2. Jello Got its Start at the Creek

Peter Cooper, acclaimed industrialist of the 19th century and founder of Cooper Union, owned a glue factory on Newtown Creek. Being the brilliant chemist that he was, Cooper worked on utilizing every part of animals for use in his products. By 1870, his factory specialized in the refinement of glues, albumen and aspic. Cooper also invented the process by which gelatin can be powderized and flavored. With help from his wife, who added fruit to his clarified gelatin, he patented his brand, Jell-O, in 1845.