mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
by - August 6, 2007 - 8:08 AM
Unless you’re a lifeguard or summer school teacher, work often slows down in July and August. Employees are on vacation. Clients and customers are on vacation. And it’s too nice to be inside.
Because of our school calendar, perhaps we’re conditioned to mentally check out at high temperatures. Or maybe I’m just trying to rationalize laziness. Either way, navigating your way through an August workday can be as challenging as the job itself.
To pass the time, I’ve come up with a handful of questions for your consideration. I’ll post one each day this week. We’ll start with a contest. Here goes.
I recently read a Fast Company article on The 30 ‘Fastest’ Cities for 2007 – places that “best embody economic innovation and opportunity.” They named all the usual suspects: San Francisco, Dubai, London, Shanghai, New York. Plus a few I didn’t expect: Des Moines, Havana, New Orleans, Bozeman (Montana).
Let’s borrow Fast Company’s (Number) + (Adjective Variation on Our Name) + (Noun or Phrase) + (Year) formula to see if we can discover The 10 _flossiest Places to Live for 2007. I will broadly define “_flossiest” as “full of entertainingly intelligent people.” Don’t use SAT scores to back up your claim, or advanced degrees or per capita income. Flossiest can’t be measured in statistics. It’s a gut feel from your time living there.
Make your case by leaving a comment, backed up with anecdotal evidence. If you want to supplement your argument with a photo, email that to me separately here.
After conferring with my fellow mental_floss bloggers, we’ll announce The 10 _flossiest Places to Live for 2007 next week. If your nomination is selected as #1*, you win the mental_floss t-shirt of your choice. Numbers 2 through 10 earn you the thanks of a grateful local real estate industry.
*If more than one person nominates the same place, we’ll pick the most compelling nomination. Unless we’re feeling extra generous.
Comments (77)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
I haven’t lived there, but out of pure gut instinct (and a hope that you are feeling generous) I’m going to bet that it winds up being the Bay area/San Francisco. Seems like it would have a pretty flossy vibe, from short visits to the general area. Eco-conscious, intelligent, cultured.
posted by Jeremy on 8-6-2007 at 8:56 am
You can not get any flossier than Park Slope Brooklyn. Anything and everything. A few negighbors:
John Tutorro, Jennifer Connely, Jennifer Gardner, M Doughty(singer, Soul Coughing)
It is a little soccer mom mixed with old brooklyn tough guy.
posted by Rich on 8-6-2007 at 8:56 am
I am nominating Asheville, NC
For a city with a population of only about 80,000 people the city is constantly drawing interesting, eclectic and free people.
There is hardly a weekend where the streets are not packed with performers and musicians while the multiple festivals attract eclectic peoples of all types.
posted by Justin Ritchie on 8-6-2007 at 9:03 am
I can to you one place that is not… Las Vegas. I have lived here for 6 years and love it but it lacks in flossieness(it has been six year since I have had an Intelligent conversation with someone other than my wife). The place I vote for is Chicago. The only place in the world I have walked into several different dive bars and ended up having conversations about religion, philosophy, history, and human nature in general. The Windy City gets my vote.
posted by Rick on 8-6-2007 at 9:09 am
I’ll nominate Richmond, VA, on the grounds that 1. No one goes outside in the summer here if they can help it, so we have lots of time to devote to _flossing, and 2. I’m sitting here in my office (read cubicle in a storage closet) in a building full of (mad?) scientists doing research in bioinformatics or related fields. My fellow researchers are all entertainingly intelligent–you have to be, or this kind of research will drive you up the wall.
I’d say all of this makes Richmond an incredibly _flossy place.
posted by erm on 8-6-2007 at 9:16 am
I nominate Cambridge, Massachusetts; home of MIT
I say so because MIT has a whole lotta smarts (go to web.mit.edu/research/ – everything there is interesting) and a bunch smart-alecky (The MIT pranks are legendary).
To me that is the embodiment of Mental_Floss: curiosity spiced with humor.
posted by n2y2 on 8-6-2007 at 9:24 am
Queenstown, NZ. A challenging culture enveloped by indescriable beauty. The city has an old world feel, yet it’s population is young, witty, intelligent, and borderline psychotic (in a fun, adventure filled sort of way). It may be a long way from the ole’ U.S. of A., but you mentioned Dubai and London in your brief about the “flossiest” places to live. On a scale of 1 to “flossy”, Queenstown is “Super-funky-flossy.”
posted by B on 8-6-2007 at 9:26 am
I’ll nominate the metro-Boston area. Top-notch schools like Harvard, MIT and Tufts cover the academic side of things.
If you’re looking for sports, The Red Sox currently have the best record in baseball and the Patriots are heavily favored to win the Super Bowl.
Want culture? Try the various museums, theaters, and parks. But if you really want a taste, ride the oldest subway in the country for a little adventure. Or walk the nonsensical maze of the city’s streets – bring a map.
Speaking of old, Boston’s pretty much got whatever history you’re looking for. From witch burning to revolutions to molasses floods to major art heists, there’s always something interesting happening here.
All in all, a very flossy place to be.
posted by Bill T. on 8-6-2007 at 9:37 am
I am nominating Bethesda, Maryland.
According to the 2000 Census, 79% of Bethesdans 25 or older have bachelor’s degrees, and 49% have graduate or professional degrees. Those numbers by far outpace the national averages – 26% and 8.9%, respectively.
This makes sense given the location of the National Institutes of Health (in Bethesda, of course) as well as the city’s proximity to Washington, DC.
posted by Samantha on 8-6-2007 at 9:41 am
Bethesda also has more restaurants per square mile than anywhere else in the country.
posted by Samantha on 8-6-2007 at 9:44 am
I would like to nominate Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (aka the Research Triangle). We’ve got the universities and the researchers and the bookstores and the book readings and the literary scene and the writers. No one is flossier than the Duke students and professors.
