# heinz "57"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 13, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876 "2001-04-13T21:07:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@phantomht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantomht)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/1 "2001-04-13T21:07:24Z")
ok, sometime ago on the Discovery Channel, i believe i heard them say the “57” came from it being the simple fact their ketchup was their 57th patent.
Can anybody confirm or deny for sure if this is true?
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### Author:  [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/2 "2001-04-13T21:14:10Z")
[Cecil on this Subject](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_195.html).
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### Author:  [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/3 "2001-04-13T21:16:46Z")
Check Cecil’s classics. He’s already answered it.
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### Author:  [@phantomht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantomht)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/4 "2001-04-13T21:23:49Z")
he said he doesnt know why, and somebody else came up with some numbers/occult concocsion, …i want to know if the ketchup is the 57th patent for Heinz to confirm what i heard on the Discovery Channel, or maybe it was Biography’s on TLC.
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### Author:  [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/5 "2001-04-13T21:32:41Z")
Read it again. He said “57” was a number Heinz just liked. Even though they already had more than 60 varieties.
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### Author:  [@phantomht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantomht)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/6 "2001-04-13T21:43:15Z")
Im still more inclined to believe its their 57th patent. Unless someone can confirm it ‘isnt’.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/7 "2001-04-13T22:05:07Z")
Well, _I’m_ still more inclined to believe it’s the number of demons that Henry J. Heinz believed inhabited his body every year on Presidents day. Unless someone can confirm it ‘isnt’.
:rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/8 "2001-04-13T22:08:17Z")
From the Heinz [FAQ](http://www.heinz.com/jsp/consumer_faq.jsp#11):
> [@](#):
>
> 1. What is the significance of “57”?
>
> The Heinz 57 Varieties slogan is synonymous with the name “Heinz.” Our corporate history tells us that in 1896, Henry John Heinz noticed an advertisement for “21 styles of shoes.” He decided that his own products were not styles, but varieties. Although there were many more than 57 foods in production at the time, because the numbers “5” and “7” held a special significance for him and his wife, he adopted the slogan “57 Varieties.” Thus, a new advertising campaign was launched for Heinz 57 Varieties — and the rest is history!
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### Author:  [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2001, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/9 "2001-04-13T22:09:47Z")
I always thought it was for the 57 words Eskimos have for “vegetable”.
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### Author:  [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2001, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/10 "2001-04-14T02:02:11Z")
No, it’s a blatant tip-off of the Paul Simon song **(There must be) 57 ways to leave your lover**.
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### Author:  [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2001, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/11 "2001-04-14T02:03:20Z")
Err. Rip off, meant rip-off. Damn my fat fingers.
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### Author:  [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2001, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-57/61876/12 "2001-04-14T16:07:07Z")
When I was a kid, I always thought it was a breed of dog, cause everybody said my dog was a “heinz 57 variety” dog. Sure, **now** I find out that it was really just that his mom was a “woman of independent means”. 😃