The "Illustrated London News" carried a report of a barn dance in Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1897 and written by an English woman traveler. "The origin of that expression 'taking the cake', had previously been an enigma to me, if I had ever thought about it before, but it was suddenly in an unexpected and most practical way (revealed to me)." Just before the ball was declared finished a long procession of couples was formed who walked in their very best manner around the room three times before the criticizing eyes of a dozen old people, who selected the best turned-out pair, and gravely presented them with a large plum cake.