Throughout history, and across America today, seltzer’s fizzy flavor has attracted a loyalty and passion that often defies logic. Seltzer is more popular now than at any time in the past, reflecting the desires and cultural expectations of those who partake of its bubbles. How did such an ordinary drink become so extraordinary?

In this program, author of Seltzertopia: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Drink (Behrman House 2018), Barry Joseph, will share the story of seltzer. From health to refreshment, cultural identity, and even comedy, he will explore the ways we infuse this unassuming beverage with meaning.

Discover:

• Why an eighteenth-century minister “invented” seltzer to save the British navy
• Why doctors once believed seltzer could cure everything from scurvy to gout
• How the Three Stooges turned seltzer siphons into carbonated comedy
• Why one seltzer owner leaped off a building to demonstrate his love of seltzer
• What is seltzer, anyway?

Please see the Zoom link in your order confirmation email. This program is entirely virtual.

Registration for this Zoom program is pay-what-you-wish. The following are suggested amounts for each ticket type:
Adults $12
Seniors $10
Students $8

REGISTER HERE

Barry Joseph has spent two decades spreading the gospel of seltzer. As founder of Barry Joseph Consulting, he innovates solutions for learning in a digital age. Based in New York City, he has 25+ years expertise in digital engagement in the non-profit sector, working with museums such as The Field Museum, the Museum of the Moving Image, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Most notably, Joseph spent six years at the American Museum of Natural History developing and overseeing a digital learning strategy for the Education Department and leading evaluation and assessment within an internal group prototyping digital engagement with visitors within the permanent halls. Museum-related work in the past year includes founding the new Brooklyn Seltzer Museum and leading development of a video game exhibit in NYC’s Harlem. He is currently an adjunct professor at New York University in their Learning Technology and Experience Design graduate program. His most recent book—Matching Minds with Sondheim: The Puzzles and Games of the Broadway Legend—comes out in Sept, 2025. Learn more at his website or on his blog.

About the Museum at Eldridge Street:
The Museum at Eldridge Street is housed in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a magnificent National Historic Landmark that has been meticulously restored. Opened in 1887, the synagogue is the first great house of worship built in America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Today, it is the only remaining marker of the great wave of Jewish migration to the Lower East Side that is open to a broad public who wishes to visit Jewish New York. Exhibits, tours, public programs, and education initiatives tell the story of Jewish immigrant life, explore architecture and historic preservation, inspire reflection on cultural continuity, and foster collaboration and exchange between people of all faiths, heritages, and interests.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Museum at Eldridge Street, Louise Bartolotta (2024); "Seltzertopia" (Behrman House 2018) book cover.