PT-BAM Transcript: Ken Basin (Fresca) (8/23/09)

[silvercamaro]

The only Fresca reference in the Kearns book is this, in the Foreword on page vii:

"Informed of his preference for low-calorie drinks, the staff installed a special tap for Fresca in the cubbyhole immediately outside the Oval Office. Lyndon Johnson had only to push a button on the arm of his chair and within seconds a glass of Fresca would appear."

The writers who claimed Kearns as their source for a "fountain in the Oval Office" apparently have distorted what she wrote (or it all depends on what the definition of "in" is in.)

She does not mention "four buttons" on the chair, the desk, or elsewhere.

[Jeemie]

The question may have been written poorly, but again, as with rexalite's, it seems to have a correct answer.

Unless one can prove there were various other buttons anywhere in the White house that when pressed, would either serve or signal to be served Yoo Hoo, A&W, or V8.

[TheConfessor]

Coincidentally, my losing episode on Jeopardy was also linked to August 27th. I had an important miss late in the game on a question about The Battle of Long Island, which occurred on August 27, 1776.

[Weyoun]

The real flaw of the question is that Mr. Pibb wasn't a choice. It's a delicious drink.

[clem21]

The real flaw of the question is that Mr. Pibb wasn't a choice. It's a delicious drink.

And teamed with Red Vines it's crazy delicious!

[TheConfessor]

August 27th is also remembered around here as the day Stevie Ray Vaughan died in 1990. There is a prominent statue of Stevie Ray on the shore of Lake Lady Bird, overlooking downtown, in a park where he played many outdoor shows.


There are no statues of LBJ that I know of, but there is an animatronic LBJ mannequin in the LBJ Library. He tells jokes and folksy stories while leaning on a split rail fence. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajs3r810IUk

[ulysses5019]

August 27th is also remembered around here as the day Stevie Ray Vaughan died in 1990. There is a prominent statue of Stevie Ray on the shore of Lake Lady Bird, overlooking downtown, in a park where he played many outdoor shows.


There are no statues of LBJ that I know of, but there is an animatronic LBJ mannequin in the LBJ Library. He tells jokes and folksy stories while leaning on a split rail fence. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajs3r810IUk

Can you see his gall bladder surgery scar?

[Weyoun]

It's a good thing we have that robotic LBJ inside our tent pissing out instead of outside the tent pissing in.

[TheConfessor]

Can you see his gall bladder surgery scar?

Of course! How could anyone forget it?

[Jeemie]

I very briefly Googled about the beverage buttons after my show taped and before it aired, and there was some stuff out there (likely readily findable by Googling PAF, I might add, if that were available to me at the time). But not nearly as ubiquitous as that trivia tidbit has become in the last few days.

People (and the Google Bots) work fast.

I first noticed how fast by Googling Vanessa Williams' celebrity question. Within an hour after that show aired, there were already fake Schobly stoller references set up online.

And several malicious sites with PT-WWTBAM references have popped up shortly after PT episodes aired, so be careful when you search!

[Estonut]

silvercam says:

At any rate, if he did have a fountain for Fresca, that would eliminate the need to have a button to order that particular drink to be brought in by staff members from outside the office.

Or it could mean the button was on the fountain; you pushed it, Fresca came out, much as it does at various self-serve places these days. (Well, Fresca is rarely one of the choices, but you know what I mean.) You can tell I've been eating at too many rest area restaurants. But of course Estonut is so sure that's not what the question said/meant.

I had never read/heard about that private soda fountain to my knowledge, but it somehow sounds "more LBJ" than him having a signalling device for a valet to come in bearing a particular drink.

Since you'd rather argue about this for 2 days than read the question, here it is:

$1,000,000 (Bottoms Up!): “For ordering his favorite beverages on demand, LBJ had four buttons installed in the Oval Office labeled “coffee,” “tea,” “Coke” and what?

I have no idea what the writer of the question meant and never claimed to know. I've only been discussing what the question actually said.
Note that there is no mention of any soda fountains behind or attached to the buttons.
Note that there is no mention of vats, pots, kegs or any other types of containers.
Note that the question says "for ordering" and not "for dispensing."
The question, therefore, implies that the buttons are signalling devices. As usual, you are reading things that do not exist...

[silvercamaro]

Since you'd rather argue about this for 2 days than read the question, here it is:

$1,000,000 (Bottoms Up!): “For ordering his favorite beverages on demand, LBJ had four buttons installed in the Oval Office labeled “coffee,” “tea,” “Coke” and what?

I have no idea what the writer of the question meant and never claimed to know. I've only been discussing what the question actually said.
Note that there is no mention of any soda fountains behind or attached to the buttons.
Note that there is no mention of vats, pots, kegs or any other types of containers.
Note that the question says "for ordering" and not "for dispensing."
The question, therefore, implies that the buttons are signalling devices. As usual, you are reading things that do not exist...

Since I probably was the first person in this thread to use the word "fountain," I will clarify that the word came from various blurbs and blogs on the internet which undoubtedly borrowed from each other, not the original source. I thought the attribution to the internet was clear in the context of my post, but if not, I am sorry. "Fountain" is not the word I would have chosen after having reread the passage from Doris Kearns Goodwin.

[MarleysGh0st]

Are you one of those peace-making middle children, too, SC?

[silvercamaro]

Are you one of those peace-making middle children, too, SC?

Nope. I was the youngest in my family, which makes me responsible for all luggage.

[Jeemie]

Are you one of those peace-making middle children, too, SC?

Nope. I was the youngest in my family, which makes me responsible for all luggage.

You were the youngest?

But the youngest is usually the instigator!!!!

Where do you think I acquired all my skills? Youngest of seven!

Prodding my siblings is how I got noticed!

[mcd1400de]

Ring of Fire ™
Ken Basin, Los Angeles, CA

$100,000 (Listen Carefully): In the 1984 movie “Gremlins,” which of the following is not one of the three rules for taking care of the creature Mogwai?

A. Don’t get him wet B. Keep him out of bright light
C. Never feed him after midnight D. Don’t let him sleep too much

At 26 seconds, Ken decides to use his Double Dip Lifeline. Ken’s first guess is

Spoiler

D. Don’t let him sleep too much

Spoiler

D. Don’t let him sleep too much

Anybody watch last night's How I Met Your Mother season premiere?

On the show, Barney mentioned that the three rules for separarating just a "girl" from a "girlfriend" are the same as the three rules for Gremlins -- if you don't want a girl to become a girlfriend, avoid doing any of the three with her. Of course, this question came immediately to mind, though it took a while to remember that it was one of Ken's.