The Piggy Bank

Just today, I watched a public television special on the history of food and its relation to the history of cultures ("Burt Wolf: What We Eat"). While watching, I found this interesting segment in it regarding the history of pork.

Supposedly, in the past, because the pig was the easiest acquirable source of protein for the poor, most poor families would have the habit of "banking" on their pigs.

In the spring they would acquire them and, from summer to fall, they would feed them and allow them to grow to their maximum size. By the winter, the pigs would hopefully be large enough to feed the entire family throughout the season after they slaughtered them. And once the winter was over, the family would then sell the left over meat, giving them enough money to purchase more piglets for the following year.

So, in short, there was a lot of "banking" and hoping going around for many poor families throughout the time. And the pig was essentially the "poor man's bank". Therefore, as a result, that's supposedly how the idea of the "piggy bank" was started. Quite interesting if you ask me.