Trivia

A collection of trivial stuff...some original, some not...in any case, credit is certainly due to all the originators of this stuff...

The Point

The Point, Pittsburgh, PALock 4, Monongahela River, Charleroi, PAWondering what the background in the banner at the top of the page is?  Well, it's a collage of the "Point" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River.  It shows the Point circa 1920.  The picture on the left is a contemporary view of the Point.  The picture to the right is of the US Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam #4 on the Monongahela River about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh near a town called Charleroi.

In addition to Charleroi, there is another town close to Lock 4 named Monessen.  Charleroi was home to a glass factory and takes its name from Charleroi, Belgium, which was a major producer of glass products...and a lot of the original glassworkers were indeed Belgian immigrants.  Monessen had steel mills and a cast iron foundry.  It is named after the Monongahela (i.e., Mon) River and Essen, Germany, which was at the time a major steel production center.  One of the major reasons for locating the factories along the rivers was the need for a low-cost, dependable way to transport the primary energy source needed to run the factories, which was coal.  Southwestern Pennsylvania also had large deposits of soft, or bituminous, coal, much of which was transported from the coal mines to the factories by river barge.  Hence the need for the locks and dams to make sure the river was navigable year-round!

Filed under: 
Trivia
The Point
Charleroi
Monessen
Pittsburgh
Mon Valley

Big Jim the Cowboy

Giving back to the community...

Bentleyville, PA

There's a small town named Bentleyville off of Exit 32 of Interstate 70 in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Until recently, Bentleyville was known mainly as the home of a busy Truck Stop and a Best Western Hotel, both of which were quite visible to travelers along Interstate 70.  On the 9th of June, 2007, Bentleyville acquired another landmark.  His name is Big Jim the Cowboy and this is his story.

Big Jim lived for many years at the Krutz Welding Company on Twilight Hollow Road, which is a few miles east of Bentleyville.  Krutz Welding was no longer in business and the property had been sold, so Big Jim had to find a new home.  He put himself up for sale on eBay, but the reserve was not met.  Other attempts to find a new home for Big Jim were also unsuccessful and he was in danger of joining the ranks of the homeless.  But, at the last moment, a kind benefactor stepped into the breech and offered Big Jim a new home.  And, in addition, on the day Big Jim moved into his new home, invited all the townsfolk over for a free barbecue, musical entertainment, a petting zoo and pony rides for the kids, an antique auto show, and more.

Big Jim the Cowboy

The benefactor was Dr. Kamlish Gosai, a prominent local physician, who also happened to be the owner of the Bentleyville Best Western Hotel.  Big Jim now stands guard 24x7 at the hotel, with his trusty six-shooter pointed westward.  And is visible to all traveling that stretch of Interstate 70.

Big Jim is quite happy with his new home, a new coat of paint, a fancy pedestal to stand on, with a plaque that summarizes his history and vital statistics.  If you ever happen to be in the area, be sure to stop in Bentleyville and say hello to Big Jim the Cowboy.  And if you happen to meet up with him, thank Dr. Gosai for rescuing Big Jim and giving him a new home his community can be proud of.

You can learn more about Big Jim by searching Google for "Krutz Welding Big Jim."  And, take a look here to view more pictures of Big Jim, some of which show the amazingly detailed work done by the artist/welder James Krutz, Sr.

Big Jim the Cowboy Dedication
Plaque for Big Jim the Cowboy
Filed under: 
Trivia
Big Jim

Where's Elvis?

Ladies, Gentlemen and Others -- We have found the King!  He's now in the "Telephony Business" here at hrpr.com and is available for your viewing and listening pleasure 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year...

Filed under: 
Trivia
the king
Elvis

spam

Have you ever wondered why junk email is called "spam?"  This bit of nonsense from Monty Python's Flying Circus is said to be the basis for the use of the term spamming to describe the sending of unsolicited junk email:

"Well there's egg and bacon; egg, sausage and bacon; egg and spam; bacon and spam; egg, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, egg, spam, spam, bacon and spam; spam, spam, spam, egg and spam; spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, spam and spam; or lobster thermidor aux crevettes with a mornay sauce garnished with truffle pate', brandy and a fried egg on top of spam."

Filed under: 
Trivia
spam
Monty Python

The Bird

Truth or legend? (Makes no difference, it's worth the reading).

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers...

Without the middle finger, it would be impossible for the soldiers to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future.  This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew."

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, "See, we can still pluck yew! PLUCK YEW!"

Over the years, some 'folk etymologies' have grown up around this symbolic gesture.  Since "pluck yew" is rather difficult to say (like "pleasant mother pheasant plucker", which is who you had to go to for the feathers used on the arrows for the longbow), the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute are mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter.  It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird."

Filed under: 
Trivia
the bird

Pages