Welcome to Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I Heart Radio and

Grim 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 Curiosities. If you can work as a food server in a restaurant or ever have you can expect a typical customer interaction to go something like this.

The customer arrives, they eat their meal, and then you take them their bill.

When they pay, they hopefully leave you a nice tip,

and then finally you clear the table of any remaining dishes wipe off the table and

reset it for the next customers. After your shift you count up all the tips you earned.

Hopefully it's a good amount because other than that your employer probably only pays you a couple of dollars an hour

And there's a whole history behind that

The history of tipping in the United States is actually complex and controversial.

Its origins can be traced back to medieval Europe when the feudal system dictated that

wealthy masters employed servants and paid them in tips.

This practice continued in various forms across Europe

and eventually made its way to America.

Following the Civil War, Americans who traveled to Europe

and European immigrants brought the custom back to the states.

However, not everyone welcomed this practice with open arms.

In fact, many found it offensive and un-American.

People believed tipping was insulting. it offensive and un-American.

People believed tipping was insulting and that it allowed employers to shirk their responsibility

to pay fair wages.

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