Cooper Union Founder's Gelatinous Legacy Revealed!

You may know Peter Cooper as the founder of Cooper Union, but did you know that he’s also the father of one of America’s favorite amorphous desserts? It’s true! Among the multi-tasking manufacturer, inventor, and philanthropist’s many achievements is obtaining the first American patent for the manufacture of gelatin. Michael Pollak elaborated on this fascinating historical fact in the Metropolitan section of yesterday’s New York Times, noting that Cooper’s 1845 gelatin patent “was an offshoot of his successful glue factory, gelatin being essentially purified glue.