Tragic Duel + 209 Years = Comedy Gold
In the centuries since Burr shot Hamilton, the duel has inspired some truly funny pop culture references
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
209 years ago today, Alexander Hamilton was shot by Aaron Burr at sunrise in Weehawken, NJ. In the centuries since, that duel became renowned as one of the most famous in history, inspiring a PBS documentary and a library of books. But amongst all the sober reflections are some truly funny pop culture references to the duel. (As we’ve written before, the more tragic an event, the more amusing it can become over the long term.) Here are some of the best and funniest riffs on this sad event.
The ‘Got Milk?’ campaign kicked off in 1993 with an ad featuring Hamilton-Burr history nut who missed his moment of glory due to a lack of milk.
The ad was later inducted into the Hall of Fame for advertising.
The immortal SNL digital short Lazy Sunday features the line “you can call us Aaron Burr from the way we’re dropping Hamiltons.”
On YouTube, you can find a parody of the duel, with coverage by ESPN anchors.
There’s more. An improv duo called Code Duello based a play on the duel. Some inventive folks even re-imagined the duel as an epic rap battle. And last, but certainly not least, the incredible (and—fair warning—incredibly profane) version of the duel shown on Drunk History, with Michael Cera as Alexander Hamilton.
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