The Triscuit saga is enormously frustrating for me because the electricity biscuit thesis is not well supported by available documents, but Nabisco--which has already said it has no documentation as to the name's origin--is now "confirming" the thesis with no evidence.
This may seem like a trivial thing (AND IT IS, WITH RESPECT TO [GESTURES BROADLY]), but it also blurs the line between historical research and the declaration by fiat from a corporation more concerned with how its brand is perceived *now* than what may have happened in 1903.
I was skeptical of the elecTRIcity biSCUIT origin from the start because it the early ads don't make the link clear at all. Portmanteaus in brand names were very common at the time, but they were also highlighted so there would be no confusion.
If I had to come up with a hypothesis, I'd look at how Triscuit was paired with Biscuit, referring to Shredded Wheat, invented at the same time with the same technology.
Triscuit sounds like Biscuit, but NEXT LEVEL.
Triscuit sounds like Biscuit, but NEXT LEVEL.
That ad takes us down a rabbit hole, though:
CERTAINLY, BRO-MAN-GEL-ON, a pre-Jell-O gelatin dessert, would be a portmanteau of four different words, right?
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Turns out, Bromangelon maybe meant something to do with Bromide and Angels? Or nothing at all? WHO KNOWS, it was a CRAZY TIME for branding.
This was a time when Triscuits were marketed with the line:
"You will like it."
This was a time when Triscuits were marketed with the line:
"You will like it."
REGARDLESS of the actual origin, and I'd still honestly LOVE to see @nabisco provide some documentation for their confirmation, nothing in this controversy changes the fact that they were serving jello on shredded wheat:
This line, from an ad for a 1906 2-week SHREDDED WHEAT DEMONSTRATION, is to me the most compelling documentary evidence for the electricity thesis, as it differentates between cooking Triscuits with electricity and Shredded Wheat Biscuits with gas. But it stops short of clarity.
I'd love to see something from 1903 or soon thereafter that highlighted the TRIS syllable and connected it to electricity. Maybe they thought it was obvious. Of course, Triscuits weren't unique in their baking fuel for long at all. Pillsbury was showing it off within two years.
Here's some very strong evidence that Triscuit may refer to being cooked thrice, or at the very least, that the electricity connection was NOT OBVIOUS to contemporaries in 1903. If it wasn't obvious, you'd expect an explicit connection in the advertising.
(Thanks to @erin_bartram for bringing that tweet no my attention!)
