as an exploratory journey through that old party question: if you could have a drink with anyone in history, who would it be? History is full of people you’d love to have a drink with. Let’s meet a few.
as an exploratory journey through that old party question: if you could have a drink with anyone in history, who would it be? History is full of people you’d love to have a drink with. Let’s meet a few.
Have a drink with: The Greely Expedition Survivor: Climate Research Edition Ask them about: Eating your shoes Hey folks! If you think you’ve got it bad having to stay home for Thanksgiving, well, at least you’re not marooned in the Arctic having to eat your shoes for dinner. My piece on the ill-fated Greely Arctic…
Have a drink with: Carl Hagenbeck Ask him: But do you sing country ballads? Like many other people, I spent the first chunk of my home confinement (thanks, coronavirus) plowing through Netflix’s hot documentary series “Tiger King” whilst eating an inordinate number of Girl Scout cookies. And the show is so relentlessly bananapants that it’s…
Have a drink with: Jumbo The Children’s Giant Friend Ask him about: bath time in the Thames There’s one conspicuous problem with the 1941 Disney movie Dumbo and Tim Burton’s remake, released last week: the elephant’s name is not, in fact, Dumbo. The little elephant with the big ears is, in fact, given a family…
Have a drink with: Harry Hill “Take a little wine for thy stomach’s sake.” Ask him about: How’s your head? Harry Hill was a British-born horse-racing enthusiast and barman who ran a multi-purpose bar, concert hall, fight venue and gambling house at Houston and Crosby Streets in 19th century lower Manhattan, a scant mile and…
Have a drink with: James O’Connell & Captain Costentenus Over 7 million blood-producing punctures! Ask them about: The many uses of coconut oil The Greatest Showman, the recent Hugh Jackman movie musical about impresario (and frequent blog subject) P.T. Barnum, centers in large part on the “Oddities,” a troupe of human curiosities Barnum brings from…
Have a drink with: Jenny Lind The one and only Swedish Nightingale Ask her about: The hot concert tour of 1850 The Greatest Showman, a movie musical about the life and legend of P.T. Barnum, is a colorful, kinetic romp through the most recognizable part of Barnum’s entertainment oeuvre, with Hugh Jackman at the fore…
Have a drink with: Tom Petty Into the great wide open… Ask him about: Not backing down. Tom Petty recently achieved the feat, as far as the press was concerned, of dying twice in a single day. On Monday, October 2, news outlets began reporting in the afternoon that Petty had died following a cardiac…
Have a drink with: General & Mrs. Tom Thumb Tiny wedding of the century! Ask them about: Will there be ice cream? I’m over at Atlas Obscura today writing about the Tom Thumb wedding, an American dramatic tradition in which kids put on elaborate, supremely awkward mock weddings for paying audiences. These plays began in…
Have a drink with: P.T. Barnum The Greatest Showman on Earth Ask him about: elephant agriculture Barnum month continues! With the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus performing its last shows yesterday in New York, and first-look pictures of Hugh Jackman’s Barnum musical The Greatest Showman breaking this week, it’s a good day to…
Have a drink with: Henry Bergh The Great Meddler, mustache aficionado, friend to animals Ask him about: Aquatic rhinoceros* Today I’m over at The Atlantic writing about Henry Bergh, America’s first animal rights activist and a relentless crusader for the early animal rights movement. Through an unlikely and yet genuine friendship with entertainment icon P.T….
