Friday, February 22, 2013

Independence, Prohibition, and Fart Free Seating

Thought for the day:  Size ain't everything.


Good things may come in small packages, but that gold-covered fella in the picture isn't very small. (Or very dressed, either, for that matter.) The eleven-foot shivering statue, called Independent Man, stands tall atop Rhode Island's State House, 278 feet above the ground, and has been gazing out over the city of Providence since 1899.

Matter of fact, you could say he's looking out over the entire state. After all, the whole darned thing only measures thirty-seven miles from east to west, and forty-eight from north to south. Yep, that does make it one compact little package, but our smallest state is also one of our more independent ones. It's one of only two states (The other was Connecticut.) that refused to ratify the eighteenth amendment. In a state bearing the lofty motto Hope, and  founded on principles of religious freedom and free speech, I don't reckon folks had much interest in raising a glass to prohibition.


Okay, enough small talk. Let's get right to it, and check out some pictures, shall we?


The White Horse Tavern, the oldest operating tavern in the country, was originally built in 1652, and then expanded in 1673 into the barn-like structure you see at right. Over the years, this building served not only as a popular watering hole, but also as a meetinghouse, courthouse, city hall, Tory headquarters, and boardinghouse. Last restored in 1952, the tavern is still a mighty popular place to hoist a few. (No wonder the state didn't support prohibition.)


How'd you like to wander through THIS library? Built in 1747, the Redwood Library in Newport is the oldest library in the U.S. still housed in its original building. I dunno if they carry those Fifty Shades books there, but I'll bet you could find some dandy leather-bound books bearing the unmistakable scent of days gone by.

[credit: Jess Webb, Wikipedia]
The country's oldest one-room schoolhouse, built in 1716, stands in Portsmouth. Although it's undergone some renovations, its frame is original.

Walking into the building must feel like taking a step back into history. Children who once sat at the desks are long gone, but their centuries-old graffiti still lingers on the walls for visitors to see. Also on the wall is a list of the rules... and punishments... that once governed the classroom:

  •  Boys and girls playing together – 1 lash
  • Fighting at school – 5 lashes
  • Quarreling at school – 3 lashes
  • Climbing for every foot over 3 feet up a tree – 1 lash
  • Telling tales out of school – 8 lashes
  • Giving each other ill names – 3 lashes
  •  Misbehaving to girls – 10 lashes
  •  Leaving school without leave of the teacher – 4 lashes
  • Wearing long fingernails – 2 lashes
  • Boys going to the girls' play place – 3 lashes
  •  Girls going to the boys' play place – 2 lashes
  •  For every word you miss in your heart lessons without a good excuse – 1 lash
  •  For not saying yes or no sir or yes or no marm – 2 lashes
  • Telling lies – 7 lashes
  •  Swearing at school – 9 lashes


It should come as no surprise that the country's first Baptist meetinghouse calls Rhode Island home. After all, Roger Williams fled to Rhode Island to escape the restrictive Puritanical society found in other colonies. He established America's first Baptist church in Providence in 1638, and for sixty years, the congregation met in private homes or, weather permitting, outdoors. The church's first buildings were small and simple, and the current one, shown in the picture, was built in 1775.



But would you be surprised to know that North America's oldest Synagogue is located in Rhode Island, too? First built in 1763, Touro Synagogue also houses the United States' oldest Torah.

In his day, Williams was a bit of an outcast and rebel for bucking Puritanical thinking to espouse freedoms of religion and speech. But  these rights, as expressed in the constitution he wrote when establishing his colony, were later embraced in our country's constitution.

The New England Museum of Wireless and Steam, located in East Greenwich,  has a ton of old radio gear, including an intact 1907 wireless station, as well as a wealth of old steam-run machinery.  I'm gonna share a couple videos with you now. The first shows some of the steam machines, and the second shows a spark gap transmitter in action. (The spark gap video wasn't taken at the museum, but the generator  in the video is very similar to one that's there.)



