Those of you who have had the sublime pleasure of taking an Advanced Placement history course in high school might remember the "Document-Based Question" (DBQ) portion of the exam. For some reason I remember this portion of the test quite fondly. And WTF?! because I usually HATE the essay questions. But I guess I liked it because they would give you some quotations from historical people (aka the "documents") and sometimes even pictures (yesssss! pictures!) you would have to argue something or other.
The first time I tasted gin, I was pretty grossed out. I mean, it was gross. Like, rilly rilly grosstastic. But I also had this weird history memory informing my senses -- I kept thinking gin was some kind of weird alcohol made from some factory by-product of the industrial revolution in that dirty dirty place known as 19th century London, and pimped out hard to the poor factory workers to make them forget they were disgruntled. And that made me a little mad at gin. Being the environmentally unfriendly intoxicant of the masses as it were. And this was based on what I remember from a practice DBQ question we were given in European History class.
So, being the somewhat obsessive and Google-addicted nutcase that I am, I looked up this mythical (to me, probably only mythical to me) DBQ. And lo and BEHOLD, my friends: the DBQ of 1988's European History exam.
The first time I tasted gin, I was pretty grossed out. I mean, it was gross. Like, rilly rilly grosstastic. But I also had this weird history memory informing my senses -- I kept thinking gin was some kind of weird alcohol made from some factory by-product of the industrial revolution in that dirty dirty place known as 19th century London, and pimped out hard to the poor factory workers to make them forget they were disgruntled. And that made me a little mad at gin. Being the environmentally unfriendly intoxicant of the masses as it were. And this was based on what I remember from a practice DBQ question we were given in European History class.
So, being the somewhat obsessive and Google-addicted nutcase that I am, I looked up this mythical (to me, probably only mythical to me) DBQ. And lo and BEHOLD, my friends: the DBQ of 1988's European History exam.
You're probably thinking that I have too much time on my hands. And you're sadly right. But I just have to know where I get these crazy thoughts from. Anyway, so gin is not made from nasty industrial by-products, but for awhile it was made from cheap low-grade corn which the government (aka THA MAN) was looking to get rid of. And of course THA MAN encouraged gin production by everyone so gin was cheap and free-flowing. Right into the mouths of the poor working class. Thanks a lot, THA MAN. So gin pretty much gained the rep of being responsible for general degradation, broken capillaries, and, like, the freaking death rate. Which is probably why I still don't trust it, despite its subsequent rise to classiness (aka gintrification, hardy har har).
Nasty stuff. But see how cool the document-based questions are?
2 comments:
I really liked doing DBQ's for american and euro history. I remember feeling like the exam gods had looked favorably upon me when the DBQ for US history exam (the real deal) was on the civil rights movement and the split between the moderates (under MLK) and the radical wing (with Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party).
Do you like gin and tonics? Is Bombay Sapphire really the best type of gin? and how do we feel about having Bombay in the name?
It occured to me following zuppe's post that my future could involve being immersed in DBQs-- of course I would have to find the docs and formulate the questions. I may have had the same DBQ -- circa Spring '95?
I wanted to like gin for a while because I thought it was made from eucalyptus and I like the plant as well as koalas. Now, I know it is made from juniper and has a rather seedy past. It there any liquor made from eucalpytus?
I actually sort of made myself like Gin and Tonics because of Bombay Sapphire-- the gorgeous bottle and the name appealled to my inner Mumbaite and jewel-coveter. Now, I recognize it is likely in the same vein as the Bombay, the yuppie colonial chic store du jour.
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