CLUE (2017) 1

Next to the fact mustard has no calories, maybe it having its own day is the second least known fact about the condiment.

The first Saturday in August has been set aside to honor the Brassica or Sinapis genera sibling. It is related to cauliflower, cabbage, turnips and broccoli and is the first condiment to be used by humans. Egyptian pharaohs stocked their tombs with mustard seeds for use in the afterlife. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed that mustard had medicinal qualities. Greeks used it to treat scorpion stings.

Mustard is the second most popular spice in America, behind only pepper.

So, it seems only fitting this long-time favorite have its own day.

CLUE (2017) 1

To commemorate today, most people would simply pile gobs of mustard on their food of choice. Not us, though. We’re looking to the entertainment field, more particularly a license to a popular bard game franchise.

Celebrating National Mustard Day will be done by diving into a six-issue mini provided by IDW in 2017 called CLUE.

Our Mustard of choice will be the highly ranked ex-military officer who acts as one of six suspects in the death of Mr. Boddy in the board game Clue.

The murder mystery game began as a byproduct of World War II. Anthony E. Pratt needed something to occupy his time and mind during the London bombings. While hunkered down, he remembered games he played as a youth and the mystery authors he enjoyed.

In 1944 Pratt applied for a patent for a game called Murder. He then presented it as an exclusive to game manufacturer Waddington’s. They changed the name to Cluedo, an amalgam of clue and Latin for I play.

A patent was awarded in 1947, but post-war shortages meant it wouldn’t see shelf space till 1949. It was sold to Parker Brothers for release in the United States the same year. The name was also changed to Clue for the North American release.

In 1985, Paramount Pictures released a less than well received film version starring Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull and Lesley Ann Warren.

The movie earned a little over $14 million at the box office on a $15-million budget.

However, we’re looking at IDW’s take on the doomed dinner party.

IDW featured the regular cast with a twist at the end of the first issue. Three alternate endings were featured to the first issue across the regular and subscription variants to help solve the case.

After finishing the series, it should be time to refuel with sandwich or hotdog. Make sure to top it off with a heaping, helping of mustard.

If eating prior to reading, make sure to wash your hands before handling the comic books.

National Mustard Day was created by the Mustard Museum in 1991. The first physical Mustard Museum opened in 1992 and was hosted by Mount Horeb, WI. It moved to Middleton, WI, in 2009.