As promised/threatened, the Forths are about to embark down memory lane to relive the marvels and merchandizing of the U.S. Bicentennial. And in honor of such self-indulgent recollections about the Spirit of '76, I present:
Five Little-Known Facts About the Declaration of Independence
• The official Declaration was actually preceded by several local declarations of independence issued by towns, counties and states during the spring and early summer of 1776. Most notable was that of the small hamlet of Marlborough, Massachusetts which stated, in full, "We're wicked pissed."
• After the enormous success of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson was quickly signed on to write a sequel to capitalize on the buzz. Alas, Declaration II: Philadelphia Nights proved to be a dismal commercial failure, despite Ben Franklin's glowing review that it delivered "arse-kicking good fun."
• The Second Continental Congress was initially established as a "Senior Executive Golf and Spa Retreat" for the colonies' well-heeled leaders, until public outcry for revolution and poor link conditions diverted their attention.
• John Hancock became the first signer of the Declaration only after besting the other representatives in a competition one onlooker described as "a most contentious rivalry of character strength both great and admirable"--otherwise known as bare-knuckle boxing.
• The Declaration was originally conceived to be real aloud in beat to Hadyn and Bach music samples, but the conceit was soon discarded when the rhyming structure proved too unwieldy and references to "hos" and "Cristal Champagne" far too numerous.
And, speaking of the declaring Independence, here's another Schoolhouse Rock history lesson:
3 comments:
Speaking of the Bicentennial, I assume you've seen the movie The Spirit of '76 with David Cassidy?
i actually have! If I'm not mistaken Sofia Coppola did the clothes for that flick.
Don't forget the bicentennial beer cans! A bunch of small brewers around the US (but especially in Penn.) decided to cash in on the beer can collecting fad to issue sets of cans with bicentennial themes. 7-Up did the same thing with 50 different cans, each with a different state on it. When you stacked them up in order in a pyramid they made a picture of Uncle Sam. I remember my Dad and I going to Woody's grocery near Dayton and looking for six packs that had the cans I still needed.
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