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Interesting Facts
- Boston really is a city of "firsts" that make Bostonians proud. Home to the first public school, the oldest pub, the first swimming pool, the first YMCA, and the first marathon, Boston can also boast about many other "firsts."
- Boston beginnings? You bet! Some well-known items of today got their start in the Boston area, including Charleston Chew, Pez, Necco Wafers, Monopoly, Toll House Cookies, Ocean Spray Cranberry Products, Marshmallow Fluff, Basketball, and the Birth Control Pill!
- A trip to Boston without a visit to the Union Oyster House would almost be sinful! It's been in business in the exact same location since 1826; earning it the distinction of being the oldest restaurant in Boston. If you love fresh shucked oysters, their oyster bar is a must!
- For those of you that aren't from the Boston area, don't be surprised to see scrod on the menus. The fisherman's term for young cod, haddock or pollock, scrod is the most frequently caught fish in the Bay State. Plentiful on the menu of most New England restaurants, but rarely found anywhere else.
- Boston is home to the final resting-place of more people "who are known to more people, than are buried in any other burying ground in the country." Among those buried in Old Granary Burial Ground are John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine (3 signers of the Declaration of Independence), Paul Revere, Mary Goose (a.k.a. Mother Goose), and Benjamin Franklin's parents.
- Cheers! No, literally, Cheers! The Bull and Finch is the bar that was the inspiration for the television show Cheers. The outside of the Bull and Finch looks exactly like the one on TV, but the inside is just an ordinary bar.
- Known as the "Cradle of Liberty," Faneuil Hall was the site of fiery debates leading to the Revolutionary War. Built in 1742 as a commercial market and meeting hall, the restored marketplace is known today as Quincy Market and filled with restaurants and shops.
- How long does it take for a curse to end? For the Red Sox, the dreaded Curse of the Bambino lasted from 1920 until their celebrated World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004. As the story goes, team owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the hated New York Yankees in order to finance Broadway musicals. Before the infamous "trade for cash," the Red Sox won five World Series titles; over the next several decades, they came close many times, but the curse was always there to beak their hearts ... that is until 2004.
- Looking for a particular book? Stop by the Harry Elkins Widener Library at Harvard. The world's largest university library, it exhibits a Gutenberg Bible and a 1623 first folio of Shakespeare's plays.
- Sightseeing is no problem in Boston, unless you're short of time! If you're planning some extensive touring, consider buying a Boston City Pass. With this pass, you can save up to 50% off combined admission fees to some of the most popular attractions including the New England Aquarium and John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.
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