Hi guys,
Just to let you know what will happen as far as party favors go, we will be getting a $100 bill pinata with Franklin’s face on it. We will fill it with candy and stuff, and have a large bat-like object prepared to hit it. It will last for one hour (hopefully). Let us know if there are any suggestions!
As opposed to popular belief, it is actually a misconception that Benjamin Franklin loved beer to the point that he coined the quote “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
If Franklin was here now and heard us say this, he would probably look at us like ummm… 
But anyway, Franklin ACTUALLY said, “Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” He also once said “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, and in water there is bacteria.” It makes sense that someone, at some time, was trying to remember what Franklin said about alcohol and accidentally made up the wrong quote and attributed it to him.
However, just because Franklin never actually said that beer quote doesn’t mean he didn’t know how to party and have a good time. Below is a real historical picture of Franklin and Friends enjoying the first beer bong. (Just kidding it’s for laughs.)
By Gabriella Roostaie, Melody Torres, and Edwin Romero
Wow. What a class. I had so much fun in class doing this balloon/comb experiment. At first, I was pretty confused as to why there was a box on the table in the front and what was inside. But once I saw balloons and some cloth, I knew at once we were doing electricity. I still to this day am not sure why we did it exactly, other than the fact that Benjamin Franklin also worked with electrical charges. I had a blast rubbing balloons with that black cloth, and then testing it out with the electrical charge tester; the tin foil attached to the cardboard and the coat hanger. I was able to charge my balloon so well that it actually stuck to the ceiling and looked as if it were floating with literally NO helium in it. Wow. I kind of felt the same excitement that Benjamin Franklin maybe felt when he discovered electricity, except that electricity already exists today and I discovered nothing new. However, it was still a good time and I liked bonding with my classmates and professor. 🙂
Benjamin Franklin published the sixth part of his “Silence Dogood” essays on June 11th, 1722. This essay specifically “exploits” Franklin’s opinion of his town’s worst “vice”: pride. Ben Franklin states that there is no worst sin or trait that God despises more than mankind’s excessive pride. One line that showcases Franklin’s true disgust in pride is when he explains why pride is such an unattractive trait; “The proud Man aspires after Nothing less than an unlimited Superiority over his Fellow-Creatures.” I completely agree with this statement and why it is such a bad thing in society. If humans live to control each other then all autonomy and individuality would be lost. In the time when Franklin wrote this, innovation was a major theme, as was intellectual thought. For men to live with so much pride that they wanted to be “superior” to each other would have been hazardous to their time’s developments and potential. Franklin also touches on the foolishness of “pride of apparel”, which is similar to modern day superficial-ness. Franklin says there is no pride worse than pride of apparel because it has no substantiality and no purpose. He also says that poor men are more susceptible to this sin of pride because they are constantly trying to emulate their rich peers. Franklin’s essay is headed into all the right directions because of this timeless argument against pride, but falls towards the last paragraph. The importance and weight his argument carries turns into a less important subject when he begins to mock women’s dress. He expressed his contempt with “hoop-petticoats” because the skirts are “monstrous” and “topsy-turvy.” This sounds very silly and completely irrelevant to the above statements. I completely lose my mind with his argument when Franklin turns sexist, as well as borderline misogynistic, with this line: “I would at least desire them to lessen the Circumference of their Hoops, and leave it with them to consider, Whether they, who pay no Rates or Taxes, ought to take up more Room in the King’s High-Way, than the Men, who yearly contribute to the Support of the Government.” This was a poor conclusion to this essay and therefore lessens the professionalism and seriousness of his statement. I was not a fan of this piece towards the end.
I had a very nice view of Franklin’s parents’ grave in Boston with the class. It was interesting to see that the Franklins have the biggest stone head out of everyone in the cemetery. I also enjoyed listening to professor Allison talk about it and give some background information, even though it was very cold this day. I learned a lot about Benjamin Franklin, and was especially excited to hear that he was born right on Milk Street- where my favorite coffee shop is- and that his parents are buried somewhere that I walk by every single day! This memorial-viewing was so informational for me, and it was so cool to learn Franklin’s roots to my own hometown of Boston, Ma.
