If you've ever bought a bacon or sausage bap to kickstart your morning, you've probably been asked whether you'd like ketchup or brown sauce to be smothered on top. And if you're a fan of brown sauce, then you'll be very familiar with the popular HP brand.

HP Sauce is the best-known brand of brown sauce in the UK and has been on shelves in shops since it was first launched back in 1895 - but do you know where the sauce got its name from?

At first glance, the HP name might sound like it should be the initials of the man who created the sauce, but that would be Frederick Gibson Garton, who definitely doesn't fit that bill. You might also be forgiven for thinking that it has something to do with Heinz, who has owned the sauce brand since 2005, but that's not right either.

It was named after the Houses of Parliament (
Image:
Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
There's even a clue on the bottle (stock photo) (
Image:
PA)

No, the truth is much more simple than either of those solutions, as HP Sauce is actually named after the Houses of Parliament - and the news has been blowing the minds of people online who had no idea of the brand's origins.

According to the Museum of Brands, Frederick Gibson Garton - who was a grocer from Nottingham - registered the name HP Sauce in 1895 after hearing that a restaurant in the Houses of Parliament had begun serving it.

And if you've ever looked at a bottle of HP Sauce, then the secret to the meaning behind the letters has been staring you in the face the whole time, as there's even a picture of the Houses of Parliament on the label.

But although the fact might seem obvious once you've connected the picture to the initials, many people online had no idea until the origins of the name were discussed in a Reddit post uploaded to the Casual UK forum, as one person shared a picture of the sauce bottle alongside the caption: "Who knew that 'HP' from HP sauce stood for Houses of Parliament? I mean it does have it on the front."

Commenters were blown away by the news, with many admitting they had no idea what HP stood for before stumbling across the post.

One person wrote: "What? Does it really mean that?"

While another said: "I never knew that!"

And a third added: "I didn't know that. It seems obvious now, but also incredibly weird as a brand name."

Others, however, were less impressed by the fun fact, as some said they had been aware of the sauce's real name for years.

Someone posted: "It's one of those things that I knew, then forgot. You just reminded me again."

As someone else sarcastically quipped: "The word 'Sauce' on the front also means that there is sauce in the bottle. Madness."

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