People are always welcome to come to my events and if you come in 18th Century kit, you can be part of the program or just hang out in the tent as you see fit. However, if you are truly interested in really learning the process, teaching the public, and being the brewer, you should …
Monthly Archives: March 2025
Happy π Day
Pi (often represented by the lower-case Greek letter π), one of the most well-known mathematical constants, is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. For any circle, the distance around the edge is a little more than three times the distance across. Pi has interested people around the world for over 4,000 years. …
Historical Tidbits — Newburgh Address
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. March 15, 1783 Newburgh Address General George Washington, having learned that his officers planned to meet to discuss a fiery petition to mutiny if Congress failed to provide them …
Eli Whitney Patented the Cotton Gin on March 14, 1794
In 1794, U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. By the mid-19th century, cotton had become America’s leading export. Despite its success, the gin made little money for Whitney due to patent-infringement issues. Also, …
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The Evil Gerrymander
In March 1812, the Boston Gazette ran a political cartoon depicting “a new species of monster”: “The Gerry-mander.” The forked-tongue creature was shaped like a contorted Massachusetts voting district that the state’s Jeffersonian Republicans had drawn to benefit their own party. Governor (and future vice president) Elbridge Gerry signed off on his party’s redistricting plan …
Origin of the Tricorned Hat
Well its Purim and many of us taught that we eat hamantaschen because Haman, the villain of the Megillah, wore a tri-cornered hat but there is no evidence that Haman wore a triangular hat. You might also be surprise to learn that Swedes have a suspiciously similar cookie, called Napoleon’s Hats or Napoleonhattar, which are traditionally filled with …
When George III had a Valid Claim to Uranus
I know I am going to get a lot of sixth grade jibes for writing about what we call Uranus but here goes. Until 1781, the known solar system consisted of six planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). These were all the planets that could be observed with the naked eye. The others …
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Making “Hard” Cider
Cider has a long and rich history in America. It was the beverage of choice from the first English settlers in the 16th Century until well into the late 19th Century. When the Mayflower suffered beam damaged in a storm badly enough to consider turning back to England, a large iron screw was taken from …
Making Perry
Perry is made by fermenting the juice of freshly squeezed pears with the help of natural yeasts. As apples are to cider, so pears are to perry. Perries have complex but subtle flavors that are typically more delicate than cider; good perry can be like a subtle white wine. In some parts of West England …
When someone asks you ‘Are you a God?’, you say YES!”.
In the movie Ghostbusters[i], Gozer asks Ray “Are you a God?” After the first disastrous encounter, he is then admonished by Winston: “Ray, when someone asks you ‘Are you a God?’, you say YES!” The problem with that is then you might have to prove your omnipotence. Eclipses often were viewed as supernatural phenomena and …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 