It’s a wet, cold Friday afternoon and
the atmosphere at Symphony Hall is
getting steamy, but only in the literal
sense. In the moments before the
Boston Symphony Orchestra begins
its matinee performance, an elegant
if bedraggled gray-haired woman
makes her way through the crowd,
the hem of her fur-lined raincoat
dripping. At Row Y she encounters a
distinguished-looking acquaintance,
who asks, “How was Sweden? Did
you have a nice trip?”
Opened in 1900, Symphony
Hall is only slightly older than the
majority of those
who attend
its afternoon
concerts. Many
people here use
wheelchairs, canes
or respirators. Some
have had subscriptions since they
were children, their seat allocations
handed down through generations.
In a city known increasingly for
being young, stylish and cutting-
edge (nearby MIT is mounting
robot
operas), the BSO matinee remains a
Brahmin stronghold.
Halting at Row Y, the woman
slowly, carefully starts to remove
her clear plastic rain kerchief.
The question still hangs in the
air—
How was Sweden?
—
and some
of the people within earshot lean
in to hear the answer. “Oh, yes,”
she says finally, setting down her
gear and resting her knee on one
of the leather seats. “Sweden was
wonderful. No boots, no umbrel-
las, no raincoats. We were driven
everywhere in a limousine. I loved
it!” The eavesdroppers, satisfied,
return to their programs.
Then, with cheery nonchalance,
the woman adds, “When we got
home, I said to my husband, ‘Dear,
why don’t we use that Nobel money
to buy a limousine of our own?’”
—
LLOYD SCHWARTZ
BOSTON
ENCORE AT
SYMPHONY HALL
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST AT A CLASSIC
BRAHMIN REDOUBT
THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
has a habit of se ing records, so
it wasn’t the biggest surprise ever to learn that this month
theMiddleEast countrywill unveil theworld’s largest gate.
This feat will take its place alongside the U.A.E.’s current
and former world records: tallest skyscraper (2,717 feet),
longest chopsticks (22 feet) and most clothespins clipped
to a hand in one minute (48). Currently, the U.A.E. holds
102
records—and the number could have been higher.
Rejected applications from the country, as a Guinness
World Records rep recently revealed, include “smallest
underwater library” and “someone who claimed to be able
to sleep for three continuous days.”
—
CHRIS WRIGHT
BIGGER, LONGER, SPENDIER
THE U.A.E. ATTEMPTS TO ADD ANOTHERWORLD RECORD TO ITS SIZABLE STASH
HEIGHT OF
WORLD’S
LARGEST GATE:
82
FEET
PRICE OF WORLD’S
MOST EXPENSIVE
COCKTAIL:
$7,439
WEIGHT OF
WORLD’S
BIGGEST BOOK:
1.5
TONS
HEFT OF WORLD’S
BIGGEST COIN-LIKE
MEDALLION:
409
POUNDS
ESTIMATED
VALUE OF
THAT BOOK:
$3MILLION
LENGTH OF WORLD’S
LONGEST CAKE*:
8,000
FEET
PRICE PER FOOT:
$10
PRICE PAID FOR
WORLD’S MOST
EXPENSIVE
LICENSE PLATE:
$14.3MILLION
NAME OF MANWHO
CLIPPED 48 CLOTHES-
PINS TO HIS HAND*:
MOHAMMED
AHMED ELKHOULY
TIME IT TOOK 5,000
PEOPLE TO EAT
WORLD’S LARGEST
BOWL OF SPAGHETTI*:
1
HOUR
WEIGHT OF
WORLD’S BIGGEST
KEBAB*:
1,031
POUNDS
VALUE OF WORLD’S
MOST EXPENSIVE
CHRISTMAS TREE:
$11 MILLION
*
DENOTES WORLD RECORD THAT HAS SINCE BEEN BROKEN BY ANOTHER COUNTRY
26
DECEMBER 2012
•
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