Historical note: In early spring of 1915, a merchant ship left New York harbor carrying food to resupply troops stationed on the west coast. After transiting the newly opened Panama canal, the ship sailed north along the Mexican coast, where it was torpedoed in a surprise attack by a German U-boat.
Most of the food went down with the ship, but strangely, thousands of gallon jars of mayonnaise were jarred loose by the explosions and spilled into the ocean. The buoyant jars were scattered far and wide by winds and currents, washing ashore over a wide area of the Mexican coast. Over the next several days, the inhabitants of impoverished coastal villages were surprised by the unexpected windfall of delicious, high-calorie food.
It had been a tough year for Mexican agriculture, and though the fate of the American sailors was tragic, the sinking couldn't have come at a better time for Mexico: It is said that hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were saved from starvation.
And that, my children, is why to this day Mexican communities celebrate "El Sinko de Mayo." Now you know.
