Celebrate National Sandwich Day With This 1986 Ode to Our Favorite Lunch

As with so many other things regarded as typically American, the origins of the sandwich lie elsewhere. Already popular in ancient Roman times, it was not officially christened until the mid-18th century, when it was named in honor of John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. A dedicated gambler, Montagu one day slapped a slab of meat between two slices of bread so he could eat without getting greasy fingers or being distracted by a fork and knife as he concentrated on the gaming table. This sort of convenience has delighted sandwich fans ever since. Extolling Montagu’s contribution in Getting Even, Woody Allen wrote, “He freed mankind from the hot lunch. We owe him so much.” Other countries dally with sandwiches–France with its croque-monsieur (a grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich), the Danes with their open-faced smorrebrod, which require knives and forks, the Greeks and Middle Easterners with their pita pockets full of lamb or falafel–but only in America has the sandwich been developed to its full potential.