The city of Boston is the most populous capital of Massachusetts, United States. The town consists of twenty-three neighbor districts and is the only US state capital that has a coastline. Boston is famous for its unique accent, with its urban expression of “park the car in Harvard yard”. Keep reading this Jobandedu‘s writing to know details of Boston accents and other interesting facts around this city!
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The Boston Accents
The Boston accent dates back to the 17th century, with natives choosing to drop the “R” sound. Hence, their pronunciations are somewhat different from the rest of the United States. The most famous example of the Boston accent is how they pronounce “park the car in Harvard yard”. This phrase will sound like “pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd” if you speak with the non-rhotic Boston accent.
This accent originated from southeastern England but eventually trended in pre-Revolutionary Boston. Since then, the accent has become one of the most iconic things about the city and its people. The phrase “park the car in Harvard yard” is still popular today to illustrate the stereotypical accent of the city. However, this is not the only interesting fact about Boston that you should know.
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The Beantown
Boston is famous for many things, including Fenway Park, the Boston Marathon, and baked beans. The city’s nickname is Beantown, which is quite odd comparing to other cities of the States. One of the theories is it origins from the city traditional food, which included baked beans.
Later on, with their successful rum business in the “Triangle Trade”, Boston soon became more well-known for serving baked beans with molasses. The new culinary delicacy soon became a hit in the greater Boston area, and merchants then began to call Boston “BeanTown”. Today, the city’s tourism still uses the slogans like “You Don’t Know Beans Until You Come To Boston” with annual Old Home Week events.
The Boston Tea Party
In December 1773, there was a midnight raid by the Sons of Liberty in Boston to protest against the British on how expensive they sold tea. The angry American colonists boarded the ships and dumped over three hundred chests of tea into the Boston Harbor, equivalent to forty-five tons of tea.
Surprisingly, the attacked ships were not British. The ships boarded by the Sons of Liberty, the Dartmouth, the Beaver, and the Eleanor, were owned by Americans. Two of these ships delivered sperm whale oil to London in 1773 before shipping tea to the American Colonies. More interestingly, the tea dumped was not the King’s. Instead, it was the private property of the East India Company, whose value amounted to approximately $2 million in today’s money.
Oldest Buildings In the U.S
Surprisingly, many of the United States’ aged structures are in Boston city. For example, the first-ever lighthouse in the States was built in Boston Harbor in 1716. The Boston Fire Department is the oldest, and Revere Beach is the first-ever public beach in the country. If you have a chance, make sure to visit the Boston Public Garden – the first public botanical garden in the USA.
What’s more, the Boston News-Letter is till now the longest-standing published newspaper in the country. Education-wise, the Boston Latin School is the first public school ever in America. Harvard, Boston’s oldest public institution for higher education, is now famous internationally for its prestige and quality.
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Life-changing Creations
While more people know of Boston for phrases such as “park the car in Harvard yard”, the city is the land of inventions. Many of the life-changing items or services that we use today were initially created by a Bostonian. In 1901, the first disposable razor was the creation of a man named King Gillette in Boston. Later in the ‘40s, Percy Spence, another Bostonian, invented the microwave by accident. And more recently, Facebook – the social media network that changed our world – was also created in Boston.
Moreover, the civil engineering world knows of this city for the Boston University Bridge – a unique display of Bostonian architecture. It’s where boats can sail under trains that run under a bridge for cars, while planes fly above. To date, the Boston University Bridge is the only place in the whole world where such a sight is possible.
Weird Laws
Like any other city on the planet, Boston has some exciting rules that you don’t want to break. Until 2000, tattooing and body piercing was still illegal in the city. Sadly, Massachusetts bans happy hour drinks and candy may not contain more than 1% alcohol. Moreover, it’s considered illegal to give hospital patients any beer at all, and one should never use tomatoes to make clam chowder. The most interesting rule is that snoring with your windows open at night is illegal in Boston. Hence, make sure to lock your windows before going to bed every night.
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Conclusion
Though the oldest city in the country, Boston is fifth on the list of best cities in the United States. The long history of the town and the various achievements of Bostonians are worthy of appreciation and celebration. However, it’s still hilarious to ask a Bostonian to say “park the car in Harvard yard” the Boston way.
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