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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April 7, 2024 @ Richard Wall HouseDiscuss Science and see gear1:00 – 4:00pm and April 8, 2024 @ Historic Rittenhouse TownActually SEE THE ECLIPSE! 1:00 – 4:00pm A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun in such a manner that the Moon’s shadow sweeps over Earth’s surface. This shadow consists …
Continue reading “UPCOMING EVENT — Observing the Solar Eclipse with David Rittenhouse”
Well, today we lose an hour of sleep to the interest of commerce. Don’t worry, you will get it back in November. Before the middle of the 19th Century, keeping time was more of an art than a science. Time pieces and clocks were available, even common in certain circles but they were notoriously inaccurate. …
Continue reading “Ben Franklin DID NOT Invent Daylight Savings Time!”
Today we associate cleats on shoes with sporting events (golf, football, etc.). Henry VIII is reported to had the royal cordwainer, Cornelius Johnson, make him a pair of boots “to play football” with oversized and prominent cleats attached to the soles and heels. Despite their ubiquitous presence in the sporting world, shoe cleats have been …
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Fort Mifflin on the Delaware6400 Hog Island Rd Philadelphia, PA 19153Saturday, March 302:00 – 4:00pm A Beer Lover’s Nightmare – we’re dumping beer into the river. Okay, the Regimental Brewmeister has a robust schedule of brewing planned for 2024 and unfortunately last year’s beer has got to go. The reality is I brew way faster than …
Continue reading “UPCOMING EVENT — The Purging of the Kegs: A Fundraiser for Fort Mifflin”
This is off topic for me but I often remind my readers that when they frequent businesses and companies that support issues that they find abhorrent, for example Chick-fil-a ACTIVELY discriminates against LBGTQ and non-Christian people (both potential employees and patrons); and GM. UPS, American Airlines, Tyson Foods all made multimillion dollar donations to Donald Trump …
When it comes to arcane historical terms for spirits and other alcohol, proof is one of the frustrating ones. In our modern vernacular, with the blessing of modern analytical chemistry as support, we simply think of “proof” as two times the alcohol by volume (ABV). But why is this measure even a thing? After all, …
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“Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun;But mama, … that’s where the fun is.”[i] What fun? Well on April 8 at 15:23 EDT the sun will disappear from the sky (well in Philly, 80% but that’s amazing!). Mama warns us to never to look directly at the sun because …
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 7, 1778Frigate Randolph (32 guns) blown up in an engagement at sea The Randolph engaged the British 64-gun ship-of-the-line HMS Yarmouth. Rather than trying to flee from the …
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In the last decades of the 18th Century, in the south of England, there was a trend It was often referred to as a ‘shift’ or ‘smock’ marriages. These even went so far as to sometimes be puris naturalibus or naked marriages. It seems, in the tradition of Lady Godiva of Mercia, If a woman …
Continue reading “And Now for Something Completely Different…”
