David K. Israel
Tuesday Turnip
by David K. Israel - September 1, 2009 - 6:58 AM
bloghead_tuesdayturnip1

In case you’re not familiar with the Turnip, it’s a whimsical Google search, wherein I type a random phrase and we see what kind of interesting pages “turn-up.” As always with this feature, the _floss is not responsible for accuracy. If you know one of the below statements/links to be untrue, by all means, let the world know in the comments below.

Today I typed “the only city” into Google, unearthing the following:

Turnip #1

Picture 5What is the only city to be located on two continents? Istanbul is located on the Bosphorus strait and is split in two, one half located in Europe and one half in Asia. This division makes it the only major city in the world to be located on two continents.

Turnip #2

Picture 6 Pittsburgh is the only city where all major sports teams—the Steelers of the NFL, the Penguins of the NHL, and the Pirates of the MLB—all share the same team colors, the official city colors of black and gold. [ed note: Let's hear it for the 'burgh!!! Stillers #1!!!]

Turnip #3

Picture 7Soon Chicago will be the only city in the nation with full 24-hour postal service. New York’s main post office plans on closing its overnight windows on May 9.

Turnip #4

Picture 8The only city that sits inside another city [is] Vatican City, it actually sits inside of the city of Rome and has its own set of laws.

Turnip #5

Picture 9Truro is a city in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, and is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population of 20,920.It is the only city in the county, and the most southerly city in Great Britain. People from Truro are known as Truronians.

Turnip #6

Picture 10Boise City [was] the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II on July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m. by a B-17 Bomber

Turnip #7

Picture 11Oakland is not the only city in California seeking to “zone out” Wal-Mart Supercenters

Turnip #8

Picture 12It has been said that Montréal is the only city in the world where the sun “rises in the south.”

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Comments (26)

  1. #4 is wrong. Both highland Park and Hamtramck sit entirely inside of Detroit MI.

    posted by TimCthefilmguy on 9-1-2009 at 7:05 am

  2. #6 should be “continental United States”… I’m fairly certain Hawaii was a part of the US during WWII and pretty sure the folks at Pearl Harbor would agree.

    posted by Jud on 9-1-2009 at 7:42 am

  3. I disagree with number 6. There was a Japanese Sea-plane that used incendiary bombs near Brookings, Oregon. Nothing of importance was hit. Also, the Japanese launched over 9000 fire baloons using the pacific jet stream. Many landed in North america, but only 1 is attributed to any deaths; some kids found it, tampered with it and it exploded.

    posted by David on 9-1-2009 at 7:45 am

  4. Not to be “that guy” but when Pearl Harbor was bombed, Hawaii was not a state, and thus not part of the United States.

    posted by Scrugger on 9-1-2009 at 8:18 am

  5. Hawaii wasn’t admitted to the Union as an official state until 1959. It was a U.S. territory when it was bombed in 1941.

    posted by Lynley on 9-1-2009 at 8:22 am

  6. I think when hawaii was bombed we were not in WWII just yet…it led to it right? at least where the US is concerned

    posted by dre on 9-1-2009 at 8:22 am

  7. I’m fairly sure that Jud is a smartass. And a dumbass at the same time….what an oxymoron.

    posted by Jud the Dud on 9-1-2009 at 8:30 am

  8. Not only wasn’t Hawaii a state in 1941 but the war wasn’t referred to as a World War until the US entered it.

    posted by Mike on 9-1-2009 at 8:33 am

  9. Centerline Michigan sits entirely inside of Warren Michigan

    posted by Dan on 9-1-2009 at 8:58 am

  10. #4–Dawson is a town inside Tulsa, Okla.

    posted by Jen on 9-1-2009 at 9:00 am

  11. Norwood, OH also sits inside of Cincinnati

    posted by Brad on 9-1-2009 at 9:42 am

  12. HURRAY FOR WIKI!

    “Boise City was the only city in the continental United States to be bombed during World War II. The bombing occurred on July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m. by a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber. This occurred because pilots performing target practice became disoriented and mistook the lights around the town square as their target. No one was killed in the attack (only practice bombs were used and the square was deserted at the time), but the pilots were embarrassed. For the 50th anniversary of the attack, the pilots were brought back to Boise City.”

    posted by Steven on 9-1-2009 at 9:46 am

  13. I think #4 would be more accurate if it said “only country located inside another city”. Not the _floss’s fault, though.

    posted by Krie on 9-1-2009 at 9:47 am

  14. Here’s a video on YouTube talking about the Boise City bombing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5ih0STnpZo

    posted by Blake Helms on 9-1-2009 at 9:47 am

  15. I think Madison Wis. is the only city built on an isthmus

    posted by Kristi on 9-1-2009 at 9:59 am

  16. Tim, I was actually going to say that HIghland Park is inside another city, but it’s a different Highland Park, and it sits inside Dallas, Tx’s city limits. It has its own police force, street crews, the whole shabang.

    posted by Megan on 9-1-2009 at 11:04 am

  17. Another city in a city: Cammack Village inside Little Rock, AR.

    posted by Maddie on 9-1-2009 at 11:18 am

  18. we are weird in montreal.

    posted by karina on 9-1-2009 at 12:29 pm

  19. I don’t get #8. There are plenty of cities farther north than Montreal where the sun rises south of east (not literally south). So how could that possibly be true?

    posted by Jean on 9-1-2009 at 12:39 pm

  20. Hawaii was not part of the US until 1959.

    posted by OU812 on 9-1-2009 at 12:59 pm

  21. I was also confused by #8. I looked it up and it is just because the use an unconventional compass locally in Montreal. What they call east is really north and so on. It must be weird if you grew up there and then moved somewhere else.

    posted by Kedar on 9-1-2009 at 1:18 pm

  22. Please note the quotations on #8. It’s not to be taken literally.

    posted by Steven on 9-1-2009 at 1:25 pm

  23. Hawaii was part of the United States during WWII. It was not a state, just a territory, but it was /certainly/ part of the United States.

    posted by Frank on 9-1-2009 at 10:42 pm

  24. Kristi – I presume you mean ‘in the US’. My hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, covers an isthmus and doubtless there are others…

    posted by Gwan on 9-1-2009 at 11:16 pm

  25. #4 is so wrong!
    The city of Beverly Hills is completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles.

    posted by SB on 9-3-2009 at 6:44 pm

  26. I’m pretty sure that Chicago no longer has a 24 hour post office. It’s still open crazy late, but no longer 24 hours.

    posted by Erin on 9-4-2009 at 4:14 pm

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