Surprising History: The Supreme Court once officially ruled a Tomato to be a vegetable in the 1893 case Nix v. Hedden. The case was brought by the members of the Nix family against Edward Hedden, collector at the Port of New York, to recover the fees they spent transporting tomatoes. The Tariff Act of 1883 placed high import taxes on vegetables, but not fruits. So naturally, some vegetable importers felt they could tiptoe around the law, as a tomato was, botanically speaking, a fruit. Any-seed-bearing structure formed form an angiosperm's (a flowering plant's) ovary is a fruit. Since a tomato protects and contains the seeds of its host plant, the juicy sphere is technically a fruit. The same can be said for a zucchini.
The arguments in the case included reading the definitions of both a fruit and a vegetable from several dictionaries, and bringing in botanists to declare the true identity of the tomato. Customs agents countered this, claiming that the words "fruit" and "vegetable" had no legal significance, and while it may technically be a fruit, it is commonly considered a vegetable.
VERDICT: 9 - 0; for legal purposes, a tomato shall be considered a vegetable. The classification of a tomato doesn't change common language and usage as a vegetable. Therefore, the Tariff Act intended to tax tomatoes and the Nix family wouldn't get their money back.
What I could envision a tomato tax protest resembling: La Tomatina
Positive News Story
Dindim the Penguin each year wobbles into the backyard of a home on Proveta Beach in Ilha Grande, Brazil. Without fail he returns in what scientist believe is a sense of loyalty to a man who rescued him when he was at his worst. In May 2011, Joao Pereira de Souza, a retired bricklayer, rescued the injured penguin in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The flightless bird was covered in oil and unable to move. Pereira de Souza nursed him back to health, thoroughly cleaning oil residue on the penguin's body and feeding him for days until he was fit enough to return to the water. Dindim returns every year to thank him.
Topical Music
"The Ketchup Song (Asereje)" - Las Ketchup
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