Stacy Conradt
The Quick 10: For Whom the Liberty Bell Tolls
by Stacy Conradt - July 8, 2010 - 3:30 PM

q10

Legend has it that on July 8, 1776, the Liberty Bell rang out to summon Philadelphians to hear the first official reading of the Declaration of Independence. As with a lot of stories that store with “legend has it,” sadly, there’s probably not any truth to it. But it’s a nice thought, and to honor the legend, here are 10 quick facts about one of the most famous bells in the world.

1. There’s a typo on it. The inscription on the bell reads,

“Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof Lev. XXV X
By Order of the ASSEMBLY of the Province of PENSYLVANIA for the State House in Philada
Pass and Stow
Philada
MDCCLII”

Well, actually, it’s not a true typo. At the time, the double “N” wasn’t set in stone – if you can find old enough maps you’ll see that “Pensylvania” wasn’t an uncommon spelling. But it sure looks funny today.

2. You might be wondering what the heck “Pass and Stow” means. Don’t ponder too hard – it’s not a cryptic message. They’re actually just the last names of John Pass and John Stow, the two men who recast the bell after it cracked during testing shortly after its 1752 arrival.
3. Apparently recasting didn’t do much good for long, because as everyone knows, it cracked again. On February 22, 1846, the bell tolled for George Washington’s birthday. It rang for several hours, in fact, which was more than the bell could handle. That day, a small crack turned into a gigantic crack and the bell was retired forever when it was deemed unusable.

4. They did try to repair it one last time – in fact, the width of the crack is from the attempted repair job, not from the actual fracture.

5. You won’t hear the actual Liberty Bell ring, but you can hear its replica in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World in Orlando. It rings on holidays related to the Revolutionary War. And if you’re worried about authenticity, you won’t get much more authentic than this bell – it’s the only bell ever cast from the molds of the real Liberty Bell. Just like the original Liberty Bell once did, the replica rings in E flat.

6. It’s hard to imagine the magnificent Liberty Bell covered in manure, but it once was. After the American defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, people were worried the British would storm into town and melt down any metal they could get their hands on to make cannons. The solution? Eleven historic bells were hidden in carts and wagons and removed from the city under piles of hay and manure. Not very dignified, but it worked!

7. The British would have needed some serious muscle to steal the Liberty Bell anyway – at 2,000+ pounds, it’s definitely not something you can just make off with. The clapper alone is nearly 45 pounds. The bell is made of 70 percent copper, 25 percent tin and small amounts of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold and silver.

8. For quite some time, the bell was just referred to as “the State House bell.” It wasn’t given its famous moniker until the 1830s, when abolitionists recalled the bell’s inscription and decided it was a perfect symbol of their cause.

9. As far as we know, the bell hangs from its original yoke. It’s made from, appropriately, American Elm.

10. In 1996, Taco Bell took out a full page ad in The New York Times saying that they had purchased the Liberty Bell and would be changed the name to the Taco Liberty Bell. The date? April 1. Although it was a joke, many people were not amused, finding the publicity stunt to be in poor taste.

A bonus #11: There’s a replica of the Liberty Bell in every state. In 1950, the copies were made as part of a savings bond drive called “Save for Your Independence.” Curious as to where your state’s bell is? Wonder no more.

We lived in Philadelphia for a brief period of time and visited the bell just once. I remember being a bit surprised at how it’s just there – not behind glass or anything. Then again, I suppose it’s probably hard to do much damage to a 2,000 pound bell before someone catches you. Have you visited the bell? What did you think?

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Comments (19)

  1. I believe as a Girl Scout I visited the Liberty Bell (along with Betsy Ross’ house). But that was a LONG time ago.

    Great 10!

    posted by Beth on 7-8-2010 at 3:50 pm

  2. When I was about 8 yrs old, we visited Philadelphia and went to see the Liberty Bell. I promptly stuck my finger in the crack and it got stuck. One of the Park Rangers working there came over with a flask of baby oil and poured it over my stuck finger, and it slid right out. She told my mother that every day, dozens of people did the same thing!

    posted by Sue on 7-8-2010 at 4:02 pm

  3. When I was a kid my family went to the Liberty Bell, and the Olson twins were there at the height of their Full House fame. I remember my sister trying to manuever her camera so she could get a picture of them, but the Liberty Bell kept getting in the way.

    posted by Chris on 7-8-2010 at 4:09 pm

  4. 6. Once on Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe worked with a bell maker who use manure in the manufacture of the bell.

    posted by PartiallyDeflected on 7-8-2010 at 4:16 pm

  5. “It’s hard to imagine the magnificent Liberty Bell covered in manure, but it once was.”

