# What’s the origin of the gingerbread man? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 12, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-origin-of-the-gingerbread-man/825991 "2018-12-12T13:04:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-origin-of-the-gingerbread-man/825991/1 "2018-12-12T13:04:01Z")
> **[What’s the origin of the gingerbread man?](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1912/whats-the-origin-of-the-gingerbread-man/)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD Since the internet has advanced greatly since 2001, a little google-fu gives me this: > **[Hawkens Gingerbread | About Us & The History of Grantham](https://www.hawkensgingerbread.com/pages/about-us)** > > Producers of England's oldest commercially traded biscuit, Grantham Gingerbread. Hawkens Gingerbread are artisan creators of a variety of gingerbread men and gingerbread biscuits, suiting all tastebuds. Apparently, Grantham Gingerbread was invented in Grantham (in 1740) which should not come as a shock to many people. It is a particular type of Gingerbread that was quite popular with the locals and became something of a mascot food. (Perhaps in a similar way to bagels in New York or Pepperoni Rolls in West Virginia or beignets in New Orleans) The author of the Reuters piece likely found this tidbit (perhaps a fan of the Grantham Gingerbreads, a local football club that uses the food as its nickname?) and confused a particular expression of gingerbread with the whole enchilada, perhaps similar to how if you didn’t know better and you listened to people from the city, you’d think New York invented the bagel. There’s my google info for the day.