While I’m on the subject, could I nominate another? I’d like to also nominate Berkeley, CA. I visited there this summer, and it was the coolest place! It has it all, and all in one place. There is the university, and a spate of Indian restaurants, and bookstores, and a soup kitchen, and an Urban Outfitters, all within easy walking distance, not to mention the mass transit which connects you quickly to San Francisco. Berkeley has it all, and may be considered the birthplace of flossiness.
posted by Ed Bremson on 8-6-2007 at 10:02 am
49% of Bethesdans also don’t read the directions at the top of this page- don’t use advanced degrees to back up your case.
posted by bobthewalrus on 8-6-2007 at 10:13 am
I also nominate Asheville, NC as the flossiest.
A friend once said the Salmon Caesar Salad was “alliterative” and the wait person giggled a little in agreement.
Where else can one compose and deliver a song entitled, “Does Anyone Have Any Weed?” as my husband and I witnessed on an evening stroll downtown. The musician’s case was full of tips, including one pack of cigarettes.
I offered a homeless guy, who’d asked for money, a bottle of chocolate milk I’d just bought. He replied, “No, it’s makes me phlemmy.”
Asheville is plumb-full of intelligence, both recognized and . . . er . . . otherwise.
posted by Leah Piatt on 8-6-2007 at 10:20 am
Austin, Texas! The huge university draws in a lot of smart kids that never want to leave because of the wonderful outdoor entertainment. Tech industry is a major force drawing in even more smart folks. And the musicians! And the artists! And the occasional intelligent politician! I could go on and on, but the whole scene has been covered much better by more eloquent writers than me.
posted by Larriann on 8-6-2007 at 10:24 am
I nominate Buffalo, NY. Here are a few reasons why it should be named a Flossy City: Recently hosted the popular and free-wheeling Buffalo Infringement Festival; Aug. 25, hosting a beer festival at the old Central (train) Terminal; home to great independent bookstores and restaurants. Check it out, comrades.
posted by laura suttell on 8-6-2007 at 10:44 am
I nominate Santa Barbara, CA. If you look past the affluence, you will find:
physical beauty and outdoor sports and activities rivalling anywhere in the world; talented musicians of every kind; old school and new wave hippies; a lot of cool engineers (no, really! I was friends with some!) its _flossin to the max
posted by ac on 8-6-2007 at 11:21 am
Has to be Reading, Pennsylvania as they have the most competetive Marbles players in the world, they eat shoe fly pie and red beat eggs and they somehow miss pronounce the work Reading or am I reading too much into that…
posted by markschofer on 8-6-2007 at 11:34 am
I also nominate Austin TX, minus the college students, (they tend to drink too much and cause traffic problems) but the culture here is wonderful, from classic movies at the Paramount Theater (over 100 yrs old) to local live music every night! Plus for the environmentally concerned Austin has a wonderful greenbelt to accomidate all sorts of outdoor activities
posted by Lindsey on 8-6-2007 at 11:41 am
I nominate Ann Arbor, MI, my spiritual hometown. A major university and a population made up of some of the smartest people from all over the world. Plus, it has the highest number of booksellers and books sold per capita in the USA.
My employment and financial hometown is Bloomington-Normal, IL. We are in the top 5 cities in the USA for eating out per capita.
posted by Dusty on 8-6-2007 at 11:47 am
I agree that Buffalo has surprisingly more going on than you might expect. A couple more “flossy” things not already mentioned: the Albright-Knox art gallery, specializing in contemporary art; Shakespeare plays and orchestra concerts in the parks during the summer (the whole park system was designed by Frederic Law Olmstead); a Frank Lloyd Wright house and other important architecture; lots of festivals (including one of the country’s largest Italian festivals, art festivals, and more); several colleges and universities; orchestra, theater, and pro sports (Sabres hockey and Bills football); and of course, Buffalo wings. :)
posted by Kristen on 8-6-2007 at 11:50 am
It’s already been nominated, but it deserves a little more gusto-worthy evidence of flossiness, Chicago. Not only are we home to several of the most complete museums in the country, but we even get nerdy underground. The Chicago Underground Library has been getting more press as it showcases and shares local authors kinkos-bound and hand stapled books.
If you’d like an intelligent, unusual dive-ish bar you’d check out Hungry Brain or the Map Room who often as lectures from University of Chicago Professors.
If you truly want to get your floss on, you’ll attend a Smooth night at Schubas Tavern where I watched and entire episode of Planet Earth and set sail to the sweet sounds of Hall and Oates and Michael McDonald.
Questioning it still? Listen to the entire Illinoise album of Sufjan Stevens and go have a brat.
posted by Pegs on 8-6-2007 at 11:52 am
I would like to nominate the Baltimore, Maryland area as one of The_10 Flossiest Places to Live in 2007. Currently I reside in Columbia, Maryland which is a suburb of Baltimore and D.C. I would nominate Columbia but the entertainment in Capitol Hill would distract from the intelligence of Baltimore. Therefore the Baltimore, Maryland metro area is a perfect candidate by itself.
During my time studying at Towson University and Johns Hopkins University I came across several affluent individuals who could hold partake in any academic conversation. While bar tending in undergraduate school we always had patrons from Hopkins, UBMC, Towson, Loyola, Goucher, University of Baltimore, and Villa Julie. The atmosphere was very much a mixing pot of people and ideas.
When I had back surgery at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center it was performed by a neurosurgeon who at one time was the head of Neurosurgery at Shock Trauma in Baltimore.
You never know who you are sitting next to when out to eat. It could be a top doctor at a nationally recognized hospital, a university professor, a lawyer, doctor, politician, anyone. But one thing is for sure–the conversation is interesting.
posted by Michael on 8-6-2007 at 12:03 pm
I nominate Houston, Texas as the super _flossiest place to be!
For smarts – take a look at the Texas Medical Center, home to 45 institutions that make up the cutting edge of research in America as well as two trauma facilities, and institutions specializing in every imaginable aspect of health care, including care for children, cancer patients, heart care, organ transplantation, terminal illness, mental health, and wellness and prevention.
For daring how about the Johnson Space Center – from Mission Control to our many training facilities (including home of the ‘vomit rocket’!) we keep our astronauts trained, fed and ready for anything.
For culture – how about 18 museums in a 4-mile radius? That doesn’t include cultural events and museums throughout the metroplex.
For dining – anything and everything. Every major culture is represented!
