This is the 1^st article from a weekly series about impromptu inventions, stay tuned!

Case #1: Buffalo Wings

Since I came to study in the United States three years ago, I have always wondered what’s so great about this orangey spicy sauce that everyone seems to love, especially while watching football. I have been really curious to know more about that “thing” about “Buff” sauce and that’s why I set out to dig into the internet.

This article goes for all of you who love this sauce on your wings and this is also another proof of how ingrained is the mother of all invention (necessity) in one of the most used hot sauces.

Buffalo sauce is made out of hot sauce, butter, vinegar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. It was first served in 1964 in Buffalo, NY (hence the name) at a family-owned establishment called Anchor Bar. The creator, Teressa Bellissimo basically had to put together the recipe after wrongfully receiving a shipment of wings instead of chicken. By this time, the wings of the chicken were one of the least desired parts of the chicken. “Dominic [Bellissimo’s husband] claimed that the wings were an impromptu midnight snack Teressa created on his request.” A couple of friends were coming over to the Bellissimo’s bar and Teressa decided to experiment with the available ingredients. She proceeded to deep-fry the wings, cover them in hot sauce and voila, the Buffalo sauce came to be. As a side, she served them with blue cheese salad dressing and celery sticks. Of course, their friends ate the “poor” wings to the bones and several weeks later the sauce became famous in the area. Several source have different stories, but this one done by Dominic himself in 1980 seems the most realistic.

This household good, as well as many others (such as Post-it-Notes and potato chips- in case you didn’t know) was created in desperate and sometimes disappointing moments. We often feel we are going crazy when our mental accounting doesn’t work as planned, but perhaps next time you encounter an impromptu issue you may want to remember the Bellissimo family and their spicy invention. I dare you to see problems with new perspectives and perhaps see them as opportunities to shine and do something great.

Next Case: Post-It-Notes!