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Post a mad fact about your home town

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:56 pm
by Nishlord
During the Black Death, Nottingham was the centre of the British tanning industry. One area - the Lace Market - was so awash with shit and blood that not even the rats would go there, making it the most unaffected area for plague in Europe.

Nottingham used to be called Snottingham, as it was founded by a Viking called Snot.

A village on the outskirts of town - Gotham - gave New York its original name and Batman his home city (and was also the ancestral grounds of Bill Clinton). One time, the village pretended to be mad (painting green apples red, attempting to drown eels, etc) to avoid a visit by King John which would have led to heavy taxation.

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:01 pm
by The Seer
The San Fernando Valley, home of the original "Valley Girl", was actually originally settled by the Chinese...

In what is now the valley center, a Chinaman stood on a walnut covered knoll, looked at the horizon, and muttered "ahhh, van niiize", hence the city of Van Nuys was born....

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:33 pm
by quacker backer
I call bull shyte to that last factoid

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:36 pm
by WhatsMyName
In my town, women can now travel on inside of bus.

Homosexual are no longer need to wear blue hats.

And the age of consent has been
raised, to 8 years old.

Image

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:56 pm
by Wolfman
Tom Cruise was born in Syracuse --
the horrah !!!

just for fun--
say the name of his new baby daughter
3 times really fast !!

(Suri Cruise)

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:01 pm
by Bobby42
Columbus, Ohio:

It has a mayor with undisputed manhood.
It is the homeless capital of the midwest.
It has a suburban high school with its own lacrosse scandal.
It has no life beyond Ohio State Football.
White Castle restaurants.
2nd highest Somali population in the nation.
Unofficial city mascot is the cow.

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:12 pm
by Jay in Phoenix
San Diego...

San Diego. Mm! Drink it in. It always goes down smooth.

What a beautiful view, Mr. Burgundy.

I know. I love this city. It's a...it's a fact. It's the greatest city in the history of mankind. Discovered by the Germans. They named it San Diago, which of course in German means a whale's vagina.

Re: Post a mad fact about your home town

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:13 pm
by Jack
Nishlord wrote:During the Black Death, Nottingham was the centre of the British tanning industry. One area - the Lace Market - was so awash with shit and blood that not even the rats would go there, making it the most unaffected area for plague in Europe.

Nottingham used to be called Snottingham, as it was founded by a Viking called Snot.

A village on the outskirts of town - Gotham - gave New York its original name and Batman his home city (and was also the ancestral grounds of Bill Clinton). One time, the village pretended to be mad (painting green apples red, attempting to drown eels, etc) to avoid a visit by King John which would have led to heavy taxation.
WOW!!

Thank you for that useless trivia!!

I actually mean it!! I love little useless facts that noone (almost noone knows)..


SNOTTINGHAM!! and Gotham Trivia in one post!!
RACK the Nishlord!!

****

Okay, now for the State and City where I was born...

What U. S. State has the longest official name??

The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
(May win you Big Money on Jeopardy some day)

**


Is mentioned in the first line of an Eagles Classic

She came from providence,
The one in rhode island
Where the old world shadows hang
Heavy in the air
She packed her hopes and dreams
Like a refugee
Just as her father came across the sea...

(The Last Resort)


****

MAD FACT: IN RI, By law, you may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.

***

Providence currently has a gay mayor. He replaced Mayor Buddy Cianci who is a 2 time convicted felon!

A link to some of Buddy's exploits

**

Providence has strong MAFIA ties



Family Guy characters live in Quahog, Rhode Island (fictional) but many references are made to Providence!..Providence Skyline
Three buildings appear in the background of the establishing shot of the Griffin residence in pretty much every episode. These are real, recognizable buildings in the Providence skyline: the Hospital Trust Tower (in many nighttime scenes the top story is lit up just like the real-life building), Fleet Center, and the Industrial Trust building (sometimes called the Superman Building because of its resemblance to the Daily Planet Building in the Superman TV series of the 1950s). The DVD commentary for episode 6, "The Son Also Draws," notes the real-life origin of these three buildings. They also sometimes show up on the calendar that hangs in the Griffins' kitchen.

In episode 12, "Love Thy Trophy," Peter has a flashback in which he is stopped by a cop and tries to get out of a ticket by flashing his nipple. The highway curve where Peter pulls over reminds us of the curve on 95 North just north of the Statehouse, and the skyline in the background is familiar, as well, reminiscent of College Hill on Providence's East Side. But closer inspection shows the buildings are archetypes, not specific buildings.

Image

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:18 pm
by GrizBearStare
Fremont, NE


Birthplace of Dr. Harold Edgerton, inventor of the strobe-light.

