National Whipped Cream Day

Those who know me well are aware that I have a secret passion for whipped cream. I don't lust after the real thing whipped up with the beater - and certainly not that edible oil product that comes in plastic tubs. I crave that good old fashioned whipped cream that you spray out of a can! With considerable effort through the years I have worked to suppress frequent urges that would surely have turned my secret passion into a case of public infamy!

And, today is the day to celebrate. On this day (January 5th.) in the year 1914 Aaron Lapin was born in St. Louis, Missouri. As my bilingual Canadian friends will understand, he came to be known as "Bunny" Lapin. In 1948 this resourceful man, who had developed a valve for aerosal cans, unveiled his latest creation - Reddi Wip! Initially sold to housewives by milkmen in St. Louis it went national in 1954 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since its introduction in 1948 about one billion cans of the stuff have been sold. Henry Petroski, an Engineering and History Professor at Duke University who is fascinated by inventions and new products, says of this one that it is "a little luxury that no one but the inventor deemed as needed but that all of us find indispensable once it is marketed." Lapin experimented with other aerosal products (cinnamon margarine & pancake batter to name two) but none of them caught on. But Reddi Wip not only survived it continued to thrive. As recently as 1998 it made Time Magazine's list of 100 greatest consumer products.

Incidently, there is also a Canadian hook to this story. Lapin, who died in 1999 at the age of 85, was married to a Toronto born woman. Sondra Metzger, whose father was Canadian Counsel General to Panama for over 20 years, continues to be a productive artist whose work is vibrant and colour filled. If you are unfamiliar with her you may want to visit her web site.