Back at the beginning of the last century, Richard Hellmann moved from Germany to New York, where he met his future wife who just happened to be the daughter of two deli owners. Richard and his wife soon set up their own deli from where they sold the mayonnaise that he made.

What most people don’t know is that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.

This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship didn’t make it to New York. It hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day. It occurs each year on May 5th and it is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

Apologies for resisting the (not very great!) temptation to hide this post in the Jokes section.