And finally, entertainment – malls, 30-screen, cineplex, outdoor fairs and exhibits, Splashtown, Moody Gardens, Galveston beach (and all the fun things to do down there), drive-in theaters and MORE! If you’re bored in Houston, open your eyes!!
I wasn’t born in Houston — but I got here as soon as I could!
posted by Lizard Breath on 8-6-2007 at 12:03 pm
I nominate Seattle
Seattle has it all and then some.
The University of Washington is a top university and their medical school is in the top 10 in the US. Their cutting edge research benefits many different areas.
Microsoft (love’em or hate’em) has many of the top technological professionals in the industry. Bill Gates – who lives nearby – is the worlds leading philanthropist.
Bill’s other half, Paul Allen – the very quirky billionaire- is the founder of the Institute for Brain Research. Dedicated to all manner of research into the least known organ in our body.
The fact that Seattle area holds one of the highest percentages in the nation of adults with post high school degrees. People in Seattle are intelligent and fun and downright weird. Even the homeless people are cunning about getting spare change. I saw a man holding a sign that said “Ninjas killed my father. Need money for karate lessons”. You just have to love Seattle.
posted by Shari on 8-6-2007 at 12:24 pm
Though not from there I agree with Larriann and Lindsey, Austin TX is very flossy. I found the people to be really friendly and surprisingly intelligent. I went to a bar-b-que joint, enjoyed live music and had a discussion about zen buddhism.
It also seemed to me like one of the only civilized cities in Texas, disproving the myth that all texasans wear cowboy hats, carry guns and chew tabaccy.
Another choice of mine would be Ames, IA. Home of ISU my alma mater, when I was there, there was always an interesting lecture going on at the university, and even the pranks were pretty creative. The ISU football mascot costume was stolen and “held for ransom” by the Chicken Liberation Front. Amazingly intelligent folks there, and you often found them in unexpected places.
posted by Scott on 8-6-2007 at 12:36 pm
Typical . . . it doesn’t take a big town to be flossy. Granted, the town I’m nominating is small, but mighty.
Hays, Kansas!
It has a population around 24,000, but it has a growing 4-year University that brings another 5,000 students per year.
On the campus there is a healthy music college that puts on operas every two years. There is also the encore series which strives to bring eclectic bits of culture to the community, like ballets and broadway shows.
Along with the campus, there are two museums. The Sternberg Museum of Natural History and the Ellis County Historical Society. Both of which offer a variety of historical and palentological displays of there own, as well as traveling exhibits.
The Public Library has often been voted the best public library of its size and is constantly striving to widen their collection to meet the needs of the ever shifting community.
Recently, a downtown revitalization program has been working to update and restore the downtown area into a cool shopping center, while keeping the spirit of old downtown Hays alive.
If that’s not enough, we do have our own award winning brewery. The brewery is a great place to go to have a good intelligent conversation with your pals while downing a delicious Oatmeal Stout.
Thank you from Hays, Kansas.
posted by Scott on 8-6-2007 at 12:56 pm
I nominate Washington, DC. With culture and museums galore it is impossible to not find both useful and useless knowledge. In addition to free deliciously nerdy museums there is enough flossiness to support for profit museums such as the information loaded Spy Museum. With several top universities and a slew of interns flocking to the area year round, even the bar scene is full of individuals sharing facts, philosophies and brews. It is also internationally flossy as individuals from around the globe bring obscure cuisine and music options to the scene. It is also a quirky city with random oddball modern art that could only be supported by a city teeming with the young and liberal at heart. As icing on the cake, I, a self proclaimed nerd extraordinar, will be having my bachelorette party in DC ( I do not live in the area) because I cannot think of a better location to celebrate than in this city with a never ending wealth of knowledge.
posted by Cassandra Cosgrove on 8-6-2007 at 1:03 pm
This is easy: Cicely, Alaska
Northern Exposure FTW
–Nate
posted by Leadhyena on 8-6-2007 at 1:03 pm
I have to nominate Denver as one of your _flossiest cities. Just a short drive away from the Rocky Mountains, Denver boasts great views, an awesome climate (sunshine, sunshine and yep more sunshine), and so much more. Check out LoDo for fantastic bars and restaurants located in 100 year old restored warehouses. It’s also just a hop, skip and a jump away from Red Rocks Amphitheatre, hands down one of the best places to take in a concert— or during the summer months a great cult movie. If all of that isn’t enough you can go check out some DAM good art at the new fancy-schmancy Denver Art Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind or go explore the new Denver Performing Arts Complex, it’s the second largest in the nation. We’ve also got sports teams of all kinds to suit every fan. It’s an incredibly active city and has recently been called one of the top cities for singles. Hey if you’re going to pick up one of these singles in a bar you better be pretty flossy right?
Plus an evening out rarely passes where I don’t have a completely entertaining and interesting conversation with a complete stranger, and I’ve got to be honest with you the shady tree lined streets of the Highland neighborhood are the best place on earth to take your dog for a walk. In all the Mile High city will _Floss your pants off!
posted by Becky! on 8-6-2007 at 1:09 pm
I hate to be a “homer” but I spent 4.5 years there during school and feel like metropolitan Minneapolis/St. Paul has to be mentioned in this type of list. True, most have moved out of the cities and into the suburbs, but the cities still have an abundance of flair.
In popular culture, we’ve got Prince, Bob Dylan, Craig Kilborn, the Coen Brothers, Garrison Keillor, Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and the legendary coach Herb Brooks.
They’ve got the largest regional public radio station in the nation with Minnesota Public Radio. Have had a hand in National Politics with Herbert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. And some of the largest companies in the world call MN home (Target, General Mills, Best Buy, US Bancorp, 3M, Cargill, etc.)
