Do you like pretzels?

We sure do.

Nanion is a German company, and our headquarters is in Munich, where pretzels are more than just a snack. So yes, we do love pretzels, and since today is Pretzel Day, we thought we’d tell you a story about this tasty and twisty treat.

Have you ever wondered where the pretzel came from?

There are many stories. Some say it was invented by an Italian monk. Others believe it started in southern France. But here in Munich, we favor the tale that says the pretzel was invented in Germany by a baker who was tasked by the King of Bavaria to bake a bread through which you could see the sun three times.

Well, as it usually happens in legends, that story was not without its drama.

The stakes were high. If he failed, it wasn’t just his job on the line—his life was too. And of course, the baker was struggling with the task…

Desperate, he glanced at his wife, quietly praying for him with her arms crossed on her chest.

That was his eureka moment!

He twisted the dough to mimic her arms, and… the first-ever pretzel was born, symbolizing arms folded in prayer.

Since then, the pretzel has become an iconic product loved by people all over the world, and the Bavarian pretzel now has EU protected origin status, just like French champagne, Italian Prosciutto di Parma, or UK’s Stilton.

Nice story, isn’t it? No one knows if it’s true, but it’s a nice story. And in this nice story, one detail caught our attention the most—the part about seeing the sun three times through the pretzel.

Somehow, this detail made us think of PIEZO channels (apparently, a two-decade affair with ion channels impacts how you see things). PIEZO’s trimeric structure kind of lets you “see the sun three times” too, if you think about it.

Now, we won’t debate here whether it was the PIEZO channel or the baker’s wife that inspired the first pretzel. In the end, no one can be 100% sure what the baker was thinking about at that eureka moment.

But if you’re into PIEZO research, why not visit us in Munich? We can discuss the latest PIEZO news while enjoying some authentic Bavarian pretzels.

Who knows, maybe the twists of the pretzel will spark new insights for your research on PIEZO channels?