Is "margarine" a brand name?

Search: margarine

Why: Just posting an awesome article at work when a wild misspelling appears.

Maybe it's just because it's plural. I don't know.

Answer: Nope! It's just a thing that was invented by a guy. In 1870, Emperor Louis-Napoleon III offered a prize to whomever could produce a satisfactory substitute for butter. To make his entry, Provençal chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriez used a delicious fatty acid compound called margaric acid. It had been named for the Greek word for "pearl" - margarites - due to its "lustrous pearly drops."

Gross, man.

Source: ButterySpreads.com (my new homepage)

The More You Know: In the theme of foods that begin with "margari," nobody seems to know who invented the first margarita. Three popular legends:

• 1938, Tijuana - Carlos “Danny” Herrera made a drink for his customer Marjorie King, an aspiring actress who was allergic to all hard alcohol other than tequila. He combined all the usual elements of a regular shot - tequila, lime, and salt.
• 1948, Acapulco - Dallas socialite Margarita Sames invented the drink at her vacation home and served to guests - one of whom was Tommy Hilton. He later added the drink to the bar menu at his hotel chain.
• 1945 - The first importer of Jose Cuervo in the US advertised with the tagline, "Margarita: It's more than a girl's name."