I did too up until your post, well, more like a local chain because the sign looks too well-done to be a one-off. Then again I’ve never been to one (just seen one driving by) so maybe if I had been in there I would have gotten a chain-y vibe.
I grew up during the Cold War with the understanding that my home town was a nuclear missle first strike target because it was vitally important to the regional infrastructure for some reason.
When I moved off to go to college, someone whom I did not know asked me why my hometown was a strategic nuclear target, and I couldn’t figure out how he knew. I felt like an idiot when he explained that the “my home town is a nuclear target” myth was a common one, not at all unique to my home town.
I thought the Watson’s girl was shilling for a local company in Arkansas. Turns out there were a bunch of those stores in the south.
I didn’t know that either! Have you tried the quesseritos? I’m told they were awesome (a quesadilla in burrito form). I went to get one but they messed my order up and gave me a regular burrito.
We always heard that Cleveland was a high-priority target, but I’m not sure that I ever heard a number given. I figure the top 5 were probably something like Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and then either Philadelphia or Houston. But “top 5” is kind of irrelevant when the other guys have hundreds or thousands of missiles: It’s not like they were going to hit 5 cities and then just stop. Sure, if the balloon went up, Cleveland probably would have been hit, but there’s nothing special about that.
And while we’re at it with the sinking library, another one that shows up at every university is the chemistry building designed so that if it ever exploded, it’d fall in, rather than out, so the debris wouldn’t hit the sidewalk.
Amateurs. Number 2, bitches. Although it doesn’t seem fair to include tourists. Wonder what Fresno is doing wrong (right?), I would drink a lot if I lived there, too.
I always thought the famously monotone Tom Shane of The Shane Company was a Bay Area guy because he talked about specific store locations. It wasn’t until he showed up in South Park that I found out he was a Colorado institution who expanded elsewhere.
I can’t tell if any of this is tongue-in-cheek but those are called “Luminaries” and have a very long history and are common all over the place. I am sure yours looked beautiful because everyone was encouraged to participate but lots of places around here give them out or sell them as a fund-raiser for Halloween and Christmas. They aren’t quite as common as Jack-O-Lanterns or Christmas trees but the idea is the same. I hope you never believed your neighborhood invented those too.
When I was in college, there was this nifty sandwich shop underneath the downtown movie theater. It was situated kind of like a metro station and had great subs with fresh bread baked right there at the counter. They called it Subway.
Yeah, I was a little slow on the uptake.
Appearently, Fuddruckers is a national chain.
Once upon a time poutine was absolutely unique to Montreal (or at least Quebec). Now it is everywhere. Sigh.
I have been several times in the flagship Starbucks that must have once been unique to that location (across from the Pike Place Market). Now they are everywhere. Sigh.
The cheese steak and hoagie were once unique to Philly. Now they are everywhere. Sigh.
I have never heard of an eggcream anywhere outside of NYC.
You cannot buy OTCs (original Trenton Crackers) anywhere outside Philly and south Jersey. I love 'em.