Ten Taco Tidbits

10. The origin of the taco can be traced to silver mines in Mexico in the 18th century.

9. A “taqueria” is a Spanish word meaning “taco shop.” Originally, the term “taqueria” was used to refer to street vendors, although the term has come to be used more generally to refer to any sort of establishment that serves authentic Mexican food.

8. The taco is historically considered a “working-man’s dish,” made with cheap, filling ingredients.

7. Tacos debuted in the United States during the early 1900s when Mexican immigrants began selling the street food during festivals.

6. National Taco Day is celebrated Oct. 4.

5. In 1966, two New York housewives operated one of the first recorded taco trucks.

4. The hard shell taco, developed in the 1940s because soft corn tortillas went stale quickly, helped tacos gain popularity in the United States.

3. In 1954, Glen Bell opened a taco stand called Taco Tia in San Bernardino, California. In 1962,he went on to open what would become the first Mexican fast food franchise, Taco Bell.

2. Canned tortillas were prevalent from the 1940s up to the 1980s.

1. In 2012, approximately 4.5 billion tacos were sold in the United States. That is 490,000 miles of tacos, enough to reach to the moon and back.