years...). Lo and behold, the plague was curbed, and a teatime treat invented in the process. Unfortunately, this apocryphal story has now been largely discredited, and we can but hope that Copernicus is content to be known for his astronomy-related achievements. https://www.thedailybeast.com/who-was-the-first-person-to-spread-butter-on-bread
