Trivial Trivia - taking trivia to new levels

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Couldn't I be Pepto Bismol instead of Castoroil? I look prettier in pink...

Which reminds me of a Surratt House story: Those of you who have visited or seen pictures know that Surratt House is painted Yankee red (much to my disgust!). It's just an accepted fact that every Southern Maryland frame home built before 1950 is supposed to be white with green shutters...

During the restoration, the architect was able to determine that most of the weatherboarding was original and a paint analysis was done. The first coat of paint was red oxide - a typical barn primer of the day. There is also an 1865 description of the house by a reporter who describes it as appearing to be a red barn until he rode closer and saw that it was the infamous Surratt House.

When the restoration returned the house to its red appearance, the old-timers were quite upset -- especially since the long front porch of the late-1800s had also been removed. They were certain that their landmark was being ruined. Luckily, they were amenable to listening to the facts.

However, over the years, we had a continuing problem with the paint flaking off as fast as we could put it on. It was as if the Southern boards did not want to hold Yankee red paint. At one point, I actually asked if one of the original layers had been whitewash. Having been raised in an old home, I knew that whitewash is not friendly to other paint.

After about ten years of repainting the house every two to three years, we called in the higher-ups from Benjamin Moore Paints to consult. They recommended stripping all layers of everything off the house and starting over again. Yes, there was some whitewash present. They then supplied us with a top primer - which was Pepto Bismol pink. The house was painted with that and allowed to thoroughly dry for weeks before applying the red paint again.

Talk about a neighborhood that went up in arms! I could not go to the grocery store or church or the drug store without someone attacking me wanting to know if we were going to leave the house that color. It got to the point where I said, "Yes, and we're putting pink flamingos on the lawn!"