The first patent? Recipes!

All you cooking/public radio enthusiasts out there may have caught the trivia question on last week's The Splendid Table with Lynn Rosetto Casper.

If not, Lynn reveals that the first known patent law was on the books of the ancient Greek city Sybaris.  The winner in an annual cooking contest was given exclusive rights to prepare the dish for the whole year.  

Listen to the segment here.

Speaking of food, I highly recommend folks check out SFPL's SF Eats exhibition, with programming and displays running through March.  I recommend seeing it before New Year's resolutions begin!