[credit: Matt H. Wade, Wikipedia]
The Breakers, a private home built for the Vanderbilt family in 1895, only has seventy rooms. To be more precise, the home was actually built in Newport as a summer home for Cornelius Vanderbilt, so I guess that explains why its rooms didn't number in the triple digits, huh? Sitting on thirteen acres, this place cost twelve million dollars to build back then. In today's world, that equates to approximately three hundred and thirty-five million, less than it takes to run some small countries. Today, the Breakers is a National Historical Landmark, owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport County. So we might not be able to live in it, but we can visit. (And be grateful we don't have to clean all those rooms and wash all those windows...)

In Cumberland is Nine Men's Misery, the country's oldest known memorial to U.S. veterans. It honors colonists who lost their lives during King Philip's War of  1676.

Also in Rhode Island is the Memorial to Black Soldiers, built in Portsmouth to honor the many black soldiers who died while fighting in the Battle of Rhode Island... August 29, 1778.




Watch Hill's Flying Horse Carousel is the nation's oldest.



The country's (heck maybe the whole world's!) largest bug can be found in Providence, Rhode Island. Nibble Woodaway, a big blue termite, is fifty-eight feet long. Hmmm, I don't know that I'd care about seeing him, but there sure are a lot of other things in this little state I'd like to see. Wooden you?

Okay, it's time to move along and check out some of the laws still languishing on the books in this tiny state.



  • I guess kids there don't play cowboys and Indians anymore. Cap guns are illegal.
  • It's against the law to string a rope across a highway.
  • Control yourself. It's illegal to bite off another person's leg.
  • Riding a horse over any public highway for the purpose of racing or testing the horse's speed is against the law. 
  • Exercising any labor, business, or work, or using any game, sport, play, or recreation, or causing any of the above to be done to or by your children, servants, or apprentices on a Sunday results in a five dollar fee for the first offense, and ten dollars for the second. (How about ministers?)
  • Professional sports, except ice polo and hockey, must obtain a license to play on Sunday.
  • Any marriage where either of the parties is an idiot or lunatic is null and void. 
  • It's illegal to throw pickle juice on a trolley. (How about beans? Can ya throw beans?)
  • One must make a loud noise before passing a car on the left. (Better eat some of those beans.)
  • In Newport, it's illegal to smoke a pipe after sundown.
  • In Providence, it's against the law to wear transparent clothing. (Evidently, not all sightseeing is encouraged.) 
  • And on Sundays, it's illegal to sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer. (This one's a real head-scratcher, isn't it?)
  • In Scituate, it's against the law to drive down any street with beer in your car, even if it's unopened. (I guess they want you to do your drinking at the White Horse Tavern, huh?)
******

Okay, boys and girls. It's that time again. Time for (ta-DA!) the 

Weirdest News Stories of the Week

*** Have you ever done a backflip? In a car? On purpose...? A post about  a small state deserves a big story about a small car... a Mini, to be exact. Believe it or not, stunt driver Guerlain Chicherit recently executed an amazing back flip in his Mini at the ski resort of Tignes in the French Alps. Wanta see?


[image from seniorark]

*** A New Zealand police officer was running a wee hours of the morning routine patrol this week when things suddenly turned rather wild and woolly. He thought there was something odd about the 1994 Ford Laser hatchback he spotted... and he was right. Inside the very small car were four men. And ten hog-tied sheep. Nope, they weren't out on some kind of a kinky date. These very baaaaad men were stealing the tasty critters. Since it is currently the middle of a very hot summer in New Zealand, I suspect the men were't all that upset to be relieved of their hot dates. What? You don't think ten wool-covered critters in a compact car are hot... and smelly? (I'll bet they had to take a hose to the interior of that car.)

