![Whom may we thank for this delicious invention? Whom may we thank for this delicious invention?](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2500,h_1406,x_0,y_50/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/mentalfloss/01hnxnbxb6x2mxnpare1.jpg)
![Hollie Stephens Hollie Stephens](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_180,ar_1:1,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/Avatar-a246ecc04cf70523ac0afa2d62ec97bb.png)
Hollie Stephens
Joined: Jul 1, 2021
Hollie Stephens is an award-winning writer focused primarily on drinks, originally from the UK and currently residing in New Mexico, USA. Her work has appeared in Food52, Ferment, Wine Enthusiast, and other outlets.
![Whom may we thank for this delicious invention? Whom may we thank for this delicious invention?](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2500,h_1406,x_0,y_50/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/mentalfloss/01hnxnbxb6x2mxnpare1.jpg)
![A holly sprig is the traditional garnish for a Christmas pudding. A holly sprig is the traditional garnish for a Christmas pudding.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_724,h_407,x_0,y_29/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/mentalfloss/01hfq6wv84r8zs00fnmx.jpg)
A Brief History of Christmas Pudding, Britain’s Imperial Dessert
![Today's vintners are creating new wine notes with ancient techniques. Today's vintners are creating new wine notes with ancient techniques.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2500,h_1406,x_0,y_43/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/mentalfloss/01gq38zwxhnza8x2xfmf.jpg)
Amphorae Amore: Modern Winemakers Are Bringing Back an Ancient Tradition
![Mead is usually served in wine glasses. Mead is usually served in wine glasses.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2143,h_1205,x_548,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/mentalfloss/01fzbh91bnyzj5482bqc.jpg)
8 Fascinating Facts About Mead, the World's Oldest Alcoholic Drink
How London's Great Stink Turned the Tide of Victorian Pollution
In 1858, Londoners were overwhelmed with the stench rising from the River Thames. Joseph Bazalgette built an entire sewer system to get rid of of the smell.
9 Delicious Facts About Oysters
We don't know if oysters are really aphrodisiacs—but we do know that professional oyster shuckers use a knife called the Chesapeake stabber.
9 Intriguing Facts About Edgar Allan Poe
The life of Edgar Allan Poe, author of 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and other horror stories, was as strange as his fiction.
9 Fascinating Facts About Oscar Wilde
'My own business bores me to death; I prefer other people's,' Oscar Wilde once said. Read on for more about this master wit, poet, and playwright.
Blasts on the Barges: The Dangerous Lives of England’s Early Canal Workers
England's canal system powered the Industrial Revolution and Victorian prosperity—but it had a dangerous side.
How Stale Sandwiches Helped Save New York's 19th Century Drinking Establishments
New York's bars have an impressive history of employing creative strategies for getting around limitations—including, in the late 1800s, serving sandwiches of dubious edibility in order to comply with restrictions on liquor service.