Nothing really interesting in the news today, so I found myself flipping thru phillyhistory.org (via Phawker). Found some great stuff. First saw a pic of the Horn and Hardart Automat, where you bought your lunch from a vending machine. It was the original fast food, and it began in Philadelphia. For some more pics and info on Horn and Hardart, click here. Then I came upon the phillyhistory.org blog. This is awesome. Stories about how bad Philly’s drinking water was, the Divine Lorraine, and about the legendary Man Full of Trouble Tavern. Here’s the best part from the drinking water story:
Schuylkill water was so bad by the late 19th century that “…a physician offered $50 to anyone who would drink a quart of it ten nights in a row. Each evening, the doomed man comes on stage, the stipulated amount of water is brought out and he takes the draught to slow music before a sympathetic audience. It is the agreement that if he vomits or dies, he will lose the prize.”
Doctors were so much more fun back then, offering prizes for not dying, then forcing people to drink typhoid water. Now it almost seems like they’re trying to saaaave lives. BORRRR-RING. I may not be a doctor (at least not officially licensed as such), but I am carrying on this proud tradition nonetheless. I will pay $50 to anyone who will drink water from the Schuylkill 10 nights in a row. If you vomit or die, you will lose the prize.