Why is it called a sandwich?
The sandwich is named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, an English nobleman in the 1700s who reportedly asked for meat between two slices of bread so he could eat without leaving his work or card game.
According to a popular story, the earl liked to eat this way during long gambling sessions, keeping his fingers clean while playing cards. Others suggest he ate it while working at his desk, since he held important positions, including First Lord of the Admiralty. Soon, people began asking for the same as Sandwich, and the name stuck.
Of course, people had been eating bread with fillings long before the earl. In ancient times, Jewish tradition included eating lamb and herbs wrapped in flatbread at Passover, and many cultures had similar foods. The Earl of Sandwich simply gave the food its English name, first recorded in 1762.
The town
Sandwich is a small town in Kent, England. The Hawaiian Islands were once called the Sandwich Islands, named by Captain James Cook after the same earl, who supported his voyages.
Did You Know?
Today, the 11th Earl of Sandwich's family has been involved in a sandwich restaurant business called Earl of Sandwich.