*** Remember TV's Mr. Ed? A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course, that is unless the horse, of course, is the famous Mr. Ed. Well, the Midland, Michigan horse in this short video may not be able to talk... at least, he hasn't said anything yet... but he does do a pretty good Houdini impersonation:

WE TOLD HIM NOT TO EAT THE BEANS! [image from seniorark]

***  An article in this week's New Zealand Medical Journal suggests that airplane passengers should damn the consequences and let those farts blast. After all, cabin pressurization can only go so far in easing intestinal discomfort exacerbated by pressure changes. Good manners, of course,  dictate that a person in distress try to be as discreet and polite as possible when seeking relief, but seeing's as how the air inside those cabins is constantly recirculated, fellow passengers may not take too kindly to frequent out-gassing, no matter how sweetly you say, Excuse me. (So it's probably best to let it out as quietly as possible and keep your mouth shut.) Dr. Rosenberg, the article's author, suggested that airlines should consider installing seats embedded with charcoal, or hand out blankets with the stink-zapping compound sewn into them. Or how about this? Travelers could be breath-o-lyzed for methane prior to boarding, and then those with high levels, indicating a higher probability of, you know, letting 'em rip, could be assigned to a special seating area. No more smoking and non-smoking sections anymore, but with the able assistance of this simple non-invasive test, planes could institute farting and non-farting sections. A Fart Free zone, if you will. (One can only wonder what one would do in the free zone if yesterday's burrito starts to kick in.) I guess passengers could always wear odor-absorbing undies, too.  (I mean, how uncomfortable could a crotch full of activated charcoal be?) Anyhow, so there ya have it. According to at least one medical authority, holding in that gas could be hazardous to your health, so the next time you're airborne, don't be afraid to scent the air, if need be. Just, um, don't sit next to me.

*** One final video, and this is especially for all the Star Trek fans out there. Would you believe computer scientists at the University of Illinois, in Chicago, have developed a 3-D Star Trek holodeck? Called CAVE2, scientists envision some mighty amazing possibilities for it:


              Pretty neat, huh? Here's to a weekend that's simply out of this world...

                                Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

[NOTE: Images lacking attribution come courtesy of Wikipedia and public domain.]

63 comments:

  1. TEN lashes for misbehaving to girls? That's awfully vague terminology ...

    Have a sewper, dewper weekend, Susie Q. (Did anyone ever call you that? I got it all the time. Even had a boyfriend call me Q girl.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, a little bit of sexual inequity back then, too. Girls didn't get as many lashes for invading the boys' territory as the boys got for invading theirs. My biggest sin when I was in school was running my mouth and giggling, but I didn't see any punishment for that, so maybe I would've been okay in the old schoolhouse. (If I could stay out of trees...)

      A, couple of my aunts called me Susie Q once in a while, but that's about it.

      You have a fantabulous weekend, too.

      Delete
  2. I would not have survived that school.

    Null and void if on party in a marriage is a lunitic? Damn, that law would have saved me an awful lot of money!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a feeling that lunacy law would've ended a lot of marriages...

      Delete
  3. Enjoyable post, Susan! "Independence, Prohibition, and Fart Free Seating" just might compose the whole centrist campaign platform for the next election.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've never been to Rhode Island and I've never farted on a plane. I'll have to put them on my to-do list.
    I really like the old buildings in the photos- - and I think they should inforce those rules in the schools today.
    A few lashes now & then wouldn't hurt the little bastards.

    Oops!!! I didn't really mean that!!!
    I love children.
    Honest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, so, you've never flown, then? (Just kidding.)

      We didn't get lashes when I was in school, but there was some knuckle-smacking with a wooden ruler, and paddling in the vice principal's office. The problem wasn't so much with the idea of corporal punishment, but with the way it was doled out. Teachers' pets (like me) could get away with murder, but the kids teachers didn't like (and there were definitely kids who fell into this category) were blamed for everything, and punished far more than they deserved.

      And I know you love children. Especially the four-legged furry ones.

      Delete
  5. Just could never wrap my brain around the idea of Prohibition. Then again all societies go crazy every now and then, luckly that episode was "fairly" painless as compared to other nations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I think a lot of people compare the days of prohibition to the modern version of prohibiting the use of pot. And both prohibitions were probably equally as (in)effective.

      Delete
  6. Wow that school was tough!
    I love all the old buildings especially the library, it's so beautiful and they're all so very well maintained.
    I'd be suggesting that people intending to fly abstain from foods they know will make them fart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right; by today's standards, that was one tough school. Parents would never let a school get away with doling out lashes today. BUT, I'll bet the students behaved a heck of a lot better in that school than they do in modern day schools.

