SHOREHAM — Rebecca Rupp will speak on the topic “Wolf Peaches, Poisoned Peas, and Madame Pompadour’s Underwear: The Surprising History of Common Garden Vegetables” in a Shoreham Historical Society talk on May 2. 
 
Common garden vegetables have long and fascinating histories. Science and history writer Rebecca Rupp will discuss the stories behind many of our favorites, among them the much-maligned tomato and potato, the (mostly) popular pumpkin, and Vermont’s dynamic duo of kale and Gilfeather turnip. Find out why a lot of us don’t like beets, how a 17th-century pirate named the bell pepper, how carrots won the Trojan War, and how George Washington was nearly assassinated with a plate of poisoned peas. 
 
This is a Vermont Humanities Council event hosted by Shoreham Historical Society at the Platt Memorial Library, 279 Main St., Shoreham. The talk starts at 7 p.m. For more information call Linda Larrabee at 802-897-2275.