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:44 pm
by The Assassin
Las Vegas,NV

Was founded by Mormons.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:04 am
by Cicatrix
Bobby42 is not the mayor of Columbus.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:08 am
by campinfool
Charles Whitman just shot a bunch of people from the UT Tower back in the 60's. Austin, home to one of the original shooting rampage lunatics. Something to be proud of.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:19 am
by Bobby42
Cicatrix is a small village constable

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:20 am
by Nishlord
This town is nowhere near mine (by UK standards), but I'm sure you'd be interested to hear why people from Hartlepool are called 'Monkey Hangers'

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:36 am
by BSmack
East Rochester, NY- Hometown of Playboy Playmate of the Year Julie Lynn Cialini

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Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:37 am
by TenTallBen
Lafayette, LA - Hometown to Governor Kathleen "Pray the Hurricane Down" Blanco. :meds:

On a brighter note, former Super Bowl Doritos Girl Ali Landry is from here...

Image

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:53 am
by Wolfman
nothing beats two phony
pin up "photos" !!

might as well post cartoons guys !!

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:09 am
by Screw_Michigan
grand rapids, mi:

known as the furniture city, used to be the biggest manufacturer of furniture in the nation in the late 1800s.

first city to add fluoride to its drinking water (1945).

home to the headquarters of the christian reformed church.

major settling point of dutch immigrants in the late 1800s.

jerry ford is from (east) grand rapids.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:15 am
by TenTallBen
Wolfman wrote:nothing beats two phony
pin up "photos" !!

might as well post cartoons guys !!
What are you talking about? Don't you have to be feeling up some unsuspecting housewives titties right about now?

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:41 am
by OCmike
Davis, CA - Named in honor of one of the area's first residents: The Davidson family. When the proprietor was putting up a sign for Davidson's Hardware, the sign was too long, so they shortened it to Davis Hardware, and the name stuck.

Davis is famous for it's Toad Tunnel, which was put in at a cost of $14,000 to give migrating toads a safe means to cross the road. Unfortunately, the toads have never used the tunnel and continue to get squished on the road. Another wonderful use of taxpayer dollars...

Davis has also decided for whatever reason to declare itself a hate free city. Not sure what purpose such a declaration might prove, other than that the week that measure was enacted must've been painfully slow in the City Council chambers.

Davis also declared itself a nuclear free zone, even though there is no nearby nuclear reactor, no nearby nuke waste dump and if someone wanted to they could truck nuke waste right down I-80 (which runs through the middle of town) at any time they wished. Pointless some?

Davis also declared that there was too much light pollution in the city making it too difficult for residents to see the stars. So they drafted a resolution replacing any globe-type streetlights with ones pointing directly down only, and required all lights to be shielded.

See what happens when ultra-libs are put in charge of things? I don't mean that as hyperbole, either. Davis, 90% of its residents and politicians are so far to the left of the spectrum (and have been for decades) that even the lefties here would roll their eyes at half of the shit they come up with.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:59 am
by PrimeX
I basically live in Mexico.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:02 am
by War Wagon
Kansas City, MO.

More fountains than Rome, more Boulevards than Paris.

But who gives a fuck? The hottie posted below by TTB is probably the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on.

RACK!

Ben get's a lifetime pass.

Image

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:32 am
by Wolfman
hey TTB---

thanks for the laugh !!

and I really did laugh

you're a cool dude

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:35 am
by RadioFan
PrimeX wrote:I basically live in Mexico.
The upside of H-town has its sidesteps, loco vato.

Tulsa had a race-based riot in 1921, which pretty much killed what was deemed as the "Black Wall Street" at the time, but I'll share something that the locals know about ... the "center of the Earth," basically, a strange confluence of city streets, intersections and interstates, near downtown, in which there's an very long echo, that carries no matter what.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:43 am
by Dinsdale
OCmike wrote:Davis, CA

Ahhhh, Davis, CA. I'm not from there, but I'm still sporting a caved-in ribcage from injuries sustained in Davis Freaking California.

It wasn't quite as painful as it sounds, since I had just finished my second bottle of scotch of the day, so i was somewhat numb.

Still fucking hurt like hell, though. I slept right where I landed.

Two bottles of scotch in a day = done freaking liquored-btw. I'd recommend against, as a general rule. Especially when it's like 3000 degrees outside...because Davis is where the heat from Sacramento goes to escape the heat.


Big Ali Landry fan here, as well.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:49 am
by Moving Sale
SLO-
First Motel
First Smoking Ban
Oh and...
First Jamba Juice:oops:

Nish,
The oldest bar in the world?

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 3:02 am
by OCmike
Dinsdale wrote:
OCmike wrote:Davis, CA
...because Davis is where the heat from Sacramento goes to escape the heat.
Yeah, a healthy UNRACK to the week in summer where it's 110+ and 90% humidity. That'll age you QUICK.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:02 am
by Husker4ever
Grand Island, NE

Birthplace of Henry Fonda
Meth capital of Nebraska
Popular birdwatcher's destination (Sandhill cranes, whooping cranes, and countless species of wild birds)
And that's about all she wrote...

