StaggShire

Kay, so the two hours tour got a little long at the end... but it was not as long as I thought it was going to be and the first hour in particular went by really quickly!

I loved the attitudes and funny little jokes of the cute old guys that ran the museum. I really liked how they switched off giving the tour, so we didn't listen to just one person the whole time or even half the time. I've told like seven people about it since I went, and was really impressed by what I learned there.

I had never learned that Gutenberg changed his name from Goosemeat, so I thought that was pretty funny. I also didn't realize there was so much that went into inventing the printing press. It was really cool that we got to see them mold a letter and got to the molten metal set out to cool on the concrete slab. I also loved learning that he had six crews and six presses. I agree that it was inspiration that made him to do that. The fact that we still use today basically the same formula that he came up with hundreds of years ago is awesome. It was also amazing that there wasn't an advancement in the printing press until almost four hundred years after Gutenberg. He really was ahead of his time.

As far as Benjamin Franklin goes, I'm remember learning before that he was a printer but I'd completely forgotten and I thought that was sweet. When I was standing in the room I saw a frame that contained Benjamin Franklin's epitaph in it and it was as follows,

The body of B. Franklin, Printer
(Like the Cover of an Old Book
Its Contents torn Out
And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding)
Lies Here, Food for Worms.
But the Work shall not be Lost;
For it will (as he Believ'd) Appear once More
In a New and More Elegant Edition
Revised and Corrected
By the Author.

I thought that was so beautiful! My heart stirred when I read it. I also loved learning about where the phrase, "Mind your p's and q's probably came from." I am a Spanish Translation major, and am always super interested in word choice and idioms. I thought it was so cool how the Lord must have given strength to the print shop boys to be able to print so quickly, and I really appreciated the testimony born by one of the tour guides about the printing press being a device of the Restoration. I loved hearing the little details about President Monson's visit and playing with the little poodle was fun too. I definitely want to go back with my husband. Oh, and I thought it was awesome that they are hoping to be able to take every missionary that goes into the MTC through there. I think that will be invaluable to their testimonies and a really cool thing to share with people! It'll also be great press for the museum.