# Most interesting thing about your hometown **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719 "2010-11-06T18:25:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/41 "2010-11-07T17:47:07Z")
I’ve always been conflicted on my personal definition of “home town,” so… La Crescenta, CA, age 3-8: the first thing that pops to mind is that two of the cops involved in the Rodney King beating are from there. I wasn’t surprised when I first heard that, as it’s kind of a racist town. Probably a good thing I got outta there at a young age. San Jose, age 8-33: It’s a rather dull city. The only thing that comes to mind is it being the birthplace of little companies like Apple, Google, Ebay, Facebook, etc., etc. (Well, ok, I’m generalizing to the South Bay. It’s all the same.) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/42 "2010-11-07T18:01:40Z")
San Diego was once known as _The Tuna Capital Of The World_. ---
**Author:** ![silk1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@silk1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silk1976)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/43 "2010-11-08T06:45:48Z")
Home of Friendly’s Ice Cream. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/44 "2010-11-08T07:24:28Z")
Ignatius from Loyola was a mercenary captain defending Pamplona through a siege when he got wounded in one leg. Eventually, that led to his rejection of “wordly life” and founding of the Jesuits. One of his first five companions, Francis from Xavier, was nominally a presbyter in Pamplona’s cathedral when they met - but the meeting took place in Paris, where FX was a student at the Sorbonne and IL became one of his flatmates. All the original 6 Jesuits were from the geographical neighborhood, which leads to the question: do the Basque love discussion because they’ve been going to school to the Jesuits for 500 years, or do Jesuits love discussion because they were founded by a handful of argumentative Basque? I’m not counting the Sanfermines as a piece of trivia, being that they are so famous, but there’s enough Sanfermines trivia to fill a few books. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/45 "2010-11-08T08:06:16Z")
The members of Creedence Clearwater Revival all went to my hometown’s high school. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/46 "2010-11-08T08:28:57Z")
Not only is my hometown the resting place of Mark Twain; we also have the world’s fastest carousel at Eldridge Park. ETA: :smack: I almost forgot: we’re also the soaring capitol of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/47 "2010-11-08T08:37:15Z")
:smack::smack: scratch that… Harris Hill is technically in Big Flats. It still rocks tho. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/48 "2010-11-08T09:35:20Z")
Since it was founded in 1666, I considered it Satan’s little hamlet - but I’m sure most teenagers feel that way about their towns. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/49 "2010-11-08T11:40:17Z")
Birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. Birthplace of Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise. Scene of the world’s first [assassination by firearm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hamilton_of_Bothwellhaugh). ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/50 "2010-11-08T12:33:15Z")
Legal capital of the world, and our queen resides here. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/51 "2010-11-08T14:32:17Z")
According to Wikipedia, there’s only one instance of concurrent 3-digit interstate highways in the US, and that bit of highway ends juuuust to the north of my hometown. I got nothin. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/52 "2010-11-08T14:47:09Z")
My home town has appeared several times on the list “Top ten cities for auto theft” – calculated on a per capita basis. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/53 "2010-11-08T14:54:40Z")
Just found this interesting chart about crime risk in my home town of [Harvey, IL](http://www.clrsearch.com/Harvey_Demographics/IL/Crime_Statistics). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/54 "2010-11-08T15:15:47Z")
> [@Wolverine](#): > > Home of the first Little Caesars, first Kmart Ahhhh, I wonder if it’s also the home of the first Little Caesars _in_ a Kmart. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/55 "2010-11-08T15:18:15Z")
Barack Obama’s forefathers were born and raised in my home village shortly before they made their way over to the US on the Speedwell (the family name was “Blossom” and Deacon Thomas Blossom was born in about 1580). The book “[Tom’s Midnight Garden](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%27s_Midnight_Garden)” was set in the same village, just opposite my infant school. I used to work in sight of the chuch clock which Rupert Brooke wrote about: “_Stands the Church clock at ten to three ? And is there honey still for tea?_” (although that was the next village along). ---
**Author:** ![ratmanizhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5ac83/32.png) [@ratmanizhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratmanizhere)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/56 "2010-11-08T15:23:50Z")
Andy Hillstrand, captain of the “Time Bandit” of the tv show _Deadliest Catch_ is currently a resident of my hometown. I’m living in the town “where Lincoln learned the law” ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/57 "2010-11-08T15:35:46Z")
[World-Famous Y-Bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-Bridge_%28Zanesville,_Ohio%29). Drive out to the middle of the bridge and then turn left. Or right. Awwww, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/58 "2010-11-08T16:15:48Z")
My home town (not the city where I was born, but the one which I’ve lived most of my life in): (1) was established twice (in 1801 and 1804). (2) was established as a prison within a prison. It was the place where the worst convicts in Sydney, New South Wales, were to go. (Later Port Macquarie took over this role). (3) was the site of the only earthquake in Australia to have any fatalities. (4) is the world’s largest coal export port, handling about 100 million tons of coal per annum. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/59 "2010-11-08T16:26:11Z")
My hometown was one of the last oil boom towns. The town had maybe a few hundred people before the first big well in Jan 1921. My granddad left an impoverished family farm at age 20 and traveled to work in the oilfields. He worked in them for almost 45 years. Met my grandmother, married and raised a family in a house provided by the oil company. The house was in the middle of the oil fields. quoting from an article > [@](#): > > By 1923, my home town boasted fifty-nine oil companies, thirteen oil operators, and twenty-two oil production companies. The city was flooded with so many people that no bed space was available for them, leading to the building of neighborhoods of tents and hastily constructed shacks throughout the city. The city’s population reached a high of 30,000 in 1925 before dropping as the boom played out in the late 1920s. The wells aren’t producing much these days. That part of the state has been in decline for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719/60 "2010-11-08T16:36:16Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > [World-Famous Y-Bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-Bridge_%28Zanesville,_Ohio%29). Drive out to the middle of the bridge and then turn left. Or right. Awwww, yeah. We have one [kind of like that](http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=toronto&sll=43.6525,-79.381667&sspn=0.50079,0.74707&g=toronto&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Toronto,+Toronto+Division,+Ontario&ll=43.657739,-79.354876&spn=0.003912,0.005836&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=43.657685,-79.355058&panoid=OMmp6EPtH00fzpAj6rPSbQ&cbp=12,250.63,,0,17.66) in Toronto, but it’s more of an elevated merge. Your Y-bridge is a full intersection. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-interesting-thing-about-your-hometown/559719.md?page=4)