2400 B.C.: Year archeologists and anthropologists discovered proof of the first picklers, in Mesopotamia

1500 A.D.: Amerigo Vespucci, a former pickle peddler, explored areas of the western hemisphere that would later bear his name

1858: John Mason designed and patented the first Mason jar – making it easier for the public to pickle

1985: Steven Trotter of Rhode Island, 22, became the youngest man to survive going over Niagara Falls – in two plastic pickle barrels

2001: 5.2 million pounds of pickles were consumed in the U.S. (about 9 pounds per person)

Source: Various Web sites