Now if you could just erase those four years that saw Jesse Ventura turn a huge surplus into a huge deficit, essentially hamstringing the state for the next several years.
posted by Ed on 8-6-2007 at 1:13 pm
I have to second Ann Arbor, MI as the flossiest & agree as a Las Vegas native that it could definitely hold the title as least flossiest. Ann Arbor has that college town allure of good bars and good bookstores mixed with old buildings and lots of outdoor places to sit and read or to explore. It has an outlet for all different interests from science, to music, to shopping and it is all with in walking distance in a fairly safe area. It has an intelligent urban feel while still being a small midwestern town.
posted by puddle on 8-6-2007 at 1:15 pm
I bet the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (see Wikipedia for more) would be an interesting place to live. Here’s a bit from Wikipedia: “In the following summer, six separate crews of five to seven people occupied the station and began work. It is required that any outside work be done wearing a spacesuit simulator and that all communications are conducted by radio. Communications between the station and off-island researchers are subject to a time delay which mimics that of actual radio traffic between Earth and Mars.”
posted by Higgins on 8-6-2007 at 1:32 pm
I have to chime in on Austin, Tx. It takes more than a university or a degree to make a place or a person interesting. As a crossroads of university, artistic/music influences, growing industry and people from everywhere, how can you beat it as Floss-Central?
I also have to put my downer in on Santa Barbara. As a native Californian who lives 30 min away from SB right now, I can honestly say its not the “affluence” you have to look past, its more the fact that it is a vapid superficial wasteland and second only to San Luis Obispo for the title of “The place silicon goes to die.”
posted by Lauraess on 8-6-2007 at 1:58 pm
Anyone who uses the word “entitled” when giving a song title wouldn’t know flossy if it bit them. I nominate Ft. Worth. Great spicy places to eat, jumping Texas music, cowboys in tight jeans and boots and great conversations about matters of the world. Now that’s flossy.
posted by Kathy M on 8-6-2007 at 2:03 pm
Another plus for Buffalo.. it’s very close to my favorite Flossy City – Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
posted by Becky on 8-6-2007 at 2:16 pm
I’m pleased to be the first to nominate Minneapolis. While not my native home, I have come to call it such.
Minneapolis boasts the most theater seats per capita – excluding New York City. The only difference, in Minneapolis you can actually get tickets.
We have a great music scene that goes well beyond Prince.
While we did vote a wrestler to the position of govenor, you have to admit there isn’t a much better conversation starter.
There are also a lot of writers and tons of support. The Loft Literary Center is the nation’s largest literary center.
Of course, there is the fantasic Walker Art Museum, Minnesota Institute of Arts, and other smaller museums.
And that’s just some of the “establishment” flossieness. There is the fun outdoor activities for all seasons, anarchists riding art bikes, puppet theaters, a huge May Day parade, loads of parks, loads of lakes.
It’s true, things tend to shut down early, but that’s a perfect time to head home and begin the conversations in earnest!
posted by Adam on 8-6-2007 at 2:27 pm
I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for over a year after moving around Florida and West Virginia. By far, St. Paul is the “flossiest”. Citizens of the city and surrounding suburbs have expectations for higher quality of living. They are friendly and clean. They make good of the worst of things (who else would hold a carnival in -10 degree weather)? Cultural activities are vibrant and welcome young and old. Parks are beautiful and citizens are fairly “green” – the Farmer’s Market and Grand ol’ Days celebrations are witnesses to that. I feel smart just living here.
posted by Emily OConnor on 8-6-2007 at 3:21 pm
Definitely Asheville. Where else, in a town of less than 100,000, can you find:
A regular weekend drumming circle that fills up by mid-afternoon with hippies, new-agers, primitives, wiccans, kids, serious musicians, khaki-clad tourists and suits – smack dab in the middle of downtown.
A resident Franciscan street preacher who communicates through puppets and is rumored to be considering a run for city council (and if so, actually stands a decent chance of winning a seat)
A not-insignificant constituency of people who would be fairly and directly represented by said preacher.
Enough culture, art, performance and street theater options to choke an aesthete.
A drug-obsessed city councilman who hangs out in housing developments and Grateful Dead tribute concerts, flagging down cops when he sees drug activity. (Boy’s gonna get hisself kilt one day. *shakes head*)
People walking the streets in cosplay outfits for no particular reason (I saw this my first week here, and that’s when I quit trying to categorize Ashevillians by dress. Each person appears to have their own category).
Wealthy locals, community activists and homeless people who are physically indistinguishable (and may, in fact, be the same person).
The unofficial motto of Asheville is, “If you’re too weird for Asheville, you’re just too weird.” I think that says it all.
posted by Soni on 8-6-2007 at 3:53 pm
Of all the places where I’ve lived and worked, there is only one clear standout of _flossy awesomeness: Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ann Arbor’s redheaded stepchild deftly straddles the border of highbrow and lowlife, embracing both while favoring neither; it eschews the extremes of Ann Arbor’s pretentious self-importance and Detroit’s depressing scariness.
Ypsi’s resident 500 pound gorilla, Eastern Michigan University, traditionally maintains the cheapest tuition of any four-year school in the state, while its Education Department graduates more teachers than many schools five times its size (not so surprising, given EMU’s origin as the Michigan State Normal School).
Ypsilanti Features seedy strip clubs and modern dance troupes, dive punk bars and a symphony orchestra, twee coffee shops and late-night diners whose employees may well be on the lam, breathtaking independent art and theater exhibitions and the occasional public performances of the aggrieved homeless. It is the birthplace of the Tucker, inarguably the most innovative passenger vehicle to date, and the setting of “The Three Christs of Ypsilanti”, a glorious little book exploring three asylum patients simultaneously claiming to be Jesus incarnate in the same facility.
The Corner Health Center, Ypsi’s preeminent downtown free clinic, provides not only AIDS testing, checkups and free condoms, but also the Corner Theatre Troupe, which enlists area high school students to write, direct and perform one-act plays dealing with peer pressure and high-risk behavior for area schools, detention centers and migrant worker camps (full disclosure: I was a member of the troupe for three years).
While these disparate examples may paint a picture of a city divided, that is inexplicably not the case. Many times I have seen the patrons of the dive bars enjoying the symphony, the folk stylists of the coffeehouses speaking at length of Kierkegaard with their late-night diner brethren, and erstwhile employees of Legs and Deja Vu engaging in more “legitimate” dance for the benefit of an audience who thoroughly enjoyed their performance with nary a champagne room in sight. Any city can have a rich side and a poor side, both high and lowbrow, struggling for their respective space in a world where one seems mutually exclusive to the other. But to have both worlds collide, and do so with such effortless synergy, is truly an Ypsilantian feat.
