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From Obituaries to Beyonce, How Americans Fell In Love With Lemonade

Published: Feb 10, 2017 1 min read
Jay Z Holds Get Out The Vote Concert In Support Of Hillary Clinton
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 04: Beyonce performs on stage during a Get Out The Vote concert in support of Hillary Clinton at Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio on November 4, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Duane Prokop/Getty Images)
Duane Prokop—Getty Images

Beyonce’s album “Lemonade” is up for nine Grammy nominations on Sunday, including Album of the Year.

The title refers to the old saying, “If life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” And Beyonce definitely did that—she turned some personal struggles into quite a bit of cash. But where did the lemonade saying come from, and when did the lemonade stand become the iconic “first business for kids” we all know today?

As it turns out, the history of the phrase goes back to a 1915 obituary for a dwarf actor named Marshall P. Wilder. As for the lemonade stands, they date back to the 1800s. That and more in the video.