We decided to enjoy the weather and take a walk around Old Town, Alexandria this weekend. Those of you familiar with the area are probably also familiar with Gadsby's Tavern, which dates back to the late 18th Century. Outside they have an old ice-well (where ice harvested from the Potomac was stored during the warm months) and a little plaque explaining the historical significance. Of particular note, ice was 8 cents a pound in 1805. I can only imagine how luxurious that dirty frozen river water must have been back then. Point of comparison - using a nominal per capita GDP comparison (less than perfect for a lot of reasons, I know), 8 cents in 1805 works out to $37.62 in 2005 dollars. That night we bought 14 pounds of ice for Margaritas for $3.50 - or $526 by 1805 standards. Remember that next time you hear some baby boomer reminiscing about a 10 cent Coke.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Old School Luxury
We decided to enjoy the weather and take a walk around Old Town, Alexandria this weekend. Those of you familiar with the area are probably also familiar with Gadsby's Tavern, which dates back to the late 18th Century. Outside they have an old ice-well (where ice harvested from the Potomac was stored during the warm months) and a little plaque explaining the historical significance. Of particular note, ice was 8 cents a pound in 1805. I can only imagine how luxurious that dirty frozen river water must have been back then. Point of comparison - using a nominal per capita GDP comparison (less than perfect for a lot of reasons, I know), 8 cents in 1805 works out to $37.62 in 2005 dollars. That night we bought 14 pounds of ice for Margaritas for $3.50 - or $526 by 1805 standards. Remember that next time you hear some baby boomer reminiscing about a 10 cent Coke.
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3 comments:
I take exception to your characterization of the Potomac River in 1805 as “dirty.” Why, I used to take baths in the Potomac on a regular basis in 1805. In 1805, the Potomac River valley area had not been developed or industrialized as of yet. Moreover, without any development along the pristine waters (including sewage overflow from DC, Maryland, and Virginia) the Potomac was a grand old place to play, drink, swim, and do whatever comes naturally. And the ice, oh that ice. In 1805 it was like a gift directly from God for only He knew how good a whiskey on the rocks could be. We didn’t really pay attention to any small twigs, pieces of debris, or other biological detritus that happened to make its way into that sweet frozen nectar. Oh, and by the way, nowadays, since most of our tap water comes from the Potomac anyway, we still consume ice from the Potomac, it just happens to come via antiquated lead pipes full of small twigs, pieces of debris, and other biological detritus.
Point very much taken. I was being present-biased when imagining ice from the Potomac. As you describe, it would seem to have been a wholly refreshing experience.
Indeed.
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