Anecdotally, I can offer innumerable examples to demonstrate my case. As I can only expect to hold your attention for a short while, however, I present you only with my personal favorite.
I was sitting on my porch a few years ago, chatting with my neighbor, a 20-year-old manager of a hardware store, discussing the impact of western colonialism and segmentation upon the Middle East. As we were speaking, a man ran by my house. This is notable not only because this man was stark naked and running down the middle lane of the busiest thoroughfare in town, but also because it was 3 p.m. on a Tuesday and he was being chased by no fewer than seven police officers, also on foot (though fully clothed). My neighbor, who had been sidetracked by the spectacle, gave a little chuckle, shook his head, and continued with “So, about this fixation with Saladin…”
That, in a nutshell, is Ypsilanti: the most interesting, the most unintentionally funny, and the _flossiest place I’ve ever seen.
posted by El Tigre on 8-6-2007 at 4:27 pm
I nominate Berlin. The rebuilding and unification has created an exceedingly intellectual, eclectic and creative culture in German no less, which always sounds smart :) . Not to mention the ability to reflect on the past and what it means for the future, something we Americans can’t seem to do so well.
I am appalled at all of the US centric locations – which is rather unflossy.
posted by al on 8-6-2007 at 4:46 pm
My dentist would agree with me that the south side of Chicago is by far the _flossiest place to live. I mean, you’ve got to be pretty freakin’ smart to not get shot around here, so I think we deserve some props. Chicago has given the world Vince Vaughn (smart enough to woo Jennifer Aniston away from Brad Pitt), Jeremy Piven (smart enough to NOT pass on Entourage), and 3 of the most intellectual rappers in Common, Lupe Fiasco, and Kanye West. Twista is just a minor setback.
Plus, the only man who somehow made syphilis cool…Al Capone.
I rest my case.
posted by Roman Hanz on 8-6-2007 at 4:56 pm
I declare that Minnesota (the state) should be the flossiest place on Earth.
Because, not only are we the safest drivers on Earth, we also have a homeless guy I saw once who was missing a hand and had a fishing rod instead of a hand.
We also have Kevin Kling, a world-champion storyteller.
We boast the birthplace of the only American Monty Python member: Terry Gilliam.
We also boast Wabasha, the only city in the US who is named after a man who nailed a fetus to a tree.
Bob Dylan came from here, and he has 7 songs in Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Songs (all in the the top 25).
Duluth has the highest child prostitution rate in the US per capita (I never said it was a nice place to live).
We have a city an oscar-winning movie was named after (eat that new york).
And we have 10,000 Lakes! And our state fruit is the first to be genetically engineered.
We invented scotch tape!
posted by Alex Kies on 8-6-2007 at 5:08 pm
I nominate Havana, Cuba ~ Intellectual’s clubs everywhere (full too!); superb music, galleries, ballet company, and museums; free education/university and uniforms for everyone; free health care; the (up until a year ago) Fidel Show every week; great cigars and rum; hopping night life; massive organic farms & farming practices; the public transportation ‘understanding’; and Americans can only get there circuitously (or not at all).
I also nominate Montréal, Québec ~ Recognized by the international design community as a UNESCO City of Design; culturally rich (and the very nice sideline to that: great restaurants); six universities and twelve colleges in an 8 km radius; HQ for the Canadian Space Agency, the National Film Board of Canada (think great films and weird cartoons), and Cirque du Soleil among other standouts; a large major urban park, Mount Royal, designed by Olmsted; an enormous underground city (pedestrian & metro) connecting museums/universities/shopping/sports venues beneath the downtown core capped by a building by I. M. Pei.
Montrealers; Arcade Fire, DJ Champion, Pierre Trudeau, and Chris Haney & Scott Abbott. Enough said.
posted by AMR on 8-6-2007 at 5:11 pm
I will fourth the Asheville motion. The people are a little odd, but the city is small and vibrant and overall very intriguing. And, after all, isn’t that what _floss is all about? Ashevegas ftw!
posted by Jordan on 8-6-2007 at 5:13 pm
I agree that Berkeley is one of the flossiest places. Where else would you hear a guy say (following multiple unheeded announcements), “#34, your pizza is approaching thermal equilibrium” ?
posted by Lebetho on 8-6-2007 at 5:16 pm
I nominate the toothpaste aisle in the Olympia, WA Safeway. Specifically right there next to the toothbrushes and dental piks. Plenty of floss right there…ask anybody.
posted by Karan on 8-6-2007 at 7:09 pm
I assume “flossy” implies something good. If you pick any city in Texas you lose all credibility. Period.
posted by Flossfan on 8-6-2007 at 8:18 pm
I’m nominating Evanston, Illinois.
Not only is it home to Northwestern University, a very high-ranking university, but its close proximity to Chicago means there is a constant stream of new and interesting visitors. Exactly what Mental_Floss wants.
posted by Max on 8-6-2007 at 8:55 pm
i second Ypsilanti
posted by matt on 8-6-2007 at 9:02 pm
Seattle is by far the Flossiest city I have ever been to/lived in. Now I know that being from Kansas may make me tend to think ANYWHERE outside of Wichita is the flossiest place, but having lived in 7 different cities, and visited many more, I must reiterate my resolution: Seattle is queen to flossy living!
