Today is the 300th birthday of one of the patron saints of the Dope, Ben Franklin. throws confetti
Happy Birthday, Ben!
Heh, my SO was named after him.
Happy Birthday, Ben!
Wish “The First American” a happy birthday by downing a pint of Poor Richard’s Ale today! It is roughly based on colonial beer recipes.
"September 2005— two award-winning brewers with ancestral ties to Benjamin Franklin joined with the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission and others to select a recipe for Poor Richard’s Ale—a beer for Americans nationwide to hoist in January 2006 to celebrate. "
Breweries all over the country are brewing this beer, you can find the one closest to you at this webpage:
http://www.beertown.org/events/pra/sites.aspx
I shall find the little stuffed Ben figure that I purchased at the Ben Museum in Philadelphia and honor it with a cold beverage this evening!
Which museum – the Franklin Institute?
In Franklin Court - that sound right? I believe it was the site of the original post office.
Ah, that one. I always take people to see Franklin’s house (which I love) when we’re doing the “highlights of Philly” tour, but have only actually been in the museum there once.
I love that historic old area, but unfortunately since the dipwad BIL moved my sister and the kids out to near Denver, I have little excuse to go back in the near future.
Last time I was in town, there was a Cuban place on 2nd or 3rd that I’d kill to go back to once more.
The Ben doll is about Beanie Baby-sized, and he has this funny grin on his face. He sat on the monitor before we moved and I just found him in a box last week.
It’s still there. 
Make a reservation, I’ll be out Friday!
Until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today, you can participate in an esperiment sponsored by the Franklin Institute (which is, understandably enough, closed to honor the tercentenary of Ben’s birth). I just did the experiment and got 7 heads in 10 flips. Although I used a Lincoln cent as per the suggestion, I’d have tossed a Franklin half dollar had I had any lying around my apartment.
I used a dime because that was what I had in my coinpurse.
8 heads, 2 tails.
7 heads, 3 tails.
Thanks, Mr. Franklin, to you and yours for making dissent respectable and giving liberty a fighting chance.
Even if some of your nation’s children have chosen to forget that.
:: stares severely at newspaper headlines ::
I salute Ben Franklin. My favorite Political figure of all time.
Jim
Was he really born on 17 January? Or did he have to change his date of birth when the calendar reforms took place in the 1750s?