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jmowreader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 05:51 PM
Original message
Give us an obscure fact about the region you live in
Mine...Cotton is a fruit.
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GOPisEvil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 05:53 PM
Response to Original message
1. We have the largest colony (and largest urban colony) of Mexican Free-tail bats.
Well, not now, they're migrating, but during the summer...
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cwydro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 05:53 PM
Response to Original message
2. I grew up in NC too,
and I gotta ask...how is cotton a fruit?
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jmowreader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 05:56 PM
Response to Reply #2
5. The seeds are in the bolls
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av8rdave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 05:55 PM
Response to Original message
3. In Texas,
There is only one lake that is not man - made.
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GOPisEvil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 05:56 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. And it's not much more than a glorified swamp.
:)
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av8rdave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 05:57 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. Very, very true
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TZ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:39 PM
Response to Reply #3
13. Where I live in Maryland
There are NO lakes that aren't man made..
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av8rdave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 09:41 AM
Response to Reply #13
57. I lived in Maryland for a year and never knew that
Like they say, you learn something new every day. I've got today covered! Thanks!
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SidneyCarton Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 05:56 PM
Response to Original message
6. The Santa Ana River, (Which gives Riverside its name)
Actually flows year-round. The catch is, that for most of the year it flows underground. So most college kids in Riverside, don't think we have a river.
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MorningGlow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:02 PM
Response to Reply #6
21. Hey, my brother lives in Riverside!
Edited on Wed Oct-15-08 07:03 PM by MorningGlow
:hi:

My niece is attending Irvine, and my brother wants to know why she can't ride a scooter home down the dry riverbed instead of begging for a car.
:rofl:
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SidneyCarton Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:40 PM
Response to Reply #21
27. Hmmm.
Well, in honesty, the Riverbed is kinda sandy, and sadly full of transients, I don't think I'd like my daughter scootering down it. Also, in the rainy season (When it comes) the runoff off the mountains turns that riverbed into a raging river, It gets almost scary looking.

Is she going to UC Irvine? I attend her sister school in Riverside.
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MorningGlow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 10:04 AM
Response to Reply #27
60. Yeah, my brother was just being a PITA
It's what he does. :eyes:

Yep, niece is going to UC Irvine. She just started her sophomore year. I'm sure my brother and SIL would have preferred her to go to Riverside and commute, but of course that's no fun! :D
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darkstar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:09 PM
Response to Original message
8. An ancient trading center is only 6-7 miles away
The largest Native American urban center north of the great cities in Mexico. One of only 20 World Heritage Sites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia
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YankeyMCC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:57 PM
Response to Reply #8
16. Hey I visited there when I lived
near St Louis. Very cool place.
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SmokingJacket Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:59 PM
Response to Reply #8
18. Wow, that's amazing!
It looks like the beginnings of one of those pyramids...
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XemaSab Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:11 PM
Response to Original message
9. There are 20-foot-long fish in the Sacramento River!
:o
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Shell Beau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:38 PM
Response to Reply #9
12. We have catfish the size of small cars in the Mississippi!
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FloridaJudy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:32 PM
Response to Original message
10. Lightning is only one inch in diameter
Florida is the Lightning Capital of the U.S.
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Red State Rebel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:37 PM
Response to Original message
11. We invented Toasted Ravioli :)
http://www.thehillstl.com/

I'm lucky, I can walk to the best Italian restaurants and bakeries :)
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Inchworm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:51 PM
Response to Original message
14. If you don't duck at night
you may get hit in the head with a star

:silly:
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H2O Man Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:54 PM
Response to Original message
15. I live here. n/t
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YankeyMCC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 06:58 PM
Response to Original message
17. Uncle Sam was born here nt
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billyoc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:00 PM
Response to Original message
19. Coney Island Whitefish is NOT a local food.
I'm sorry, I couldn't think of anything else!

:hide:
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MorningGlow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:01 PM
Response to Original message
20. We're home to the "Grand Canyon of the East"
Letchworth State Park. And the river (Genesee) runs north.
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frogmarch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:29 PM
Response to Original message
22. Chadron
(SHADrun) NE, named (with a change in spelling) after Louis Chartran, an eighteenth-century fur trapper, was originally named O'Linn, after its founder, a widow named Fannie O'Linn who homesteaded near the town's present location. Besides working the land and being a devoted homemaker and mother, she was also an attorney.