    I remember a Dirty Jobs episode in a foundry that made bells. I believe that they used manure as a binder for the molds that the bells were cast in. Perhaps the Liberty Bell was born covered in manure.

    posted by foxhound on 7-8-2010 at 4:26 pm

  6. Stacy – you said “Then again, I suppose it’s probably hard to do much damage to a 2,000 pound bell before someone catches you. ” Well, there was that crazy guy about 9 years back that rang the Liberty Bell with a sledge hammer before being subdued by security. It got a few more dings in it from that attack. I’ve linked the best story I could find to my name.

    posted by Mavis on 7-8-2010 at 4:27 pm

  7. When I was a kid the Liberty Bell was still residing in Independence Hall. When our class went to see it we were not only allowed to touch the bell, we were encouraged to touch it.

    posted by Zantimisfit on 7-8-2010 at 4:33 pm

  8. I’ve lived in Philly for almost 8 years now (my boyfriend actually lives in Old City, like 2 blocks away from the bell) and I’ve never once seen the Liberty Bell! How sad!

    posted by Laura on 7-8-2010 at 4:33 pm

  9. I was quite shocked by how small it was. I always assumed that it was some huge thing.

    posted by anotherfascist on 7-8-2010 at 6:14 pm

  10. Technically, the bell was rung again in 1944. During the Philadelphia Tranportation company (ptc) strike, which was provoke by the elevation of african american men to the role of motormen on trolleys. An african american philadelphian struck the liberty bell with a large quartz paper weight screaming “liberty bell, that’s alot of bunk!”

    posted by Greg on 7-8-2010 at 8:02 pm

  11. Ah!! I always wondered why the crack looked so…manufactured? Thank you!

    posted by Rachel on 7-8-2010 at 9:46 pm

  12. bang a gong – gang a bong. let freedom ring.

    posted by dirk alan on 7-8-2010 at 9:52 pm

  13. Jason said to leave the title of a kid book for your consideration. I’d like to suggest any of the Encyclopaedia Brown series, The Great Brain – which, being straight out of Mormon culture should be a goldmine of arcane trivia, anything by S.E. Hinton – who, although female, wrote some pretty convincing male characters. Thanks.

    posted by Some Guy on 7-9-2010 at 4:49 am

  14. I do like the fact the Pennsylvania was sent one of the replicas, and so has two Liberty Bells. Missouri received two of the replicas.

    posted by Steven on 7-9-2010 at 6:53 am

  15. @ Steven–

    The one in Pennsylvania in Allentown is there because that is the church where the Liberty Bell was hid from the British during the war.

    I work next door to that one.

    posted by Wayne on 7-9-2010 at 10:04 am

  16. The neat thing about going to the Liberty Bell is each guide tells a different story. At the same time you can get yelled at because the big “crack” is a fixture not a crack (he told us that at least 20 times).

    Also they “tap” the bell a lot (for instance when they moved it)

    posted by Where in the World is Carmen San Diego on 7-9-2010 at 12:12 pm

  17. I knew where my state’s liberty bell replica was without having to look at the list… How nerdy is that?

    posted by Troy H. on 7-9-2010 at 1:16 pm

  18. Thanks to Barney Stinson, I kind of want to lick the Libert Bell now. Odd, since I’m a germaphobe…

    posted by M on 7-9-2010 at 1:52 pm

  19. i need to know who actually caused the crack. ive heard it was a boy who was told to ring the bell and their should be an article on it but i forget what it was called. btw- the person who cracked it wrote an article in the early 1900s apologizing for the event. :)

    posted by u were killed by: Halo on 7-21-2010 at 10:44 pm

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