Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - February 4, 2026 [TRex]

Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans of the post-cafe overnight variety. Was it time 30 minutes earlier? No, it wasn't.

Welcome to the Wednesday night ONT which means another edition of random overnight fun and games. Pull up a chair and sit a spell. Good will offerings of amusing puns are happily accepted. Pants are optional, but be advised that Virginia applies an additional tax to zippers. Be nice to your fellow commenters and AoS contributors.

[Top photo: Bridges of Pittsburgh, Dave DiCello]

Breaking News: 150-year-old bottle of alcohol found in Utah, tasted by experts

An archaeological team in Utah exhumed a bottle of alcohol estimated to be 150 years old - and experts gave it a taste test.

Ian Wright, Utah's state public archaeologist, said the bottle was among thousands of artifacts dating back to approximately 1870-1890 found on U.S. Forest Service land used by Alta ski resort.

Wright said the find is the only known intact bottle of alcohol to be found from the time period.

Wright's team enlisted the help of High West, Utah's oldest legal distillery, to analyze the bottle's contents.

Isaac Winter, director of distilling at High West, was the first to taste the liquid.

"I had a little bit of trepidation going into it, but you have to try it," Winter told FOX 13 Utah. "It didn't smell like gasoline, didn't smell like tobacco spit."

He said the flavor is "fruity, there's a little bit of leather, there's quite a bit of age on it."

The experts said the liquid appears to be a low-alcohol beer, rather than liquor. They are now hoping to recreate the beverage.

My caption-o-meter is broken. Maybe stick the old truism that if you can't say anything nice, then don't say it?

Department of Music Trivia

Maybe I am late to the game but I just learned that the same guy wrote "Dazed and Confused," the Army recruiting jingle "Be All that You Can Be," and the "I'm a Pepper" jungle for Dr. Pepper.

Jake Holmes is that man. I didn't know the story behind Dazed and Confused either.

Per Wikipedia, Holmes recorded Dazed and Confused for his debut album "'The Above Ground Sound' of Jake Holmes" in June 1967. The album consists of songs played on bass and two electric guitars with no drummer.

The Yardbirds heard Holmes perform the song in August 1967 when Holmes opened for them at Greenwich Village's Village Theater. The Yardbirds reworked it with a new arrangement during the brief time that Jimmy Page was part of the band. It became a centerpiece of their tours.

In 1968, Page's new group Led Zeppelin recorded their own version of "Dazed and Confused" with new lyrics and vocal line. It was released on their debut album.

Holmes attempted to contact Page in the 1980s regarding the songwriting credit, but received no response. Starting in 2010, Holmes filed multiple lawsuits against Page for copyright infringement. In August 2025, the case was settled out of court and the terms remain confidential.

And now you know...

Just quirky enough to qualify for the ONT:

Seems logical to me...

Wednesday ONT Travel Department

Trevi Fountain fee goes into effect as Rome seeks to manage tourist flow at celebrated water feature

Tourists hoping to get close to the Trevi Fountain had to pay 2 euros ($2.35) starting Monday as the city of Rome inaugurated a new fee structure to help raise money and control crowds at the one of the world's most celebrated waterworks.

"Before, there were problems accessing the fountain. There were a lot of people. Now, it's very easy," said Ilhan Musbah, a tourist from Morocco. "You can take photos, you feel good, you're comfortable, and on top of that 2 euros is not much."

The tourist fee was rolled out in conjunction with a new 5-euro (nearly $6) tourist ticket fee for some city museums. In both cases, Rome residents are exempt from the fees and the extra revenue will actually expand the number of city-run museums that are free for registered Roman residents.

"I think tourists were shocked by the fact that the city of Rome is only asking for 2 euros for a site of this level," Alessandro Onorato, Rome's assessor of tourism, said Monday. "I believe that if the Trevi Fountain were in New York, they would have charged at least $100."

I know what you're thinking. "Is there some way to combine soccer, rugby and basketball and make it way dumber?" Yes. Yes there is. Welcome to Bubbleball. I initially thought it was a parody but it seems to be real(ish).

With all of the sporting possibilities around the world, Bubbleball somehow gets airtime on ESPN.

The Pittsburgh police scanner keeps giving. Thank you people of Pittsburgh!

Live long form Led Zeppelin for the big ONT finish (naturally):

The Wednesday ONT has been approved by Statler and Waldorf. Written correspondence can be sent to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Are you lurking ?? The Washington Post is not reporting on this ONT. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM

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