Happy Lemonade Day, Piggies! 🐹 💛 💛 💛 🍋 🍋 🍋 🧊 🧊 🧊 🥕

Although your piggy would probably take one sniff of something that citrusy and zesty and run the other way instead, humans have been cooling off with versions of lemonade for nearly 1,000 years! 🍋

One of the earliest written accounts comes from medieval Egypt, where lemon juice was sweetened with precious cane sugar and lemon drinks were enjoyed both as refreshments and medicine.

By the 1600s, Paris had gone lemonade-mad. Street vendors called limonadiers wandered the city dispensing glasses from tanks strapped to their backs—essentially roaming lemonade stands centuries before children discovered the folding-table version.

Historical lemonade could also get rather strange. One 1827 English recipe included lemons and sugar along with raw eggs and calves'-feet jelly. Hmmm.

In America, lemonade became popular at fairs, circuses and picnics and was promoted as an alternative to alcohol during the temperance movement. First Lady Lucy Hayes even earned the nickname “Lemonade Lucy” because alcohol wasn't served at White House functions during her husband's presidency. Travelers could also carry “portable lemonade,” a powdered mixture that could be added to water on the road.

And despite centuries of tinkering, the winning recipe remains delightfully simple: lemons, water, sugar, sunshine—and perhaps a guinea pig or two behind the counter. Even guinea pigs need a side hustle! 🤪 🍋 🐹

Wheek! Wheek!