Now I Know by Lewis Dan

Author:Lewis, Dan [Lewis, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-4405-6363-8
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2013-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

BACON OF THE SEA

WHERE PIGS SWIM

The Bahamas is made up of roughly 700 islands scattered southeast of Florida and north of Cuba. One of those islands, Staniel Cay, is a sand-covered reef in the center of the Bahama’s Exuma island chain; it is one of the few Exuma islands with a permanent population. Staniel Cay is most notable for two things: Part of the James Bond movie Thunderball was filmed there, and it is home to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, which serves as the nautical center of the immediate vicinity.

That’s the only place you’ll get to see swimming pigs.

Nearby Staniel Cay is an uninhabited island called Big Majors Spot—uninhabited by people, that is. A bunch of feral cats and a few families of pigs live there. The pigs—being the voracious omnivores pigs are—will eat anything they can find. So when visitors come to the island and toss them apple cores and virtually anything else, the pigs feast.

But these pigs are a bit impatient. Over the years, they and their offspring have learned that the sound of motorboats means that there’s food to be had, so the pigs take the initiative—and take to sea. The pigs swim right up to the boats, doggy paddling away, in hopes of obtaining a tasty morsel or two. (You’ll find plenty of videos on YouTube if you need to see it to believe it.)

How did pigs get to a small tropical island far from the mainland? We don’t know, but there are three possibilities: The pigs ended up there after a shipwreck; farmers came to Big Majors Spot and abandoned their pigs there; or perhaps, residents of Staniel Cay and other inhabited islands put the pigs there as a somewhat underhanded way to fatten them up, on the cheap, before eating them.

In support of that final theory? Attend a celebration at Staniel Cay, and you’ll notice pig on the menu.

BONUS FACT

Every so often, pigs make headlines across the United States due to their appearance at McDonald’s, in the form of the cult-favorite McRib sandwich. The McRib, a pork patty (from pork shoulder meat, not ribs) slathered in barbecue sauce and covered in onions and pickles, all on a roll, debuted in 1981. It has been a (very successful) promotional item, making limited appearances, since 2006, and whenever news of its arrival leaks, it makes waves on the Internet. But if it weren’t for the popularity of Chicken McNuggets, McRib might not have been created. McNuggets, introduced in 1979, were immediately successful, but McDonald’s didn’t have a large enough supply of chicken to provide them to all franchisees. According to a former McDonald’s executive chef in an interview with MAXIM, the company created the McRib as an alternative, particularly for Mickey D’s in the Midwest.

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