GLad You Asked 10/16/04

By Chris Bennett

Saturday, October 16, 2004 2:05 AM CDT

Did Pabst ever win a "Blue Ribbon?" What did they ever do to deserve a "Blue Ribbon?" I drank a lot of Pabst during my days at Carroll College - it was all I could afford.

Then I graduated, and graduated to better beer. No more Schaefer, Blatz, Old Style Classic Draft or Meister Brau (Mister Beer) or Milwaukee's Best. I could afford something good.

I don't understand the renaissance in vintage beers. There as bad now as they were the first time. But there is something enjoyable about paying only $6.50 for a case of beer.

You can't do that any more, at least not with Pabst and they don't even tie silk ribbons on the bottle.

That's how Pabst got its Blue Ribbon moniker. The beer was originally named Select, but people kept asking for the "Blue Ribbon" beer when Pabst brewing started tying blue-silk ribbons to the bottles in 1882. "Blue Ribbon" became part of the name in 1895.

Pabst also put beer in cans for the first time in 1934 and called it Export when sold by can. The can included a picture of a can opener on the side with instructions on how to open the can, obviously with a can opener.

Pabst painted cans olive drab in World War II, and all canned beer went to the military. Pabst wasn't sold to civilians in cans during the war because of tin rationing.

Learn more about Pabst and its other brews at: www.pabst.com

How many World Series have Milwaukee baseball teams played in? Not nearly enough, in my opinion.

Fox showed that awful clip of Gorman Thomas' at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Seven of the 1982 World Series, in St. Louis.

Fox showed the clip during a Cardinals-Dodgers playoff game in the National League Division Series.

Gorman struck out and, honestly, it's one of the few times in life I've cried. One of the other times came at the end of a little-known Disney film entitled "The Fox and The Hound," again, when I was 9. That's a story for another time.

The Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee before the 1953 season and won the World Series in 1957, beating the New York Yankees in seven games. Pitcher Lew Burdette won three games.

The Braves advanced to the World Series again in 1958 and again played the Yankees. This time, though, they lost in seven games.

And then there are the Brewers in 1982, seven game-losers to St. Louis in "The Suds Series."

The Milwaukee Braves are the only professional franchise in sports history to not suffer the ignominy of a losing season.

Go Red Sox, even though you don't stand a chance.

What is George W. Bush's net worth vs. John Kerry's net worth? This is a non-partisan answer, so I don't want any lip from you nuts who think I'm advancing an agenda.

Slate magazine reports George W. Bush's new worth is roughly $9 million to $26 million.

If you include the assets of the Pickle Princess, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is between $165 and $626 million.

Bush's largest asset is his ranch in Crawford, Texas; Kerry's largest chunk of wealth is his wife's portion of the Heinz company.

It's not completely accurate to list Teresa Heinz Kerry's fortune with her husband. She's publicly bound to the prenuptial agreement signed by her and Kerry.

In 2002, Kerry claimed assets in his own name between $409,000 to $1.8 million dollars. He also claimed an additional $300,000 to $600,000 in assets owned jointly with his wife.

Bush and Kerry don't want for much, no matter how you slice the political cake.

Where did the custom of serving a death row prisoner a final meal originate? First of all, check out www.deadmaneating.com, a site dedicated to the last meal requests of death row inmates from across the country. They even sell thong underwear to promote their site.

I'm not endorsing capital punishment by answering this question - my views on the prison system and the execution of miscreants would probably make most of you cry, or at least whimper in horror.

A search online reveals two gentlemen who studied the concept of a last meal.

James Marsh and Mats Bigert thoroughly researched the issue of last meals and published an article in a Norwegian journal in 1999. Both men made short documentary films dealing with the ritual.

Marsh points out that America and Japan are the only post-industrial nations that impose the death penalty and relates the tradition to Christ's Last Supper.

Bigert traces the roots of the last meal even further back, to the Greeks. The Greeks didn't want a condemned person to be hungry on the journey to the kingdom of death, lest an executed soul be stuck in purgatory with a case of the grumbles.

Think of that the next time your tummy rumbles for a cheeseburger.

Glad You Asked finds answers to questions. Selected questions and the answers will be published in this

column.

Call (262) 631-1758 to submit a question, or do so by e-mail: ask@journaltimes.com You may also submit questions online at: www.journaltimes.com The Journal Times and the Racine Public Library are partners on research. For more information, call the library's reference desk at (262) 636-9217 or query their Web site at: www.racinelib.lib.wi.us/emailr.htm

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