Alright, not gonna give it away just yet. We got to make it a bit of a quiz first and see who can come up with the answer. The name of the bar is also the name of a book that was turned into a movie starring Marlon Brando, seen above. What is it? Post your answer in the comments. Let’s see who can come up with it first (If you already know don’t guess). The new Thursday night quiz starts next week.
UPDATE: Palestra Jon nailed it. Answer is in the comments. More details coming tomorrow.
The Sly Fox Goat Races are this Sunday, and I desperately need to get my hands on a goat. I am determined to compete this year. If you have access to a goat, please email me as soon as possible. Thank you.
I was pretty fascinated by the fact that Jamaicans today speak English because of William Penn’s father (as we learned this week in quizzo), but I was unable to find a lot of information about the English takeover of the island. Apparently, Penn and his crew had tried to attack Hispaniola in 1655 but were repelled, so they had to settle for Jamaica, which was not considered very valuable at the time and was much less heavily fortified. He defeated the Spanish and took over the island, and it remained in English hands until 1962.
Here’s another interesting fact I came across about Penn Sr.:
The origin of grog lies with Vice-Admiral William Penn, father of the founder of Pennsylvania. In 1655, during Penn’s campaign for Cromwell in the Indies, Penn arrived in Barbados and captured Jamaica. Unfortunately Jamaica had few stores of beer or wine. Jamaica did, however, have rum. Penn, therefore, began the use of rum as a ration.
This makes it seem more like Penn introduced the English world to rum than to grog, as the origins of grog don’t date until 1740. So not only did the Penn family give us Pennsylvania, they gave us reggae (if it wasn’t for the William Penn it would be in Spanish, and probably use a bunch of horns) and rum. And is that a baseball bat in his right hand? Did the Penns invent baseball too?
A couple of pretty cool Philly history pieces to look at today.
From the state that brought us George W. Bush, Jerry Jones, and Vanilla Ice, we now get this: Bill Nye “The Science Guy” was booed in Waco, Texas for suggesting the Moon did not generate its own light, but reflected light from the sun…several people in the audience stormed out, including woman with three small children who shouted, “We believe in God!” and left.
Almost makes you wish the ATF had burned the whole damn town down.
As you are well aware, I was in Puerto Rico with a “travel companion” last week. Well, I decided to write in today’s Metro about a couple from Philly I met while in Vieques. In other Puerto Rico news, here are some photos from the trip. We were in the rain forest south of Utuado for the first couple of days. A very hairy drive to get there over switchback roads, but it was worth it. Very secluded, extremely relaxing. Took a few hikes, but other than that, just sort of loafed around and drank rum and juice. Then we headed to Vieques, where we went to the tiny town of Esperanza. The island is best known for being the place that the US Navy was driven out of in 2003. It is home to some of the most beautiful, most desolate beaches in the Caribbean. We hiked to nearby Sun Bay, which was beautiful, and also did the Bioluminescent Bay kayak trip. It looked a lot like this. It was very cool, though kayaking at night while wet was a little chilly. Finally, we headed to Old San Juan. Stayed at a very cool, fairly cheap hotel called the Casablanca, which was right in the middle of everything. San Juan was terrific. Great walking town, although the sidewalks were a little narrow. But lots of great restaurants, Spanish architecture, and the El Morro Fort was very cool. I would definitely like to go back to San Juan when I have more time, but we were able to get a lot of hiking around the town in in our short time there. So there you have it. Great trip, lots of fun, I definitely recommend Puerto Rico as a vacation destination (though to be honest I like Mexico a little bit better.)
Jack Nicholson turns 72 today. There are several men who claim to be his father (he doesn’t know who his real father is), and he was brought up believing that his grandparents were his actual parents, and that his actual mother was his sister. He found out the truth in 1974 when a reporter for TIME Magazine told him. Apparently, his grandparents didn’t think he could handle the truth. Anyhow, just curious: what’s you favorite Jack film? Mine is probably the Shining, followed closely by One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Let me know what yours is in the comments below.
We’re all drinkers (now that the Good Dog quizzo is over), and so we are all familiar with beer goggles. They are the reason we drink, so that by the end of the night, we are no longer discerning when it comes to practicing mating. But alas, do beer goggles really exist? Researchers in England say no: Beer goggles are a fallacy and women actually seem no prettier after drinking, a study suggests.
‘There was no great difference – the men were just as undiscerning as ever,’ said Vincent Egan, the lead researcher.
Oh, so beer goggles are just an excuse we give our buddies when we go home with someone who looks like that lady from Britain’s Got Talent, and not based on fact? Not sure, because this research reached a completely different conclusion than research conducted on the same topic last year. However, both studies agreed on one thing: women do have beer goggles, as they find men more attractive after a few drinks. To which I say: “Ladies, keep drinkin’!”
It was a little loud and crazy, but a lot of fun on Thursday as I hosted quizzo at a party for Villanova Law Students. In the end, it was the Debutante Ballers squeaking by the Party Brigade, 86-81 to take the title of Nova’s Kings of Useless Knowledge.
Happy birthday to Philly legend David Rittenhouse, who was born on this date in 1732 near Germantown. You know all about his park, but how much do you know about him? He was one of America’s foremost scientists of the 18th century. He was exceptionally famous and respected in his day, as you can see in this letter from Jefferson to him in 1778: I doubt not there are in your country many persons equal to the task of conducting government: but you should consider that the world has but one Ryttenhouse, and that it never had one before. The amazing mechanical representation of the solar system which you conceived and executed, has never been surpassed by any but the work of which it is a copy. He was an excellent surveyor, called upon to determine the boundaries of numerous states, created the first observatory in the United States, and was the first director of the United States Mint. He died in Philly in 1796.
