OXY-BEN GAP FILLER
In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.
–Benjamin Franklin
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Fellow American History lovers, I hadn’t intended to post again until Ben Franklin’s birthday tomorrow, but in doing research for same, I came across the above quote which so smoothly bridges the space between Ben and the subject of my last post, I would be stupid to let it pass.
What’s that you say — letting it pass wouldn’t make any difference? Fine. Just for that, I have a good mind….not to invite you back tomorrow for more Ben. But I forgive you. Meanwhile, while drinking water, remember to filter it through your teeth to strain out the bacteria. I wish I could say that also works for straining out stupidity, but no matter — in your case, it’s too late anyway. Hahahahaha.
Don Frankel 3:46 pm on January 16, 2015 Permalink |
In vino veritas. Ahh, you knew that was coming but I got here first.
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mistermuse 5:18 pm on January 16, 2015 Permalink |
Don, luckily I own a little book titled LATIN FOR ALL OCCASIONS (Lingua Latina Occasionibus Omnibus), from which I chose the following more or less appropriate responses (English translations upon request):
Hoc ei propinabo!
Caupo! Etiamnunc!
Re vera, potas bene.
Nonne de Novo Eboraco venis?
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arekhill1 8:26 pm on January 16, 2015 Permalink |
I’m pretty sure Ben had gone flying to the Big Kite in the Sky before the concept of bacteria was fully formulated, Sr. Muse. Now that’s he’s been misquoted by a normally reliable source (you), I tremble to think that he never said that thing about beer being proof that God loves us.
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Joseph Nebus 11:36 pm on January 16, 2015 Permalink |
I have to say, I was skeptical that Ben Franklin could bring a witty little line in at under 540 words. He was pithy for the time, but he was working in a time when everybody wrote like an end-user license agreement.
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mistermuse 12:13 am on January 17, 2015 Permalink
I was also surprised to find that Franklin quote, not as much for its brevity as for the humor of its wit. But I’m not a Franklin scholar, so perhaps that type of Franklin wit isn’t as rare as I thought. I’ll be checking out more quotes attributed to him for my Franklin birthday post after I get a good night’s sleep.
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mistermuse 9:36 pm on January 16, 2015 Permalink |
You had me worried there for a minute, Ricardo, so I consulted my old friend Barney Google and found that bacteria were discovered in 1676 by Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek (I’m not familiar with him either, but then his name doesn’t exactly lend itself to easy memorization). Ben wasn’t born until 1706, so I guess I’m still a reliable source. Normally.
As for the beer quote, it seems that it’s actually a misquote, though Ben did say something similar about wine. Either way, I’d say it’s proof of something.
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Michaeline Montezinos 10:10 pm on January 16, 2015 Permalink |
In the Old Testament of the Bible, (I am not going to look it up but I do remember the general idea,) David as a Canaaite warrior fighting the bad guys, wrote in the Psalms, that after a battle to “Give wine to the wounded and stronger drink to the dying.” (Don’t quote me; this is the gist of what he wrote.) i don’t think they had the means or the money to make beer since the Isrealites were always being enslaved by one stronger nation or another.
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Michaeline Montezinos 10:16 pm on January 16, 2015 Permalink |
mistermuse, you are correct in writing that Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) discovered bacteria. He was a Dutch natualist and pioneer in microscopy. He was not taken seriously until “germaphobics ” began to sit on those contour couches in psychiatrists’ offices.
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mistermuse 11:56 pm on January 16, 2015 Permalink |
I note that van Leeuwenhoek lived to age 90 (a ripe old age in those days, or even today), so he must have taken his microbiology seriously even when others didn’t.
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scifihammy 12:55 am on January 17, 2015 Permalink |
Love the quote. Now I am busy straining bacteria through my teeth as I drink my coffee!! 🙂
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mistermuse 8:00 am on January 17, 2015 Permalink |
You know it’s a great quote when you don’t notice incorrect grammar….or if you do, you realize the quote is perfect the way it is. I refer to the word “bacteria,” which is plural (for “bacterium”). Technically speaking, the quote should end “there ARE bacteria” — but then, it wouldn’t end well, and we all know all’s well that end’s well.
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