Haha. Might swap out next week’s wonderstate subscription…

I saw a ruby bag on one of the promo shorts but didn’t know what was going on. Just assumed Justin v was a big ruby fan (as one ought)

There is also an interim version of the position that does not require being located in Dubuque.

Those two are definitely tops. I also really like Pasolini’s version of Matthew and Joaquin Phoenix’s Jesus in Mary Magdalene. If we include peplum films there are IMO more right answers: Ben Hur is still great in my book, Life of Brian, Book of Clarence, and others

Okay, i updated the thread bsky.app/profile/nick...

Lew Wallace's novel _Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ_ was published in 1880 and became a merchandise blockbuster.

At the beginning of the 20th cent., one could buy Ben-Hur themed coffee, cigars, flour, bicycles, shoes, perfume, and much more.

Or ride a Ben-Hur roller coaster.

The third operated at Kansas City's Electric Park from 1913 until the entire park burned down in a fire in 1925. Walter Cronkite apparently witnessed the fire, writing, “One night after closing it burned in a spectacular fire. The Ferris wheel seemed to turn as the flames climbed up its sides."

Another operated on the opposite American coast. "The Ben Hur Racers" operated on Coney Island from 1908–1923.