I was taking my visiting little brother to Fremont, a burrow of Seattle, to dine on exquisite Thai food , hippie sighting, and to gaze at the troll under the bridge (see pic # 1). To my surprise, I see a wave of people, mostly middle aged to elderly walking in the street parade style, all sporting what appears to be very colorful full body wet suites. I chuckle and shake my head and explain to my little brother that you never know what you’ll find in Seattle. As we walk further on, I look a bit closer at a particularly blue clad man walking his bicycle and I find the words ‘ Look at that guy…he’s….” the word naked died on my lips as I began to realize that EVERYONE around me was naked. Those were not wet suites my friends, it was full body paint. And not kind of naked. NAKED! I had stumbled onto the summer solstice! (see pic #2) The parade went on for about 3 hours and featured a menagerie of political floats such as a giant peach with the letter M on it chasing after a small man in a paper mache Bush mask, to fertility festivalers, walking with giant (and I mean giant, about 7 ft tall) penis costumes, and a huge lumbering pair of breasts struggling to keep up. I also saw a group of “Full Belly Dancers”. There were about 200 of them or more, all of them heavy set, red faced but happy looking, belly dancing in the traditional garb down the street. Drag Queens and an angry banana and others followed. It was such a site to see, and all around me were calm but joyful parade watchers, clapping and cheering at their favorite naked bicyclists, etc. Up until then , I thought the most unique festival Seattle had to offer was Bumbershoot, a 3 day arts and music festival featuring Chuck Palunick, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and hundreds of other great artistic minds. It was here that I discovered Rat City Roller Girls.
Seattle is home to arguably the best Roller Derby team in the country. For a good time, just find the local abandoned warehouse filled to the brim with hundreds of Rat City fans cheering for their favorite girls like Ninjet Sue, Joewanna Asskicken, and Bruise Lee.
Finally, my last personal argument for Seattle being the ‘flossiest place to live’ is the Zombie Walk. An annual gathering of zombie enthusiasts, and willing victims. A wide array of zombies dressed in their previous occupation garb litter the streets for approximately 5 hours. Chef Zombies lurch with Nurse zombies, both croaking for brains and peering in local restaurants and businesses causing curious bystanders to peer out of busses and windows. (see pic 3) The best part is the inevitable Thriller break dance that happens randomly at some point in the day. Nothing like seeing 200 plus zombies jerkily dancing in unison to Michael Jackson.
So in conclusion, I must ask you, where else can one go to see hundreds of nude bicyclists, the best roller derby in the country and enjoy a zombie-riffic walk downtown?
posted by danielle on 8-6-2007 at 11:21 pm
I nominate the Appalachia parts of Kentucky and Virginia.
I don’t live in these areas, but I would love to. It seems as though once you arrive, your stress is gone.
Who could be more flossier?
posted by AimeeD on 8-6-2007 at 11:57 pm
The flossiest place is HELSINKI, FINLAND.
why? if you have to ask, you havent been here.
posted by chribbe on 8-7-2007 at 2:22 am
Portland, Oregon
- Powell’s City of Books
- The city where I play the largest percentage of Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Apples to Apples and such…
posted by Miss Kiki on 8-7-2007 at 3:37 am
Nomintaion: Hartford Connecticut and region.
Hartford is not a bustling city in the sense that NY or Chicago are. Rather it is known more for being the insurance capital of the country. But it also is home to industry such as Kaman Aircraft;
We have a plethera of Medical Schools and including Yale and UConn. Hartford boasts it’s Hartford Hospital, St. Fransis and UConn. Hospitals throughout the state have great reputation. People come from all over the world to this state to be treated by some of the best physicians anywhere.
Colleges such as Yale, ST. Joseph’s, Trinity, Wesleyan and the University of Hartford are just a few of the superior learnig institutions in the Hartford region and throughout state. Needless to say we have a very large population of intellectuals who partake in events that reach out to the public in addition to their students.
University of Hartford has a very large theater where special events take place: such as a talk by Eli Wiezel and Hunter Thompson. They have offered a theater season that was a big success for several years.
The Hartford Stage regional theater has become a nationally respected venue and attracts the best actors every season. The ballet and the symphony also has garnered national attention and has been invited to perform ‘on the ‘road.’
The Anthaneum stands as one of the most interesting museums in the country and offers special events as well as its fine collection.
History is all around us in the Hartford region and throughout the state. We boast the Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s houses just to name two important landmarks. The Webster house and others are easily accessable. Wallace Stevens was an insurance agent in Hartford but that didn’t stop him from writing poetry.
For intellectual stimulation, education, health care, entertainment and entertainment Hartford and the state of Connecticut is outstandin. Just ask all of the writers, movie stars, artists and other talented people who choose to live here.
Hartford flosses!!
posted by BARBARA GERSHENBAUM on 8-7-2007 at 3:59 am
Justin Ritchie is absolutely right. Asheville, NC has a very flossy mix of culture, economy, intellectualism, ecology, and randomness which should certainly qualify it for this list. If you should come to investigate, please email me; my family runs a lodge and we would make you feel right at home.
posted by LorinJuliet on 8-7-2007 at 7:03 am
I would have to say that _flossy is where the home is, Detroit. While it may have a bad rap for a slightly elevated crime rate we are also home to great sports, an awesome museum in the DIA, an international border (2 crossings). As well as Automation Ally, Compuware, and the Meadowbrook Concours D’ Elegance.
Not to mention the rich musical history of Detroit. The MC5, Iggy Pop, Von Bondies, White Stripes.. And that s only the rock.. Techo started here, and don’t forget Motown.
And above all else, for all the bad publicity about the city that we get on a national level, ask anyone here, THEY LOVE THIS CITY…
posted by Rob on 8-7-2007 at 7:33 am
I’m going to have to throw in a nomination for Iowa City, Iowa. It’s got everything you want – a music scene, lots of culture due to the university drawing in people from all over the world, the Iowa Writer’s Workshop resides there, it’s got a great environment for biking and just being outdoors period. If it’s intellectual conversation you want, just stop by one of the many coffee shops located on practically every corner of the downtown area which is mixed in with the campus. You can walk practically everywhere you need to go, they have movies on the riverfront and fun festivals that come through during the summer. Sports fans are never disappointed due to the Big Ten conference and the Hawkeyes. And due to the fact that the university is a research university, there’s always something new to discover! Oh, and if you hurt yourself, there’s the University of Iowa hospital that is one of the best ever!
posted by Lindsay D on 8-7-2007 at 8:32 am
As a current U-M student, I must veto the Ann Arbor votes. Sorry fellow Wolverines, but A2 is just your typical college dump town. Despite the voracious assertions by the smiling staff in the Student Life departments, this locale does not ooze culture and entertainment. Bars, while certainly fun and relatively abundant, do not equate with intelligence and enrichment. However, one location does have the Mental_Floss board game you can play with. Because the whole of Michigan is quickly slipping to desolate-feces-pile status, employers are fleeing all areas and slum-hood is ensuing. This once urban-hipster mecca is quickly becoming either commercialized or abandoned by businesses small and large. In a sad, but foreseeable chain, crime is rising—as in at least four stabbings or other attempted murders within one mile of the Law Quad and within one month. Embrace your new cities, this ‘burb is progressively fizzling.
