A Nerd Guide to Philadelphia

By Michelle Bland

Philadelphia was the seat of government for the fledging thirteen states. Both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed and ratified in what is now called Independence Hall. To beat the summer heat at the end of a hard days work, the founding fathers retreated to City Tavern for a well-earned beer. City Tavern is still open, so after taking in the birthplace of American democracy, you should do the same!

1. Historical suds

Rittenhouse Square is one of five Philadelphia parks planned by William Penn. Rittenhouse is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon watching people and genotyping dogs. Armed with a few recent scientific publications, you can astound and exasperate your friends by naming the mutations carried by each purebred dog trotting through the park. Wiry-haired dachshund? RSPO2 mutant! Tiny chihuahua? IGF1 mutant! Hours of fun!

2. All varieties of man and beast

The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer ENIACwas the first generalpurpose computer. Built on the University of Pennsylvania campus during World War II, its 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, and 10,000 capacitors were first put to use calculating weapons trajectories. It took ENIAC 30 seconds to calculate what it would take a person 12 hours to figure by hand. The six women who programmed ENIAC invented subroutines and the if statement. You can visit ENIAC (now retired) at the Moore School Building at 220 S. 33rd Street.

5.ENIAC & the if statement

U PENN ARCHIVES

J. FUSCO

B. KRIST FOR GPTMC

The Mtter Museum is not for the faint of stomach, but its a great place to learn how medicine was taught and practiced a century ago. Displaying medical anomalies, anatomical specimens, and wax models of gnarly head conditions, its a sometimes grossand utterly fascinatingtour of the Victorian medical establishment. Other oddities include a megacolon; the conjoined liver of the original Siamese twins, Chang and Eng; and a lady who turned into soap after she died.

3. Things you hurl

that

make

Look down when you cross the street in Philly. Throughout the citys intersections, small linoleum tiles read Toynbee Idea / In Kubricks 2001 / Resurrect Dead / On Planet Jupiter. What that means, how the tiles were made, and who put them there is a modern mystery. Recently, a team of amateur sleuths detailed the results of their yearslong investigation in the documentary Resurrect Dead. Before you watch the movie, find the tiles and puzzle over them yourself.

6. Toynbee Idea

DADEROT

STEVE WEINIK

GEORGE WIDMAN

Philadelphians have an abiding and nonironic love for Benjamin Franklin. Much in Philadelphian and American life springs from Franklins work: the countrys first lending library, fire department, post office, and hospital. He signed and helped to write the documents that created the United States. He ran a printing press, invented the lightning rod, charted the Gulf Stream, and conducted his kite experiment to show that lightning is electrical. Franklin was an early American chess champion, and he liked beer. He was Americas first nerd, and Philadelphia was his city. We humbly present eight nerdy ways to make Philly your city, too.

Michelle Bland is a Drosophila geneticist and an admirer of mutant dogs.

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City Hall is topped by a 37foot, 27-ton bronze sculpture of William Penn, cast by Alexander Milne Calder in 1893. In 1924, his son Alexander Stirling Calder sculpted the Swann Memorial Fountain that sits in Logan Square. A 10-minute walk farther up Benjamin Franklin Parkway and a climb up the famous Rocky steps (Raise your arms at the top!) will get you to the front door of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Right inside youll see The Ghost, a 1964 mobile by Alexander Stirlings son, Alexander Calder.

4. Three generations of sculptors on one street

Recommended soundtrack for your time in Philly: Expressway to Your Heart by the Soul Survivors and Together by the Intruders, both produced by local soul legends Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Rich Girl by Hall & Oates. Punk Rock Girl by the Dead Milkmen. Birdie Buschs version of City of Brotherly Love. Everything by the Roots. NPRs Fresh Air with Terry Gross (produced at Phillys WHYY). And dont forget the Nerd Nite podcast!

7. Tunes of brotherly love

GARY HARRIS

Weve hosted Nerd Nites in Philadelphia since December 2010. Our audience has heard about sexy serpent smells, lock picking, the Marcellus Shale, as well as the aforementioned ENIAC and Toynbee Tiles. Phillys Nerd Nite home is Frankford Hall, a beer garden in the Fishtown neighborhood. Pull up a bar stool, grab a liter of beer and a pretzel, and be square with us.
nerd nite
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8. Nerds, yo!

GEORGE WIDMAN

MICHELLE BLAND