Welcome to Erin Mankie's Cabinet of Curiosity's, a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm

and Mild.

Our world is full of the unexplainable.

And if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display,

just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosity's.

Some called him brave, others thought he was willfully ignorant, and most just thought

he was mad.

Colonel Robert Johnson didn't care though, he had a point to prove and would not be dissuaded.

That's why on September 25th of 1820, Johnson set out to do one of the most dangerous

activities in the newly formed United States of America.

He would eat a tomato.

Yep, a tomato.

Before becoming a staple in Diet's Worldwide, the tomato was practically anathema to Europeans

at home and in the colonies.

However, during the age of colonization, Europeans pillaged plenty of the Americas and took

large quantities of valuables, including food back to their home countries.

Many of the foods that we've come to consider Europeans staples today, such as potatoes and

tomatoes, originated in the Americas.

The Aztecs were eating tomatoes as early as 700 CE and likely introduced them to Spanish

conquistadors who, in turn, brought them back to Europe.

Some new delicacies, like Kakao, were greeted with delight.

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