      Might be nice if folks abstained from eating gas-producing foods before getting into a crowded elevator, too.

      Delete
  7. Glad I didn't go to that school back then! And that sheep is just wrong.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My guess is the thing that you got in trouble in school is the only thing that got me into trouble... talking too much. And hey! No lashes mentioned for that!

      Aw, come on, ewe know that sheep is a cutie.

      Delete
  8. Huh... RI is small than my town. I had no idea. BUT I do know now that if I went to school then, I''d have been beaten to death by the second day of school.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A good many of us would like to call upon that "idiots and lunatics" ruling re marriage. It would save a lot of money in divorces.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ain't that the truth? However, it would probably lead to numerous arguments as to which ONE was the idiot.

      Delete
  10. I went to Catholic school (although not in the 18th century) and we had many of the same rules - and the ruler was the weapon of choice.

    "Misbehaving to girls" got the most lashes; let's bring that one back.

    I love visiting Rhode Island. It is a beautiful state and for as small as it is, there is still plenty to see.

    Nice do on the sheep and where oh where did she get those stockings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I went to public school, but the ruler was the weapon of choice there, too. Lots of knuckles got rapped for "improper posture" during handwriting exercises. Lefties got the most hits, though, because the teachers demanded that they maintain proper... meaning "right-handed"... posture.

      Oh, those stocking? I loaned 'em to her.

      Delete
  11. White Horse Tavern is now on my bucket list!! Fartnig and fart-free zones...hilarious!! Also, "misbehaving" it such a subjective term!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I guess the interpretation of "misbehaving" would depend a lot on how permissive the teacher was.

      Delete
  12. I really enjoyed this entire post, Susan! I must admit that usually when I see one this long, I tend to skip it and say to myself....I'll come back later when I have more time...which as you probably know, never really happens. But your writing is so fabulous, I just couldn't stop myself this time! I loved all the pictures and history of RI, and of course, all your comedic thoughts on a variety of issues!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you soooo much! I KNOW I tend to make these posts about states way too long, so I truly appreciate your kind words. My smile is even bigger now.

      Have a super weekend.

      Delete
  13. Pfft I can't go there
    The cat has too much gas at his lair
    What a sheep
    That might entice a creep
    Small packages or not
    And the cat likes that no cap gun are allowed as to the ears they aren't so hot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, cats get a free pass
      To poot lots of gas.
      Their faces remain haughty
      So no one knows they've been naughty.

      Delete
  14. Good Grief, beware of the guy who buys 2 pair of shoes for his girlfriend. I've never been out east, except to Boston and NYC. Always looks quaint.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HA! Took me a minute to catch your drift. (My brain's a little slow this morning.)

      Delete
  15. I love these; it's so interesting to learn stuff about the states. For example, I had no idea Rhode Island had a town called Scituate, too. I thought only Mass. had it. Oh, and I desperately want a holodeck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you like the state posts. Not too many more to go now.

      Dunno if I want to HAVE a holodeck, but it sure would be fun to visit.

      Delete
  16. We made a quick tourist visit to Rhode Island several years ago. The Breakers was absolutely amazing. And we visited the War College too--very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your family has visited some really neat places. I'm not at all surprised that you visited the Breakers, but I didn't run across anything about a War College in Rhode Island, so that's a new one on me. I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

      Delete
  17. Please sit down and take a slow deep breath, in through your nose, and out through your mouth. What I'm going to write will shock you: I have never been to Rhode Island. As for the lashes, if I could have lashed the students, I suspect I would still be a teacher.

    Love,
    Janie

    P.S. People yakkity yak away and waste your time of day. Mr. Ed will never speak unless he has something to say. A horse is a horse . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yowza, ANOTHER state you've never visited? Well, as small as it is, you may have simply overlooked it. Ya know, got to talking (yakkity yakking?) and next thing you knew, you were clean through the state without noticing you were in it in the first place.

      Hmmm, I know quite a few former teachers who would agree with you.

      Happy weekend, sunshine.

      Delete
    2. I feel the need to clarify my statement about lashing. I wouldn't have lashed the students. I would have lashed the administrators and the people who make a fortune on the mandatory testing used to judge teachers and the teachers who cheat on the mandatory testing.

