WIL WHEATON dot NET

50,000 Monkeys at 50,000 Typewriters Can't Be Wrong

William Penn’s Wiener (or: Hello. I am 12 years-old. Again.)

  • blog
  • Travel

Last night, we stayed in downtown Philadelphia. Our hotel room had a great view of city hall, which is topped by a giant statue of William Penn, holding a proclamation about the city’s commitment to fighting off bears or robots or something.

BUT! When you look at it the right way — like out our hotel window, for instance — it looks like he’s wagging his wiener at New Jersey.

William Penn's Weiner

He was truly a great American.

  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • More
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related


Discover more from WIL WHEATON dot NET

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

3 October, 2013 Wil

Post navigation

WIL WHEATON VS. PAUL AND STORM SUPER MEGA TOUR 2013: Day One. → ← Marlowe and Riley say OH HAI GUIZE

12 thoughts on “William Penn’s Wiener (or: Hello. I am 12 years-old. Again.)”

  1. Geoffrey Schaller says:
    3 October, 2013 at 8:35 am

    There was law on the books in Philly that no building could be taller than the brim of William Penn’s hat. Of course, that got overturned at some point, and several skyscrapers went up.

    During the time that this happened, Philadelphia did not win a championship in any sport – they came close several times, but never won. Locals would claim this was the curse of Penn, for building taller than his hat.

    When Comcast bought a local Sports Team (I believe it was both the 76ers and the Flyers), they had a vested interest in breaking the losing streak / curse. When Comcast completed its new headquarters in the city, which happened to be the tallest building, they put a new statue of William Penn on top.

    The next year, the Phillies won the world series.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_Billy_Penn

  2. BriWigs says:
    3 October, 2013 at 8:37 am

    Glad you’re enjoying my city so much. (Be sure to check out Reading Terminal Market before you leave…you will thank me. Lunch is on me.)

    There are 2 urban legends about the Billy Penn Statue:
    1) The sculptor was allegedly going to be stiffed on his fee by the city while making the statue, so he made it look like it was taking a leak on the city.

    2) There was a gentleman’s agreement that no building would stand higher than City Hall. When buildings were erected (heh!) higher, the sports teams all began to suck, starting the Curse of Billy Penn. When the Comcast Center was built (that giant building that looks like a USB flash drive), one of the workers bolted a small Billy Penn statue on top, making Billy once again the highest point in the city. The Phillies won the World Series the next year, and the Flyers made their Stanley Cup run.

  3. . arlani says:
    3 October, 2013 at 10:13 am

    Thank you for the much needed guffaw. I think I may have just celebrated an anniversary of my 12th year today as well.

  4. Bill DeVoe says:
    3 October, 2013 at 10:37 am

    And for the piece de resistance, the Comcast Center is located at 1701 JFK Blvd. So there’s that too.

    1. dbgallo says:
      4 October, 2013 at 9:40 am

      which looks like at giant usb drive

  5. Marc Robinson says:
    3 October, 2013 at 10:56 am

    Ah, one of the landmarks we’re most proud of. Right up there with the Liberty Bell. I believe it’s first notoriety (i.e. that viewing angle) was in the movie Birdy (1984) which I highly recommend.

    Since your staying on the Parkway you should definitely check out some museums if you have time. I recommend the Franklin Institute for a nerd with a lot of time or the Barnes Foundation for an art lover with only a little time. The Barnes has better food, too.

    And if you do make it to Reading Terminal as BriWigs suggests, I recommend a pulled pork sammich from DiNic’s.

  6. Paul Muller says:
    3 October, 2013 at 11:44 am

    So awesome to see you in Philly! If you happen to look at that angle during a nice rain storm the water runs out of the scroll in Big Willy’s hand making the effect even more… special

  7. Wes Allen says:
    3 October, 2013 at 12:49 pm

    Yes, you are 12.

    No, I don’t think that’s a bad thing because when shown that angle of the statue that’s what everyone around thinks as well. I hope you feel that places you in good company.

    Very glad you’re appreciating our city, thanks for coming!

  8. Jim Oliver says:
    3 October, 2013 at 1:30 pm

    Enjoy yourselves. Philly has cool museums, but if you only get a chance at one, make it the Mutter museum – medical oddities. Gross and cool at the same time, and its probably only a few blocks away from you guys at 22nd and Market

  9. Dieter G says:
    4 October, 2013 at 5:46 am

    So? Don’t we all love those moments where we giggle like teenagers about stuff like that. Being a “grown up” is weird (and boring) enough, right? So let’s treasure those moments as long as we can. If we stop laughing at stuff like that something is seriously going wrong!

  10. dbgallo says:
    4 October, 2013 at 9:39 am

    even better when it rains and it looks like he’s peeing on olde city. Welcome to Philly! See you tonight at WCL , it’s sold out!!!!

  11. Jaim L. says:
    7 October, 2013 at 12:51 pm

    oh wow. my fb id wont work here. o.O
    anyway, wil wheaton you’re a total brat.
    absolutely.
    but i’m completely inappropriate myself.
    i can’t attend pta meetings anymore, i giggle too much.
    our last treasurer had the most adorable lisp- loved to say fiscal.
    but then we had a popsicle sale and i excused myself. she was SO cute!

Comments are closed.

Related Posts

catching halos on the moon

I had such a good time with my garden last season. It was the first time I had ever capital-t Tended a garden in my life, and it was a […]

in the heat of the summer better call out a plumber

Back in the old days, the good old days, when it was generally accepted that Fascism and Nazis were bad, bloggers would write these posts that were sort of recaps […]

lift every voice and sing

Lift every voice and sing,‘Til earth and heaven ring,Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;Let our rejoicing riseHigh as the listening skies,Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.Sing a song […]

it picks me up, puts me down

I’ve been open and unashamed about my mental health struggles and triumphs, always willing to talk about my CPTSD, always willing to supportively listen when someone chooses to share their […]

Recent Posts

catching halos on the moon

catching halos on the moon

I had such a good time with my garden last season. It was the first time I had ever capital-t Tended a garden in my life, and it was a […]

More Info
in the heat of the summer better call out a plumber

in the heat of the summer better call out a plumber

Back in the old days, the good old days, when it was generally accepted that Fascism and Nazis were bad, bloggers would write these posts that were sort of recaps […]

More Info
lift every voice and sing

lift every voice and sing

Lift every voice and sing,‘Til earth and heaven ring,Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;Let our rejoicing riseHigh as the listening skies,Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.Sing a song [...]

More Info
it picks me up, puts me down

it picks me up, puts me down

I’ve been open and unashamed about my mental health struggles and triumphs, always willing to talk about my CPTSD, always willing to supportively listen when someone chooses to share their [...]

More Info

 

  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Member of The Internet Defense League

Creative Commons License
WIL WHEATON dot NET by Wil Wheaton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://wilwheaton.net.

Search my blog

Powered by WordPress | theme SG Double
%d