The Egg Cream
The egg cream is famous for having neither egg nor cream. Why then the name? A decent theory holds that it derives from the Yiddish “echt,” meaning genuine or real, in reference to the milk. The inventor is Louis Auster, who started off with a Brooklyn candy store before opening up multiple Lower East Side locations. (By legend, it was the strength of Auster’s chocolate syrup that made the drink such a success, accounting for some 90% of his stores’ business.)
Mr. Potato Head
One of the most successful toys of all time, Mr. Potato Head was first manufactured by Brooklynite George Lerner in 1949. (Lerner may have gotten the inspiration from watching a nephew poke sticks into potatoes in the family garden.) When it got its major launch in 1952, it was the first toy ever advertised on TV. It was also the first campaign ever aimed at kids. It changed marketing and sold one million units just in its first year. It’s still a winner today, an inductee into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Toilet Paper
Here’s a worldwide product that it seems impossible to believe hasn’t been with us since the dawn of time. Its commercial form has a birthday, however: December 8th, 1857. Joseph C. Gayetty gets credit for the innovation, which he was soon enough manufacturing out of 41 Ann Street in the Financial District. Gayetty’s Medicated Paper had a good run, in common use until a splinter-free alternative came along in 1935.
Source: “Made In NYC,” by Ethan Wolff, March 2024, City Guide New York
Contributed by Bobbie Roggeman