I like the idea of the town having been founded by a woman and originally named after her. Too bad its present name honors a trapper.
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GreenPartyVoter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:34 PM
Response to Original message
23. Lobsters used to crawl around on the beaches here, way back in the day.


http://www.deerislemaine.com/
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cwydro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:37 PM
Response to Original message
24. A waterspout
is freshwater, not saltwater.
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cemaphonic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:38 PM
Response to Original message
25. There was a 12-year military standoff between the US and the British
started by the shooting of a pig, and ending by the intervention of the German Kaiser (in our favor - woohoo!)
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dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 10:28 PM
Response to Reply #25
33. That sounds like Whidbey Island...
The Pig War/
( used to live there)
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cemaphonic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 11:35 PM
Response to Reply #33
41. Yep, the Pig War.
Although it was San Juan Island, not Whidbey.
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mcctatas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 07:39 PM
Response to Original message
26. Our state bird is the mourning dove....
and in 2001 our state legislature authorized our first mourning dove hunting season
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The Velveteen Ocelot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 08:03 PM
Response to Original message
28. Minnesota has a Spam museum and the world's largest ball of twine.
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Pierre.Suave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 11:32 PM
Response to Reply #28
40. it is SOOO EXCITING HERE...
Dont you agree?




























we really need something exciting here... :(
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krispos42 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 02:11 AM
Response to Reply #28
47. "Well I had two weeks of vacation time coming..."
The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota
by "Weird Al" Yankovic

Well, I had two weeks of vacation time coming
After working all year down at Big Roy's Heating And Plumbing
So one night when my family the I were gathered 'round the dinner table
I said, "Kids, if you could go anywhere in this great big world, now
Where'd you like to go ta"
They said, "Dad, we wanna see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota"
They picked the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota

So the very next day we loaded up the car
With potato skins and pickled weiners,
Crossword puzzles, Spider-Man comics, and mama's home made rhubarb pie
Pulled out of the driveway and the neighbors, they all waved good-bye
And so began our three day journey

We picked up a guy holding a sign that said "twine ball or bust"
He smelled real bad and he said his name was Bernie
I put in a Slim Whitman tape, my wife put on a brand new hair net
Kids were in the back seat jumping up and down,
yelling "Are we there yet?"
And all of us were joined together in one common thought
As we rolled down the long and winding interstate in our '53 DeSoto
We're gonna see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota
We're headin' for the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota

Oh, we couldn't wait to get there
So we drove straight through for three whole days and nights
Of course, we stopped for more pickled weiners now and then
The scenery was just so pretty, boy I wish the kids could've seen it
But you can't see out of the side of the car
Because the windows are completely covered
With the decals of all the place where we've already been

There's Elvis-O-Rama, the Tupperware Museum,
The Boll Weevil Monument, and Cranberry World,
The Shuffleboard Hall Of Fame, Poodle Dog Rock,
And The Mecca of Albino Squirrels
We've been to ghost towns, theme parks, wax museums,
And a place where you can drive through the middle of a tree
We've seen alligator farms and tarantula ranches,
But there's still one thing we gotta see

Well, we crossed the state line about 6:39
And we saw a sign that said "Twine Ball exit - 50 miles"
Oh, the kids were so happy the started singing
"99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall" for the 27th time that day
So, we pulled off the road at the last chance gas station
Got a few more pickled weiners and a diet chocolate soda
On our way to see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota
We're gonna see the biggest ball of tiwne in Minnesota

Finally, at 7:37 early Wednesday evening as the sun was setting
in the Minnesota sky
Out in the distance, on the horizon, it appeared to me like a vision
before my unbelieving eye
I parked the car and walked with awe-filled reverence towards that
glorius huge majestic sphere
I was just so overwhelmed by its sheer imensity,
I had to pop myself a beer
Yes, on these hallowed grounds, open ten to eight on weekdays,
in a little shrine under a make-shift pagoda,
There sits the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota
I tell you, it's the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota

Oh, what on earth would make a man decide to do that kind of thing?
Oh, windin' up twenty-one thousand, one hundred forty pounds of string
What was he trying to prove, who was he trying to impress
Why did he build it, how did he do, it was anybody's guess
Where did he get the twine, what was goin' through his mind
Did it just seem like a good idea at the time

Well, we walked up beside it and I warned the kids
"Now, you better not touch it, those ropes are there for a reason"
I said, "Maybe if you're good, I'll tie it to the back of our car
and we can take it home", but I was only teasin'
Then we went to the gift shop and stood in line
Bought a souvineer miniature ball of twine, some window decals,
and anything else they'd sell us
And we bought a couple post cards, "Greetings from the twine ball,
wish you were here"
Won't the folks back home be jealous

I gave our camera to Bernie and we stood by the ball and we all gathered
'round and said, "Cheese"
The Bernie ran away with my brand new Insti-Matic,
but at least we got our memories
Then we all just stared at the ball for a while and my eyes got moist,
but I said with a smile, "Kids, this here's what America's all about"
Then I started feelin' kinda gooey inside and I fell on my knees
and I cried and cried
And that's when those security guards threw us out
You know, I bet if we unravelled that sucker,
It'd roll all the way down to Fargo, North Dakota
'Cause it's the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota
I'm talkin' 'bout the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota

Well, we stayed that night at the Twine Ball Inn
In the morning we were on our way home again
But we really didn't want to leave, that was perfectly clear
I said, "Folks, I can tell you're all sad to go"
Then I winked my eye and I said, "You know, I got a funny kind of feelin'
we'll be comin' back again next year"
'Cause I've been all around this great big world
And I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather go to
Than the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota
I said the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesotaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daZtLf6TceU



And yes, dammit, I can sing the entire lyrics of the song from memory.

