7 Irish things that are awesome, even without booze

(photo: buycostumes.com)

along with New Year’s Eve and Cinco de Mayo, ’round these parts, we refer to St. Patrick’s Day as amateur night. it’s one of those  holidays where all the unseasoned drinkers come out of the woodwork and proceed to make asses out of themselves. going out is pretty much the last thing you want to do if you’re actually trying to enjoy the evening. all that got me wondering if i could even think of anything Irish or that has to do with Ireland that doesn’t involve drinking. ummm . . . to the Google machine! there’s definitely some awesome Irish out there. these shoes totally aren’t Irish, but you’ve gotta admit they’re pretty awesome. anyway, enjoy and have a fun St. Patty’s day!

1. the White House

Irish architect James Hoban‘s plan won the competition to design the White House. it closely resembles Ireland’s House of the Oireachtas Leinster House.

2. seasoned potato chips

(photo: PartyExcuses.com)

i mean with all those stereotypes about the Irish and potatoes, you knew there had to be some connection. while potato chips were actually an American invention, the idea of seasoning them with flavors like Cheese & Onion or Barbecue is totally Irish, thanks to good old Joe “Spud” Muphy.

3. chocolate milk

(photo: ZME Science)

chocolate, yuck! at least that’s what Sir Hans Sloane thought of it when he first tasted it in Jamaica in the 1600s. nothing a little milk and sugar couldn’t fix. and boom, this kids’ favorite was born.

4. color photography

Irish physicist, John Joly, invented the first successful process for producing color images from a single photographic plate. the Joly Colour Process used a glass photographic plate with vertical red, green and blue lines less than 0.1 mm wide printed on them, which acted as a series of fine filters.

5. the Titanic

(photo: Wikipedia)

the largest ship afloat in its day, the RMS Titanic built by the Harland and Wolf shipyard in Belfast unfortunately was no match for the even bigger iceberg that took her down on her maiden voyage.

6. the DeLorean

(photo: walls4joy.com)

who knew this awesome 80s ride with its famous gull-wing doors was actually produced in Dunmurry, a suburb of Belfast? the American sports car was the only model ever produced by the DeLorean Motor Company.

7. tattoo machine

(photo: Tattoodo)

Irish immigrant and New York tattoo artist, Samuel O’Reilley, gets credit for inventing the modern rotary tattoo machine, which was based on the rotary technology of Thomas Edison’s autographic printing pen. it was the first tattooing device that ran off of electricity.