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:09 am
by TenTallBen
They have islands in Nebraska? I've been there and I didn't see any.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:15 am
by Husker4ever
TenTallBen wrote:They have islands in Nebraska? I've been there and I didn't see any.
The original townsite was located on a large island in the middle of the meandering platte river which branches into several channels. Before flood control efforts, the platte could get up to a mile wide and about 3 inches deep. Lots of channels, backwaters, and wetland marshes which is why it's a major stopping point for all those migratory birds.

A local high school team is known as the "Islanders" and they even have artificial palm trees in front of the school, I shit you not. :lol:

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:09 am
by Nishlord
Moving Sale wrote:SLO-
First Motel
First Smoking Ban
Oh and...
First Jamba Juice:oops:

Nish,
The oldest bar in the world?
Oh, but of course - Nottingham is the home of the world's oldest pub, the Olde Trip To Jerusalem, which dates back to 1189 and was so-called because it was a stop-off area for Northern knights on their way to the Crusades. There's also the Bell Inn (dating back to 1276, when it was a monastery refectory) and the Salutation Inn, which goes back to 1240 and was a recruitment area for both the Caviliers and the Roundheads.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:26 pm
by Risa
http://www.terrehaute.com/


whoopee.

but a mad fact?
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/onl ... /vek2.html

....The strategy was especially successful in Texas. With a membership of perhaps as many as 100,000, the Klan used its united voting block to elect state legislators, sheriffs, judges, and other local and state officials. Its greatest success, however, was in securing the election of Earle Bradford Mayfieldqv to the United States Senate in 1922. The following year the Klan established firm control of city governments in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Wichita Falls, and the order probably had a majority in the House of Representatives of the Thirty-eighth Texas Legislature, which met in January. By the end of 1922 the paid membership swelled to as many as 150,000, and Kluxers looked forward to even greater triumphs. The year 1923, however, was the high-water mark for the Klan. Its candidate for governor, Felix D. Robertson, a member of the Dallas Klan, was defeated in 1924 by Ma (Miriam Amanda) Ferguson,qv and dissension within the organization and growing anti-Klan sentiment combined to weaken its influence greatly. By 1928 the membership had declined to around 2,500, and most prominent supporters had left the fold. During the Great Depression,qv Klan strength waned even further. The fraternity continued its attack on blacks, Jews, and Catholics, but added New Deal politicians and labor organizers to its list of enemies. In 1939 Evans sold ownership of the Klan to James A. Colescott, a veterinarian from Terre Haute, Indiana, but Colescott was soon forced to dissolve the organization because of problems with back taxes and protests over the Klan's association with the German-American Bund.
How much is wrong with this picture?

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:00 pm
by Goober McTuber
Circleville, Ohio is home to the annual Pumpkin Show. For four days in the fall, they close down the streets for two blocks North, South, East and West in the center of town. They set up carnival rides and booths that sell everything imaginable made from pumpkins. They also display a lot of big pumpkins:

Image

Those are the weights written on the pumpkins. I shall patiently await Dinsdale’s assertion that some island in the middle of some river in the U & L regularly produces 2,000 lb pumpkins.


They also pick a Miss Pumpkin Show (for some reason, this contest never attracts the best looking local lovelies):

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For Diego’s viewing pleasure, they also have a junior event:

Image

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:05 pm
by AJ
RadioFan wrote:I'll share something that the locals know about ... the "center of the Earth," basically, a strange confluence of city streets, intersections and interstates, near downtown, in which there's an very long echo, that carries no matter what.

I lived in Tulsa for 14 years and never heard that.

Where is the confluence?

TIA

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:46 pm
by The Whistle Is Screaming
Where I live and grew up as opposed to where I was born, the "Greater Binghamton" area has to it's credit ...

The birthplace of IBM
Rod Serling lived and went to Highschool here
Edwin A. Link invented the flight simulator here
Billy Martin died here
Spiedies were "created" here (google for info)

I'm sure there's more, but that's enough for now.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:47 pm
by Cicero
Tampa is popularly known as the "Lightning Capital of the World", due in part to the frequent, dangerous and (on rare occasions) deadly lightning strikes.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:09 pm
by Terry in Crapchester
LeRoy, NY --

Formerly a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Birthplace of Jell-O.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:10 pm
by Bizzarofelice
current address of a one Marshall Faulk

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:17 pm
by KatMode
Home of the tornado with the strongest winds ever recorded (318 mph).

(edit for correct specifics)

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:32 pm
by MgoBlue-LightSpecial
Screw_Michigan wrote:grand rapids, mi:

known as the furniture city, used to be the biggest manufacturer of furniture in the nation in the late 1800s.

first city to add fluoride to its drinking water (1945).

home to the headquarters of the christian reformed church.

major settling point of dutch immigrants in the late 1800s.

jerry ford is from (east) grand rapids.
What he said.