:dunce:
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Oeditpus Rex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 08:18 PM
Response to Original message
29. In the early 20th century, it was the self-proclaimed 'Hay Capital of the World'
Thus is the high school mascot the Haybaler.









No, I'm not kidding. Here he is:
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mainegreen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 08:23 PM
Response to Original message
30. The first attempted english colony in the US was in Maine. The Popham Colony.
It didn't last though
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Ptah Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 08:29 PM
Response to Original message
31. Baja Arizona
The floodplain of the Santa Cruz River was extensively farmed during the
Early Agricultural period, circa 1200 BC to AD 150.
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dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 10:11 PM
Response to Original message
32. Birmingham Ala. has " The Heaviest Corner on Earth"
What a neat topic....
K&R...
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elshiva Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 10:33 PM
Response to Original message
34. Peter Angelos, owner of the Orioles, is from
Edited on Wed Oct-15-08 10:34 PM by elshiva
Monkton, Maryland, where I live now.
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quakerboy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 10:44 PM
Response to Original message
35. we are a rainforest. area
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elshiva Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 10:45 PM
Response to Reply #35
36. Oregon is a rainforest area? How so?
:shrug:
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Quantess Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 10:56 PM
Response to Reply #36
37. I know that it rains a lot, and there are a lot of forests.
:shrug:

Oregon Grape is not actually a grape, it grows on a holly-like plant. The berries taste bad, but eat them if you need to survive out in the rainy forest.
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elshiva Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 11:18 PM
Response to Reply #37
38. Thank you.
:)
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quakerboy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 01:51 AM
Response to Reply #36
44. Temperate rain forest
that is our technical classification.
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woofless Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 11:30 PM
Response to Original message
39. The local ski mountain, Mt. Baker, WA
recorded a world record snowfall of 1140 inches in one year ('98-'99 I think).
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Initech Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-08 11:36 PM
Response to Original message
42. At least 1/3 of jobs available in Orange County, CA aren't featured on a reality TV show.
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Lil Missy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 01:06 AM
Response to Original message
43. Warren Buffet lives here. I've seen his house. n/t
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dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 09:26 AM
Response to Reply #43
56. That means you can be Treasury Sec. !!!
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Hardrada Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 02:02 AM
Response to Original message
45. You have to swim inside a cave to see where the bootleggers
once had a still. No one ever found out where the booze was coming from. Allegedly.
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krispos42 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 02:02 AM
Response to Original message
46. Minnesota is the furthest north of the Lower 48
That little spike on top puts us above Maine.



And rumor has it that we have more shoreline than any other state, including Florida.


11,842 lakes make for a lot of shoreline!
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coyotespaw Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 02:14 AM
Response to Original message
48. Not all children from around here
are Children of the Corn.
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Tom Kitten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 02:45 AM
Response to Original message
49. Oregon
the origin of the name is unknown...
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RushIsRot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 04:00 AM
Response to Original message
50. Delta Airlines began in my hometown as a crop-dusting business.
Monroe, LA
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old mark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 04:11 AM
Response to Original message
51. The town where I grew up was the place George Washington
sent the Hessian prisoners captured in the battle of Trenton in the Revolution. Allentown, PA.
The local people were so mean that the Hessians were terrified of them.

mark
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Adenoid_Hynkel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 04:18 AM
Response to Original message
52. Chuck Woolery grew up two houses away from me
.
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liberalitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 05:05 AM
Response to Original message
53. If you don't like the weather,.... wait a second.... it'll change!
Here in hampton roads.
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Connonym Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 05:18 AM
Response to Original message
54. We had the first kindergarten in America n/t
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jeff30997 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 05:42 AM
Response to Original message
55. There are:
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over my head.

Whoa!The sleeping pills are kicking in!

Good night...
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Deep13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 09:43 AM
Response to Original message
58. Ohio has the northernmost Confederate military cemetery.
It's on one of the Lake Erie islands. It was a prison camp during the war.
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PassingFair Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 09:45 AM
Response to Original message
59. We have an expressway named after Walter Reuther!


It's nice, too.
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Pacifist Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 10:05 AM
Response to Original message
61. The local river isn't a river at all, it's a lagoon.
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demmiblue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-16-08 10:05 AM
Response to Original message
62. I'm a troll...
as opposed to a yooper. :P
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