Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with 4th

Non-explosive explosions

waterlily — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 09:00:14 -0800

What are some fun alternatives to fireworks for the 4th of July? My state is on fire. We will not be engaging in any fire-related activities. I'm collecting some fun ideas for celebrating the 4th without putting anyone in danger. I'm looking for ideas along the lines of Mentos & Diet Coke explosions or water-cannon type stuff, not "make red white and blue crafts". Things that require some engineering ahead of time are totally fine. Thanks!

Unique American food for an Australian 4th of July

mosessis — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:21:28 -0800

4th of July party in Australia: What uniquely American food can I serve that will be somewhat unusual for Australians? We're having a 4th party in Melbourne. I'm the only US person attending; all others will be Australian. I'm trying to plan a menu that will highlight some of the unique food the US has as well as give the attendees a chance to try food they might not have had before.

My problem: much of what I consider "typical American food", especially typical 4th bbq food, is also incredibly common here: hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, bbq baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw. They also have lots of Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Greek, Italian, even Mexican food here. Roast dinners (roast chicken, mashed potato, cranberry sauce, gravy) also very common here. Breakfast (pancakes etc) definitely common here.

What I've come up with so far: buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks, something cajunesque (maybe gumbo?), cornbread, sweet potato or pumpkin pie, ambrosia.

Can you think of anything else? I feel like there must be some unique, slightly unusual American dishes that I'm forgetting about.

What should a young couple do on a first-time visit to San Francisco, July 4th weekend?

whtthehecker — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:11:29 -0800

What should a young couple do on a first-time visit to San Francisco, July 4th weekend? I'm taking my soon to be 23 year old girlfriend to San Francisco for her upcoming birthday. I've already booked the Hotel Drisco after reading the reviews on TripAdvisor as I think it's more her style (older building with history, but not rundown). We'll be driving from Southern California so we'll have a car but from what I've read it doesn't seem like we'll need it.

I'm looking for some suggestions on places to go during our stay that first-time visitors should absolutely check out, preferably with some info on public transportation options to get there. They don't have to be family/kid friendly.

Also, since its July 4th weekend is there anything specialI should check out (I read on fireworks at Fisherman's Wharf) or places to avoid given the time? Any San Franciscan veteran tips?

NerdFilter: Should I buy the 4th Edition D&D Rules Books?

chunking express — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:28:29 -0800

NerdFilter: Should I buy the 4th Edition D&D Rules Books? Has anyone here played 4th edition? Is it any good? Reviews are mixed, but I find with anything remotely dorky people are fucking crazy. ("They got rid of THAC0? I will kill you Wizards of the Coast!")

I haven't played D&D in a very long time. I have the 2nd edition books, so I don't really have an emotional attachment to the 3rd edition rules. I'm also not entirely sure I'll be able to get anyone to play the game again, or if I'm actually interested in playing D&D again. There is a part of me that feels inexplicably drawn to the game all of a sudden. The 3 core books are on Amazon for $75, which would have been a crap load of money when I was 14, but isn't going to break the bank now that I am older and gainfully employed. That said, I really don't want to buy these books if they are a big pile of suck.

This is pretty rambling as questions go.

By the binky's red glare, diapers bursting in air...

mds35 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:12:40 -0800

Where near Boston can I find kid-friendly fireworks display? By kid-friendly, I mean somewhere we can drive to and from without having to be there hours in advance or wait for hours in traffic to get home. We have a 3-year-old and a 2-month-old and fireworks will take place hours after their bedtime, so ideally we'd like to see a display that we can go to without spending hours waiting for it.

We live in Roslindale and it's easy to get to some MetroWest locations as well as Quincy, Newton, Milton, etc.

take back the fourth!

bluenausea — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:29:13 -0800

Is anything exciting happening on on the eastern seaboard on the 4th of July? Like everyone else I have the fourth off, and like most everyone else, I want to go somewhere. I'm in DC, willing to drive or train 2-3 hours, and will happily consider all options, even those not particularly 4thy. Any advice on what cool stuff i'm missing in DC would be also be appreciated and also just general stuff on what's fun to do on this holiday... the last decade of independence days has been sort of lacklustre for me and I'd like to find a way to change that (other than becoming 10 again).

iPod abuse

Kiwi — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 10:35:43 -0800

Stop me hitting my iPod! My 4th gen iPod requires frequent slapping to encourage it to unfreeze (try Googling 'slap+ipod' to see what I mean). What does this particular 'fix' actually do? How do I fix my iPod in a more permanent way? It seems that since this slapping is often successful, there might be single problem that it is fixing? Loose HD connection or something?