(Fox News) – In May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed
and sunk by a German U-boat, resulting in the loss of more than 1,100
lives, The attack on the civilian vessel sent shockwaves around the world.

Now, almost 104 years after the deadly torpedo attack, an extremely rare
hardtack ship’s biscuit from one of the ship’s lifeboats is up for auction in
the U.K. Made from flour, salt and water, cracker-like hardtack biscuits are
designed to be long-lasting, and have historically been a feature of long
sea voyages and military campaigns.

The biscuit will be auctioned by Henry Aldridge and Son on April 27. The
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told Fox News that the biscuit comes with a
letter written by a British soldier in the Royal Engineers explaining how
he obtained the unusual item. The soldier got the biscuit from one of the
Lusitania’s lifeboats when the liner’s survivors reached Queenstown
(now called Cobh) in Ireland.

The biscuit (above) has a pre-sale estimate of $3,920 to $6,533.

Colored illustration of the sinking of the Cunard liner Lusitania.

Then & now: Cracker Jack and its signature sailor mascot have
evolved over the years.

One of the oldest American forms of junk food, the Cracker Jack was invented
and trademarked in 1896 when the brothers who formed F.W. Rueckheim &
Bro., mixed molasses-flavored, caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts together.

Fredrich William Rueckheim

   
Louis Rueckheim
           

Today,January 19, celebrates all of the different ways the corn-based treat      
popcorn can be enjoyed savory or sweet, caramelized, buttered or plain.

The Popcorn Board, a non-profit started in 1998, says Americans consume
13 billion quarts of popcorn a year, more than any other country in the
world.

Ad appeared in the “Ladies’ Home  Journal,” December, 1956.

The Cracker Jack name was registered in 1896. A slogan, "The More You Eat
The More You Want", was also registered that year. Some food historians
consider it the first junk food.

   
Sailor Jack and Bingo.

    
Don’t forget the Surprise Inside.