Originally the word ‘bacon’ was used for any type of pork.
Bacon is cured and smoked pork. In the U.S. pork bellies are used, Canadian bacon is made from the rib eye of boneless pork loin, and most European countries use the ham (thigh) or shoulder to make bacon.
There are 24,872 people in the U.S. listed on whitepages.com with the last name ‘Bacon’
(Mark Morton, ‘Gastronomica’, Fall 2010)
More than 2 billion pounds of bacon is produced in the U.S. each year.
Regular sliced bacon is .062 inches thick (1/16 inch) 16 – 20 slices per pound. Thin sliced bacon is .031 inches thick (1/32 inch) 28 – 32 slices per pound, and thick sliced bacon is .111 inches thick (1/8 inch) 10 – 14 slices per pound.
The BLT, (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich) became popular when fresh lettuce and tomatoes became available year round with the rapid expansion of supermarkets after World War II.