Instead, I am going to throw out Charleston, SC. I only had the privilege of living in the south for a paltry 3 months, but that was enough to know I wish I was a G.R.I.T.S. Not only is Chas-town rife with delicious seafood and barbecue, the city and surrounding area is teeming with history, culture, and beauty. From touring historic Battery mansions to frolicking on Folly Beach, there is always an adventure for the active mind. For fans of history, it is truly never ending- pirate problems, the disparity of slave trade, and even a major earthquake- Charleston has had it all! As for aesthetics, the Holy City also has enough to please everybody. The downtown is bustling and thriving, for those who prefer the urban setting. Conversely, for those more in-touch with nature, Charleston offers plenty of peaceful, natural settings including marshes and rivers for boating, cypress swamps teeming with wildlife, and plenty of forests (and unfortunately deer running from the forest). And I would be remiss to mention one of the best parts- the people true southern hospitality and geniality still reign supreme. Courtesy pervades, and snobbery is not the norm is this welcoming region.
posted by Rach on 8-7-2007 at 8:33 am
I think that the flossiest place to live would have to be somewhere like Williamsburg VA. The reason would have to be that it is a town that thrives by having knowledge of what happened in the past. There would be a lot of fantastic information that one could learn about what made this country great, and what needs to be done to keep it such a fantastic place to live.
posted by Phil on 8-7-2007 at 9:07 am
Newport Rhode Island!
The haves, have-nots, might be and never will be, once had, still have and everything inbetween gel in this tiny ocean side community rich in history, mansions, hovels, and the simplicity of ocean breezes.
Swells of Summer heat bring international visitors to marvel and pretend. Chills of Winter are graced with the humble welcome and warmth of locals and seekers.
The floss is there. How to use it? The choice is up to you.
posted by Amy on 8-7-2007 at 9:22 am
I have to agree with Rach about Ann Arbor being overrated. There are plenty of college folk to have great conversations with to be found there. However, just about anywhere in Europe someone without 8 years of education can have similarly stimulating conversation. Perhaps I am just jaded from having lived in both places, but I find the US has a numbing effect on intellect.
posted by Jenn on 8-7-2007 at 11:13 am
Thanks to the town’s much-maligned founder, Lord Jeffery Amherst, who single-handedly hatched the plan to eradicate New England’s Indians with smallpox infested blankets, Amherst, Massachusetts has an uncanny penchant for willful, guilt-ridden politically correctness, and a healthy supply of know-it-all ex-hippy college professors.
In spite of the rowdy, drunken hordes that spill like projectile vomit — at times literally — from UMass’ dormitories on Friday nights, Amherst is a quaint little town, responsible for Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson, the cloning of the world’s first sheep, Dolly, the nation’s very first high school performance of ‘The Vagina Monologues.’
Amherst has no shortage of intellectual spark with five colleges in it’s immediate vicinity. And it doesn’t get flossier than Benny the Motown Man, perhaps the town’s most prolific denizen, who roams the streets in a cape, singing Al Green choruses and banging on an empty bucket.
For all this, and much more, I nominate Amherst, MA as the flossiest city in America.
posted by Evan on 8-7-2007 at 3:32 pm
I nominate Oahu, HI. Having spent 9 days there this spring for the first time, my partner Megan and I were blown away to the point of tears as we flew home to an unnamed capitol city in the midwest. We stayed in ‘the country,’ which is the eastern or windward side of the island in a small town called Waimanalo. We walked 50 yards to the beach every day. The town was full of sole proprietorship businesses that knew us by name and face after only a couple of days. We made love on our lanai without acquiring a single mosquito bite. Edible fruit regularly falls from the trees, flowers are constantly in bloom, the fluffy clouds scoot by tantalizingly low, and there are few places on earth that have more geographical drama that are still livable. The amazing surf (even in the ‘low’ season), the surprisingly little amount of washed up trash, the verdant cliffs, the mongooses sneaking through the shrubberies, the sea turtles that tolerate the company of polite snorkelers, the awesome teriyaki marinated flank steaks we bought every other day at Mel’s Grocery Store, trucks that drive around from beach to beach bringing you freshly fried shrimp plate lunches or acai bowls, holy crap: I could go on and on. And for those that must have the big city life, Waikiki and Honolulu are half an hour away. But beyond the wildlife, the vegetation, the landscape and the weather, Oahu is home to the friendliest people I have met on this planet. The moments that surprised me the most were the handful of times that locals 1) asked us if WE were locals; 2) smiled and laughed with us right from the get-go; and 3) told us we should consider making it our home. I was stunned to be asked to ‘move in;’ by native Hawaiians and transplants alike, when so often in the past I have found locals in places like Hilton Head, Salt Lake City, London and Moorea to be very abrupt and disapproving of ‘foreigners.’ Yes, I know that the Hawaiian Islands are US territories, but wow–it took our breath away, and to this day, for a pick-me-up, we tune in KDNN-FM to get our taste of the Aloha spirit as we plan our escape to permanent residency in the most heavenly place on Earth.
posted by creesto on 8-7-2007 at 3:53 pm
Long Beach, CA!
Birthplace of Snoop Dogg.
Big on aviation history.
Second busiest sea port in the U.S.
KJAZZ is at Cal Sate Long Beach.
The Queen Mary lives in the harbor.
The Spruce Goose has been housed in Long Beach too, but since no one has ever actually paid to inside the dome covering it, no one knows if it’s still there.
There are “preying mantis” oil pumps right in the middle of neighborhoods giving it a post industrial homey look.
The people are (exceptionally)friendly and interesting.
