A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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“I read old books because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
“I study old buildings because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
“Due to personal reasons, I’m still going to be fluffy this summer” (4/18)
“Do not honk at me. My life is worthless. I will kill us both” (bumper sticker) (4/18)
Entry in progress—BP16 (4/18)
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Entry from March 11, 2016
“Do you serve women at this bar?”/“No, you have to supply your own.”

An old bar/restaurant joke is:
 
Customer: “Do you serve women at this bar?”
Bartender: “No, sir, you have to bring your own.”

 
The joke possibly dates to 1936 (the Google Books date might be incorrect) and was very popular in the 1940s.
 
“To Serve Man” is a classic episode of the American science-fiction anthology television series The Twilight Zone that first aired on March 2, 1962.
 
     
Google Books
The Virginia Reel
Volume 13
1936
Pg. 40:
“Do you serve women at this bar?”
“No, you have to bring your own.” — Exchange
 
8 March 1940, The Times of India (New Delhi), “Current Topics,” pg. 6, col. 6:
Howzat?
Soldier: Do you serve women at this bar?
Barmaid: No. You have to bring your own.
 
17 May 1942, Lima (OH) News, “Dear Mark” by Mark Hellinger, pg. 8, col. 7:
“Dear Mark:” writes Al Fowler, of Los Angeles. “Maybe it’s old, but it is supposed to have happened out here only a few days ago.
 
“A well known actor, slightly stewed, rushed into a swanky night spot and grabbed the proprietor.
 
“‘Say,’ he demanded, ‘do you serve ladies here?’
 
“‘Certainly,’ replied the proprietor.
 
“‘Swell,’ enthused the stewy star. ‘Serve me one in the back room.’”
 
26 November 1942, Whitewright (TX) Sun, “Jokes,” pg. 3, col. 6:
Duffy—“Do you serve women at this bar?”
Bartender—“No, you have to bring your own.”
 
6 May 1943, Sacramento (CA) Bee, pg. 32, col. 6:
Not Served
(From the San Pedro United States Naval Receiving Station Beacon.)
Sailor—Do you serve women at the bar?
Bartender—No, you gotta bring your own.
   
Rawson Memorial Library (Cass City, MI)
29 March 1946, Cass City (MI) Chronicle, pg. 8, col. 3:
NOT ON MENU
Wally—Do you serve ladies at this counter?
Waitress—Oh, no, you have to bring your own!
 
Google Books
Quite Early One Morning
By Dylan Thomas
New York, NY: New Directions
1954
Pg. 100:
“Do you serve women at this bar?” “No,” says the barman, “you’ve got to bring your own.”
 
12 September 1954, Washington (DC) Post, “The Wit Parade” by E. E. Kenyon, American Weekly, pg. 24, col. 3:
Nunnally Johnson saw this sign at a Sunset Strip restaurant: “We do not serve women at the bar. You have to bring your own.”
 
Google Books
Executive’s Treasury of Humor for Every Occasion
By William R. Gerler
West Nyack, NY: Parker Publishing Company
1965
Pg. 65:
Walter: “Do you serve women at this bar?”
Bartender: “Nope, gotta bring your own.”
 
Google Groups: alt.abuse.recovery
Humor: “Isn’t that what you meant?”
Romana
11/14/01
Isn’t that what you meant???
 
“Do you serve women at this bar?”
“No, sir, you have to bring your own.”
     
Twitter
Aravind
‏@netcitizen
a readers digest joke—Do you serve ladies at this bar? No, sir, you have to supply your own.
10:30 PM - 13 Oct 2008
   
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of One-Liners
By Geoff Tibballs
London: Constable & Robinson Ltd
2012
Pg. ?:
Customer: “Do you serve women in this bar?”
Bartender: “No, sir, you have to bring your own.”
 
Facebook
Billy’s Pub Too
November 23, 2015 · Hollywood, FL, United States ·
Do you serve ladies at this bar? No, sir, you have to supply your own.

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityRestaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores • Friday, March 11, 2016 • Permalink


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