Snapshot · Fin vs History
Peter the Great's favourite party piece at state banquets was to serve an oversized pastry pie, from which an oiled, naked dwarf would emerge when the crust was cut.
Where this was said
At 23:10 · chapter starts 20:50
In exile from Moscow's conservative Orthodox world, Peter gravitates toward the German Quarter — an island of Lutheran, Lutheran modernity that Fin notes is hilariously the 'juicy bit' of an otherwise backwards city. Here he meets Franz Lefort, a Swiss soldier of fortune who becomes his closest companion, and the two build a lavish party mansion extension dedicated to excess. Peter's lifelong fascination with physical difference takes shape: he assembles what he calls a 'menagerie of freaks' — dwarves, giants, people with extreme deformities, all brought to him as gifts. The famous state-banquet party piece crystallises here: a massively oversized pie is placed before guests, the crust is cut, and an oiled, naked dwarf slithers out. [1] — Fin Taylor "Peter the Great's go-to party piece was to serve guests an enormous pastry pie at state banquets, from which an oiled, naked dwarf would sl…" 23:10 Horatio's verdict: timeless physical comedy.
Peter the Great stood approximately 6 feet 8 inches tall, making him an imposing and immediately recognizable figure.
Peter the Great's go-to party piece was to serve guests an enormous pastry pie at state banquets, from which an oiled, naked dwarf would slither out when the crust was cut. Comedy that is, genuinely, 300 years old and still works.
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