Fun factoids about where you live

[CdnCarrie]

It came up in conversation with my kids last night that our city is the hometown of the inspiration for James Bond - William Stephenson - which lead to the idea for this thread.

James Bond - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stephenson. There are several things named after him in the province.
Ian Fleming himself once wrote, "James Bond is a highly romanticised version of a true spy. The real thing is... William Stephenson."[2]

Winnie the Pooh - is named after Winnipeg
https://www.cbc.ca/kids/articles/the-real-life-canadian-story-of-winnie-the-pooh

Snow White - based on a Winnipeg waitress https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/thorson_c.shtml
The Snow White character created for Disney Studios is widely believed to be based on a waitress Thorson met and flirted with at a diner in West End Winnipeg.



Any cool factoids about your city that would be unexpected by the general public?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Al Capone is dead.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Al Capone is dead.

Are you sure about that?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Are you sure about that?

Yes, absolutely. Buried at same cemetery as my maternal grandparents.

Family stone and Al's spot

For all those who love a nice chocolate brownie, the brownie was created at Chicago’s Palmer House, when Bertha Palmer, wife of millionaire hotelier Potter Palmer, requested a new dessert to serve at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

 

[lynxstch]

George Washington had a headquarters here

 

[EACarlson]

For one week a year, Wittman Airport in Oshkosh is the busiest runway in the world. All done without radar.

 

[Aladora]

We have the oldest Chinatown in Canada.
We have the oldest surviving synagogue building still in use as a synagogue.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Thomas Edison was born in the town I live in now.
Norovirus was named for the town I grew up in.

 

[dcassetta]

As cell phones increased and there was a need for more area codes, our area code on the Space Coast changed from 407 to 321.

 

[White Cat]

As cell phones increased and there was a need for more area codes, our area code on the Space Coast changed from 407 to 321.

I remember before area code usage and the area code was 305.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

The only interesting fact about my area is that it is called Taylor Ham not Pork Roll.

 

[barkley]

birthplace of father's day.

 

[rangerxenos]

ESPN is headquartered in the city where I grew up in, and still work in, Bristol, CT.

 

[Kitty 34]

We don't have a stoplight; sorry all I could come up with.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I live in a big city, so we have quite a few cool things, but what I will share is that the two sisters who wrote the song "Happy Birthday" lived here.

 

[Moliphino]

Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror was partly inspired by my town.

 

[Kimkimba]

A little known convenience store … Wawa.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Walt Disney was born in Chicago in 1901. He studied drawing at Chicago’s McKinley High School and the Art Institute of Chicago.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Winder, Georgia, (population 14,064) was first occupied hundreds of years ago by Creek Indians, who called the village Snodon. In 1793, when new settlers established homes and farms nearby, the town became known as “The Jug,” and 10 years after that as “Jug Tavern.” At the time, the town had a population of 37 people. A school was soon constructed, as was Fort Yargo, built to protect the town from hostile Indians in the area.

During the Civil War, the town remained largely untouched, though a number of its young men fought in several battles. As the northern armies of General William T. Sherman approached, two important skirmishes took place nearby. First was the fight known as the Battle of Jug Tavern, in July 1864, and during the following month, the Battle of King’s Tanyard.

The city began to achieve prominence with the arrival of railroads, which were constructed, sometimes with a little monetary encouragement from the town, through the center of Jug Tavern. The city was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly in 1884, and when a second railroad arrived in 1892, became a regular station on the Atlanta and Athens run.

In 1894, Jug Tavern was renamed the city of Winder.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

ESPN is headquartered in the city where I grew up in, and still work in, Bristol, CT.

Me too! I lived in Bristol my entire life up until last year when I moved to Florida.
Bristol also has the oldest amusement park in the United States.