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IN THIS ISSUE
1.
The Discipline of Optimism
2.
K9s For Warriors Is Saving Veterans, One Rescue Dog at a Time
Discipline During Separation
3.
Data Distribution and Disputes
Not Your Mom’s Corned Beef and Cabbage
4.
Pineapple Theft Was Once Britain’s Ultimate Crime
Forbidden Fruit
When Pilfering a Pineapple Was Britain’s Juiciest Crime
Most criminals sentenced to seven years have committed a serious crime, such as armed robbery or multiple burglaries. In 1807, however, a British man named John Godding was sentenced to seven years in an Australian penal colony for an entirely different offense: stealing seven pineapples. The prickly-skinned golden fruit was so prized in 16th, 17th, and 18th-century Britain that pineapples commanded exorbitant prices and were even available to rent to prosperous Brits who featured them as centerpieces at parties. The pineapple craze drove prices for the fruit so high that they became a prized target among petty thieves. Pineapples are native to the Caribbean and South America, and Christopher Columbus is credited with introducing them to Europe after finding them in Guadeloupe in 1493. The fruit quickly became de rigueur among the wealthy as an exotic delicacy. Importing pineapples was difficult, however, because they usually spoiled en route. In the 1770s, pineapples were selling in England for the equivalent of $17,000–$23,000 apiece in 2025 U.S. dollars.
Europeans went wild over the sweet, fragrant fruit, which became a symbol of warmth and hospitality incorporated into Renaissance architecture. Kings and queens clamored for pineapple, including Catherine the Great and King Ferdinand of Spain. King Charles II of England even commissioned a portrait of himself being presented with one. Initial attempts to cultivate pineapples in Britain’s cool climate failed. Transplanting and propagating plant stock and nurturing young plants to maturity was a painstaking process made more difficult by the fruit’s long maturation cycle, which requires as long as 2 1/2 years or more from planting to mature pineapples. British farmers tried for centuries before finally succeeding at producing
pineapples in “hot houses” or “pineries” heated by furnaces placed within glass-walled enclosures. Advancements in global trade eventually made pineapples more readily available in Europe. Had the unfortunate Mr. Godding, the pineapple thief, committed his crime in modern times, he would probably have gotten off with a mere $100 fine.
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