Probably their friends were all told to leave the bells that they usually follow at home. Imagine the chaos with everyone following the wrong bells. People would be walking into traffic, falling down open manholes, falling off balconies. Bellpocalypse.
Was the name Miami “runner up” or “second in the ranking” on the occasion that the name Wintergreen “won” or was first in some ranking?
Yes.
I have never seen nor heard it done myself, but heard and read about it. I always assumed it was the kind of thing done on an open field or well distinguished path, and certainly not near a cliff. So the idea of a blind man following someone with a bell is minimally plausible. And kind of old fashioned too. I wouldn’t be surprised if the blind man and the bell story goes way back, and the tightrope walker story as well.
So to confirm, each of the town names “won” or was ranked first in something at some time?
Is this ranking a periodic event, e.g. annual?
Is the ranking an objective property of the name?
Or is it a subjective choice, chosen by some group of people in some way?
Yes. Each of the Town names won or was ranked first in something at some time.
Yes it is a periodic event.
Yes on objective (if I understand the question correctly)
No on subjective.
××××××
Sorry I have to go to work now. I will try to answer more questions at lunch break if the solution has not already been posted.
This is more of a challenge than a riddle. There isn’t a single right or wrong answer, but better or worse suggestions.
Find an English language sentence with the greatest proportion of apostrophes to letters.
I’ve got a good one in mind, but can anyone do better?
I guess we’d better tag our posts if we’re doing two simultaneously.
Biotop:
So based on the answers, I have this general formulation, is this correct?
In [a certain year], the town name Wintergreen/Johnstown/Omaha/Spokane was also the name of the [something-other-than-a-town] that was [most numerous / rarest / largest / smallest… something quantifiable].
Aha!
I see that Wintergreen was the name of the horse that won the 1909 Kentucky Derby. The runner up was
Miami
So just to put a period on it… All those cities share a name with a horse that won the Kentucky Derby. Great puzzle. You also could have used Needles, CA
Googling the names of all the towns gives you that answer instantly. The idea of this was that we try to get there without Google. Never mind.
Great question, Biotop.
I didn’t. Based on the answers previously given I thought Wintergreen sounded like a horse so I googled “wintergreen race horse” which confirmed what I thought. Sue me for not having memorized the 1909 Kentucky Derby winners.
I don’t think it would have been possible to get there without Googling, though.
Fair enough. Apologies for doubting you.
I’ll go. Again, if you know it, don’t play. I like this one, though I don’t think it is very hard. It’s a situational one, which I find very fun.
A man is at dinner, reading the news. He sees a headline, “Death At Sea”. He knows immediately that a murder has been committed. Explain.
I’ll take yes/no questions. 
Is the man eating dinner at home?
If no, is he at sea eating dinner?
-
Yes.
-
No.
-
Is the fact that he’s (a)eating (b)specifically dinner relevant?
-
Does he know the victim?
-
Does he live in a houseboat, lighthouse, or some unusual, water-related, structure?
-
No.
-
No.
-
No.
Did he murder the victim?