Heinz 57 facts for kids
Heinz 57 is a famous saying that comes from the old advertising slogan "57 Varieties" by the H. J. Heinz Company. This company is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The slogan was created to tell customers about the many different products Heinz made.
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The Story Behind "57 Varieties"
Henry J. Heinz, the company's founder, came up with the slogan "57 pickle Varieties" in 1896. He said he got the idea from an advertisement he saw on a train in New York City. That ad was for a shoe store that proudly showed off "21 styles" of shoes.
It's not totally clear why Heinz picked the number "57." He once said that "5" was his lucky number and "7" was his wife's lucky number. But he also mentioned that "7" was chosen because it has a special meaning to people of all ages. Whatever the exact reason, Heinz wanted to show that his company offered a huge range of products. In fact, even before the slogan was made, Heinz was already selling more than 60 different items by 1892!
The very first product advertised with the "57 Varieties" slogan was prepared horseradish. By 1940, the phrase "Heinz 57" was so well known that it was used to sell a special steak sauce.
A Taste of Heinz Products (1934)
In 1934, Heinz offered many different foods. Here are just a few examples of the "varieties" they sold:
- Heinz Oven-Baked Beans (with or without pork)
- Many kinds of soups, like Cream of Tomato, Cream of Mushroom, and Vegetable Soup
- Desserts like Heinz Puddings (Date, Fig, and Plum)
- Peanut Butter
- Cooked Spaghetti and Macaroni
- Different types of pickles, such as Gherkins, Mixed Pickles, and Dill Pickles
- Sauces like Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Chili Sauce, and Worcestershire Sauce
- Mayonnaise and various kinds of Vinegar
- Tomato Juice
The Heinz 57 Sauce that we know today was originally called Heinz Beefsteak Sauce.
The Ketchup Bottle Trick
Have you ever had trouble getting ketchup out of a glass bottle? Ketchup is quite thick, which can make it tricky to pour. There's a popular trick that many people use. If you hit the "57" mark on a glass Heinz ketchup bottle, the ketchup is supposed to come out more easily.
This isn't just a random idea! It's actually a clever design choice by Heinz. They put the "57" mark on that specific spot to show customers where to tap the bottle. However, the Heinz company says that only about 11% of people know this secret trick!
Heinz 57 in Pop Culture
The number "57" has popped up in many interesting places:
- In bingo games in the United Kingdom, when the number 57 is called, people often say "Heinz variety."
- In a card game called draw poker, there's a version called "Heinz 57" where the cards with the numbers 5 and 7 are special "wild cards."
- A type of bet in the UK, called a 'Heinz,' involves six different choices and has 57 possible winning combinations.
- Some British Rail Class 57 locomotives are nicknamed "Heinz 57."
- When the Heinz company bought the naming rights for Heinz Field (the stadium for the Pittsburgh Steelers football team) in 2001, they paid $57 million.
- In the book and movie The Manchurian Candidate, a character sees a bottle of Heinz 57 sauce. This gives her the idea to use the number 57 as an easy number for her husband to remember when he makes a speech.
- Former NHL player Steve Heinze wanted to wear the number 57 because of his last name. He wasn't allowed to wear it at first, but later in his career, he did wear #57 for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
