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The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

newyorker.com

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Re: The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

#11

Post by excalibur »

> Often he and the hostess, Bernice Philbin, would be the first two people there, and they would have a polite conversation before Irving took his place in his booth—the first half circle to your left as you came in—and ordered breakfast: scrambled eggs back in the days when people ate eggs, and, more recently, banana and granola with skim milk.

TIL that my last 30+ years of egg eating has been a faux pas.

Re: The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

#12

Post by tmiku »

blakesterz wrote: post #4

I don't know why I found this so interesting to read. After the first few paragraphs I wondered why this was in The New Yorker, afterall, this is about a place in CA. The answer did appear, eventually... “My story begins on the Lower East Side of New York,” he said...

The NY specificity implied by the publication name is archaic. Apart from the event listings or performance/exhibit reviews, The New Yorker's long form coverage has been nationally (sometimes globally) focused for decades, albeit through the lens of what America's coastal elites find interesting.

Re: The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

#13

Post by bena »

excalibur wrote: post #11

> Often he and the hostess, Bernice Philbin, would be the first two people there, and they would have a polite conversation before Irving took his place in his booth—the first half circle to your left as you came in—and ordered breakfast: scrambled eggs back in the days when people ate eggs, and, more recently, banana and granola with skim milk. TIL that my last 30+ years of egg eating has been a faux pas.

This might have been during the "eggs are bad for you" part of the egg cycle.

So it's kind of a tongue-in-cheek jab at contemporary cultural mores.

Re: The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

#16

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

excalibur wrote: post #11

> Often he and the hostess, Bernice Philbin, would be the first two people there, and they would have a polite conversation before Irving took his place in his booth—the first half circle to your left as you came in—and ordered breakfast: scrambled eggs back in the days when people ate eggs, and, more recently, banana and granola with skim milk. TIL that my last 30+ years of egg eating has been a faux pas.

The article is from 1993. If you are old enough to remember that time, it was indeed when official nutritionist advice was a complete failure. Eggs were advised against because it was thought their high cholesterol levels raised blood cholesterol, which is false for most people who consume a moderate amount of eggs. This is the time during which fat was demonized (anyone remember SnackWell's???), the "foot pyramid" was the rule of the day that was based on eating lots of bread, pasta and carbs.

Re: The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

#17

Post by 1024core »

profsummergig wrote: post #15

I was thinking: "an entire article about a guy who used to tan at a hotel pool... when we start focusing on such trifles, it's usually a foreshadowing of some major upheaval coming." Then I saw the year of publication: 1993.

I wonder how much of the HN readership was not even born then....?

Re: The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

#18

Post by bena »

permo-w wrote: post #8

>scrambled eggs back in the days when people ate eggs do people not eat eggs anymore?

Eggs had a rough go of it in the 90s. There were studies where it seemed like even looking at an egg would cause your cholesterol to sky rocket and kill you.

Re: The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

#20

Post by bena »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #16
excalibur wrote: post #11

> Often he and the hostess, Bernice Philbin, would be the first two people there, and they would have a polite conversation before Irving took his place in his booth—the first half circle to your left as you came in—and ordered breakfast: scrambled eggs back in the days when people ate eggs, and, more recently, banana and granola with skim milk. TIL that my last 30+ years of egg eating has been a faux pas.

The article is from 1993. If you are old enough to remember that time, it was indeed when official nutritionist advice was a complete failure. Eggs were advised against because it was thought their high cholesterol levels raised blood cholesterol, which is false for most people who consume a moderate amount of eggs. This is the time during which fat was demonized (anyone remember SnackWell's???), the "foot pyramid" w…

I actually liked their devil's food cookie things. And after a quick glimpse at the internet, I am not alone in that. It's probably the major thing they're known for now.
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