The French King Bridge is the three-span “cantilever arch” bridge that crosses the Connecticut River on the border between the towns of Erving and Gill, Massachusetts, United States, on State Route 2. The name comes from a nearby geographic feature named French King Rock, visible in the middle of the river. The origin of the rock’s name is unknown, but may date from the French and Indian War (aka Seven Year’s War or Queen Anne’s War).
Nice, thank you Elvis.
French King Rock lies about 1/2 mile upriver from the French King Bridge.
- gImages, French King Bridge: https://is.gd/GLLFgw
- gImages, French King Rock: https://is.gd/XYSkQQ
- gImage, French King Rock, older picture: The French King Rock in the Connecticut River - Album on Imgur
According to local lore, the French King Rock is named after Louis XIV.
Comment - Both the bridge and the rock are quite scenic.
The Philadelphia suburb King of Prussia, PA took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after King Frederick the Great of Prussia. It was originally constructed as a cottage in 1719 by the Welsh Quakers William and Janet Rees, founders of Reesville. The cottage was converted to an inn in 1769 and did a steady business in colonial times as it was approximately a day’s travel by horse from Philadelphia. Settlers headed west to Ohio would sleep at the inn on their first night on the road. In 1774 the Rees family hired James Berry to manage the inn, which henceforth became known as “Berry’s Tavern”. General George Washington first visited the tavern on Thanksgiving Day in 1777 while the Continental Army was encamped at Whitemarsh; a few weeks later Washington and the army bivouacked at nearby Valley Forge.
Shakers, Quakers, and the Amish differ theologically and in how they live. Quakers do not live in their own communities, while Shakers and the Amish do. Shakers are celibate and do not marry, while this does not apply to Quakers and the Amish. Shakers believe in full gender equality, unlike the Amish. And similarly so for technology, Shakers embraced technological advances while the Amish do not.
Shakers are more formally known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing. Theologically, Shakers believe in the dualism of God as male and female: “So God created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). This passage was interpreted as showing the dual nature of the Creator.
Quakers are more formally known as the Religious Society of Friends, Society of Friends or Friends Church. Quakers are known as Friends. Theologically, Quakers can range from conservative, placing their trust in the immediate guidance of God, to liberal Quakers who place an importance on good works and living a life that upholds the virtues preached by Jesus.
The Amish have Swiss German Anabaptist origins. They are closely related to, but distinct from, Mennonite churches. Theologically, the mainstream Amish do not believe in the assurance of salvation. They believe in Sola scriptura, where Christian scriptures are the sole source of authority for Christian faith and practice.
Weird Al’s song “Amish Paradise”, a parody of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” (itself a remake of Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise”) topped out at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 om 1996.
The earliest recorded leasings of billboards in the USA occurred in 1867. Circuses were the first major businesses to take advantage of outdoor advertising. The large format American poster (measuring more than 50 square feet) originated in New York when Jared Bell began printing circus posters 1835.
Ogden Nash satirized Joyce Kilmer’s poem “Trees” with “I think that I shall never see a billboard lovely as a tree. Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I’ll never see a tree at all.”
NFL quarterback Billy Kilmer played for three teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1961-1966), the New Orleans Saints (1967-1970), and the Washington Redskins (1971-1978). He played in one Super Bowl, Super Bowl VII against the Miami Dolphins. His Washington Redskins lost, 14-7, and his offense did not score any points, and the Dolphins completed their perfect 17-0-0 season.
Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister was the founder, vocalist, and bassist of the English heavy metal band Motörhead. In the late 1960s, as Lemmy was beginning his music career, he shared a flat with Noel Redding and Neville Chesters (bassist, and road manager, respectively, for the Jimi Hendrix Experience) – through them, Lemmy got a job acting as a roadie for Hendrix’s band.
Actor Val Kilmer and his family shared the main elevator at Carlsbad Caverns with SDMB Doper Bullitt and his family in the summer of 2001.
I left him alone. Not even a “Hi Val.” He was having his summer vacation with his family, and I was doing the same.
In the 1980s, there were a number of successful Hollywood films depicting nerdy high school or college students, often in conjuction with the students being computer geniuses. Those films included 1983’s WarGames (which starred Matthew Broderick), 1984’s Revenge of the Nerds (with Robert Carradine and Anthony Anderson), and 1985’s Weird Science (with Anthony Michael Hall and Kelly LeBrock) and Real Genius (with Val Kilmer).
Anthony Edwards, not Anderson. :smack:
Revenge of the Nerds had three sequels, all of them featuring Curtis Armstrong as Booger. Curtis would later go on to a regular role on Moonlighting.
The first documented appearance of the word ‘nerd’ is in Dr. Seuss’ 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo:
And then, just to show them, I’ll sail to Ka-troo
And bring back an It-kutch, a Preep and a Proo,
A Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker, too!
North 3rd Street in Philadelphia, between Market Street and Girard Avenue, is nicknamed Nerd Street. That’s for N3RD Street.
Bruce Springsteen, who has multiple Grammy Awards, won the Best Song Oscar for “Streets of Philadelphia,” and a Special Tony Award the year for his one man show “Springsteen on Broadway.” The televised version of the show has been nominated for an Emmy Award. It it wins, Springsteen will be an honorary member of the EGOT club.
And, speaking as a New Jersey resident, he deserves it!!!
The Liberty Bell, Constitution, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia all use the spelling “Pensylvania”, which was the accurate way to spell Pennsylvania back then.
The Liberty Bell is a military march, composed by John Philip Sousa in 1893. Sousa had originally written the song for an operetta he was working on (which was never finished nor produced), before publishing the song as a stand-alone piece.
The Liberty Bell is likely best known today as the theme music for the English comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Python troupe member Terry Gilliam (the group’s only American member) is said to have been the one to have suggested using the song, specificlally because an American march would be incongruous with the show’s content.
The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The ownership group of this franchise was headed by local businessman John B. Kelly Jr. of the well-known Kelly family, which included his sister Grace Kelly, movie star-turned-Princess of Monaco.
Monty Python’s Flying Circus also used that particular recording of Sousa’s “The Liberty Bell” because it was in the public domain and the show thus wouldn’t have to pay for its use. As it happened, the United States Marine Band played “The Liberty Bell” during the ceremonies surrounding the Jan. 20, 1993 inauguration of Bill Clinton, Democrat of Arkansas, as President of the United States.