That’s the question that we’re posing to you this afternoon after our blind faith in Philadelphia tour guides has finally been Lasik-corrected. What we’ve learned (and would have questioned had we ever actually been on a tour of Philly or paid attention to the words coming out of faux Benny Franklin’s mouth) is that most guides aren’t up to snuff on their local history. Perhaps this is less an education-related gap of fact on their part, and can be blamed on the wonderful imaginations of those with silly jobs that require tedious costumes and a tolerance level for our most inane guests. Making up trivia is a lot easier than going by the book, they’re not really gonna fire you because it’s no fun to fill your job, and if anyone is smart enough, they’ll call you on it. Isn’t a lively debate with an 8-year old from Tennessee who happens to be a Betsy Ross buff a nice change of pace in your shift? We thought so.

Turns out the city is not having that. City Council has decided that guides must pass history tests to keep their jobs. Uh, you mean they didn’t in the first place?

KYW: The Tour That Smells Like Horseshit Is, In Fact, Horseshit

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 4:42 pm.