      Delete
  18. On our first vacation together, my husband and I passed through Rhode Island on our way to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We stopped to buy something and were surprised to find stores and restaurants closed and couldn't figure out why.

    Then we learned that the second Monday of August in Rhode Island is Victory Day - a state holiday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yet another thing I didn't know about the state! Thanks. That must have been a little annoying, but at least you didn't have to drive very far to get out of the state again.

      Delete
  19. I've been to Rhode Island once. It was a very quick trip, and I saw little. Those school punishments...wow.

    Love the horse :)

    Happy Weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That horse is something else, but I'm glad he doesn't live here. Our stinker cats are already too darned good at opening doors.

      Happy weekend!

      Delete
  20. I like the making fun of girls - 10 lashes! :-) I have never been to RI. Someday I would love to have an RV like my parents and travel all these cool places. Love the old buildings. Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I kinda get the impression girls got a boatload of preferential treatment back then. After all, they had to be "protected" from those ruffian boys.

      If you travel the country in an RV, you could make a photographic journal to chronicle it. Wouldn't that be cool?

      You have a super weekend, too.

      Delete
  21. Definitely some interesting and fun places to visit! I love the school rules :) And the laws are always good for a laugh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In a way, some of those old school infractions make more sense than today's zero tolerance approach.

      Delete
  22. Fascinating stuff. You always take me somewhere else with your posts. I hope to visit Rhode Island.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I'm glad you find this stuff as interesting as I do.

      Delete
  23. Well that made me smile.....( the kid inthe windscreen made me guffaw)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad I was good for a smile. And haven't we ALL seen obnoxious screaming kids who an airplane who could benefit from a little time "out"?

      Delete
  24. Interesting post with heaps of information! Loved it!

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I spent some time in Rhode Island when I was young. After reading this, I wish I had visited some of these old and oldest in the U. S. places.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've been to a lot of interesting places, Inger, so I'm not surprised to hear you were in Rhode Island, too.

      Delete
  26. Jeez, I was never impressed much with Rhode Island in being there, but I am now.
    And that 3D stuff? That's just entirely so space age that I can't even get it thru my brain Missy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I know, that 3D holodeck is something else, isn't it? And I'm not Missy... I'm OLE Missy. No, wait... I believe that one's already been taken.

      Delete
  27. Oh my gosh, you packed tons into this post, Susan! Loved the siteseeing and trivia; but that little boy's face on the windshield is going to stay with me for awhile.

    About school rules ... I wonder if some teachers were more forgiving than others?

    Great job, I enjoyed this so much.

    Kathy M.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. About the school rules, I imagine things were pretty much the same back then as they were when we were in school. Some kids were teachers' pets, and got away with murder, and some kids weren't liked by teachers, and got blamed for everything.

      Thanks. Glad ya enjoyed it.

      Delete
  28. But I would so LIKE to sit next to you. I hear they make charcoal underpants for just this situation, though. I should probably look into it. I hesitate because I keep visualizing something all full of briquets. Which would make me squirmy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you were sitting next to me, rubber pants would be necessary. You'd have me laughing so hard, I'd wet myself.

      Delete
  29. I'm pretty sure I've gazed up at that gold man...

    Off to check my photo albums.

    And it looks like swearing was the big no-no. My how times have changed.

    And the girls were held to higher standards. My how times haven't changed.

    www.GirlwithaNewLife2.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neat. You've been to a place or two, haven't you?

      I don't know if girls were exactly held to a higher standard. I mean, their punishment for going to the boys' area was less than the other way around. And there was no punishment at all listed for "misbehaving to boys". Seems to me like girls were treated with deference. (To protect them from the ruffians.)

      Delete
  30. I cannot believe I missed this post. I waited and waited and waited for it, and then I missed it. Thanks for sharing. It really is a great place. And the Naval War College is in Newport, not far from the White Horse Tavern, which I have been too.
    Thanks again for the pics. Now I'm homesick.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nah, you didn't miss the post. You're here now, aren't ya?

      Sorry to make you homesick, but I figured you'd want to see it, anyway.

      Delete