The Dunc-Man

Duncan Hines was born 140 years ago today.  Yes, he was a real person.

He worked as a traveling salesman in the days when you never knew what you'd get in any restaurant.  In the 1930s, he and his wife started compiling a list of the good restaurants that were around.  They turned it into a book, and eventually added popular lodgings.

Hines also started writing a newspaper column on food three times a week in the 40s and 50s.  It included restaurant recipes that he'd collected over the years.

In the 1950s (when he was in his 70s) he started a bakery.  Not long after, he sold the rights to his name.  His cake mixes were especially popular.  In the late 50s, a couple years before Hines' death, the cake mix company was sold to Procter & Gamble.

To this day Duncan Hines is a brand associated with easy-to-make cake and brownie mixes, not to mention items such as frosting, pie filling and other sweet treats.