Long Beach. We like to know stuff.
posted by mungley on 8-7-2007 at 5:21 pm
Well, we won’t be flossiest for much longer, perhaps, but Yellow Springs, Ohio, a village of perhaps 4,000 and home of the soon-to-be-closing Antioch College is my vote. We have progressives, coffeehouses, NO sprawl, many independent businesses, artists and artisans, MEGA live music, fine cuisine, public and private schools, an active “downtown”, more clubs and activities than in towns three times our size! We’re just worried about what will happen post-Antioch and we’re all involved in keeping it open! We have historical homes, architectural gems, and shacks all built on the same street with lots of trees and greenery, organic farms, and parks. We’re Very Vocal Locals, to quote a local artist!
posted by Yvonne on 8-7-2007 at 6:22 pm
No shouts-out for Ithaca, NY yet?
Let’s start with Cornell – yada yada, Ivy League, blah blah blah – intellectual stuff is covered.
Then let’s move on to some of the hipper aspects of the city. Home to three amazing, world-class festivals: The Ithaca Festival (www.ithacafestival.org), one of the first successful “Celebrate -insert city-!”-style festivals in the country; The Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival (www.grassrootsfest.org), a major international world and folk music festival that draws 20,000 people annually; and the Light in Winter Festival (www.lightinwinter.com), a festival which explores the boundaries and intersection of Art and Science (as _flossy as festivals come).
Let’s talk about the museums – the I.M. Pei-designed Johnson Museum of Art (www.museum.cornell.edu); the Museum of the Earth (www.museumoftheearth.org) at the Paleontological Research Museum; the award-winning children’s science museum, the Sciencenter (www.sciencenter.org), and a slew of fantastic little galleries and constant rotating exhibits at restaurants and coffeeshops.
How about literature? At one recent point (not sure if this is still current) Ithaca had the most bookstores per capita of any city in the country. Kurt Vonnegut, Vladimir Nabokov, E.B. White, Alex Haley and other extraordinarily important authors all lived and wrote here.
Other cool residents include or have included Carl Sagan, Hans Bethe, Robert Moog (invented the Moog synthesizer in the area), Rod Serling, Whoopi Goldberg, and more.
More random talking points:
Ithaca has its own currency, Ithaca Hours.
Ithaca is seriously beautiful – deep gorges and waterfalls are interspersed throughout the downtown area, and the city is set at the south end of Cayuga Lake, one of New York’s Finger Lakes.
Ithaca is home to the Moosewood Restaurant, a pioneering co-op who essentially invented vegetarian haute cuisine.
UTNE Reader called Ithaca the “most enlightened city in the US” in 1997.
The ice cream sundae was invented here (it’s been verified! Take THAT, Two Rivers, Wisconsin!).
And so on, and so forth.
I also have to throw my hat in the ring for Asheville, both Portlands (ME and OR), Ann Arbor and Charlottesville, VA.
posted by Megan on 8-7-2007 at 6:52 pm
Oh, yeah… and His Holiness the Dalai Lama makes Ithaca his seat in North America. The man obviously has fabulous taste.
posted by Megan on 8-7-2007 at 7:04 pm
Gotta be Salt Lake City. We’ve got a Mayor not afraid to call for impeachment, take on Hannity and O’Reilly, lead a demonstration when GWB was in town, and host a winter Olympics games.
Architecturally, one of the most beautiful libraries in the world serves the inquiring minds of residents. We are the capitol city of the only theocracy in the U.S.A., and those of us who are not members of the dominant religious persuasion are certain that those who are desperately need a giant MentalFloss.
‘Nuff said.
posted by Mike Shelby on 8-7-2007 at 9:09 pm
I gotta throw a recommendation out for D.C. We’ve got the politicos doing their thing, the consultants, the non-profs (as a sans-profit guy myself I have to say we’re an eccentric overeducated crowd), great food, museums, great bike trails (hop on the capital crescent trail and tell me you don’t feel like you’ve completely left the city), you’ve got the preppiness of georgetown, the drunkeness of adams morgan, the gay chic of DuPont, and a bunch of other great neighborhoods. And hey, the president lives next door love him or hate him.
posted by Pat S. on 8-8-2007 at 8:30 am
I have to give a nod to my place of live/work/play, namely that of Decatur, GA. As the flourishing literary epicenter of the south, Decatur is a small town with huge intellects-we’re chock full of art galleries, fine restaurants, and two extremely well-done independent bookstores, one of which, Wordsmiths Books, is the largest in the state. The walkability of our community is the highest of any in the state.
posted by Russ on 8-15-2007 at 11:34 am
Oxford, UK.
Everything comes from there (like the Cambridges) and it is pretty close to London and not nearly as expensive
posted by Marianovsky on 8-15-2007 at 11:35 am
It’s got to be Los Alamos, New Mexico–home of Los Alamos National Lab. We used to have the highest number of PhD’s per capita–not sure if that’s still true. I’m sure there are tons of interesting things for the flossy people to do here, but most of it is classified information to which I’m not privy. People here are proud of their titles, for example “Director of Polymers and Coatings”. One good non-classified activity is totally ignoring the anti-nuclear protests we occasionally get.
When I was in college, I couldn’t figure out why the professors all made a big deal out of being called “doctor” because where I came from, PhD’s were a dime a dozen.
posted by Martha on 8-15-2007 at 12:52 pm
I was hoping someone would mention Ithaca! Good on you, Megan. You CANNOT beat a late summer day in Ithaca, NY…
posted by Emily on 8-15-2007 at 1:39 pm
Seattle, flossiest by far.
In addition to the aforementioned Fremont Festival (naked-but-for-body-painted bikers), Seattle is home to alt-weekly The Stranger and radio station KEXP. Entertaining intelligentsia requires good programming, and the public television station in Seattle (KCTS) knows how to mix it up, too! Throw in the proliferation of Utilikilts (Bumbershoot festival, anyone?) and the highest concentration of pierced/inked professionals I’ve ever encountered and people-watching becomes a thing of beauty. When you tire of gawking (at the folks, at the mountains, or at the water)you can pop into Archie McPhee to pick up some wind-up hopping lederhosen or a devil duck or two to provide further distraction.
posted by ~k on 8-15-2007 at 3:31 pm
I’ve lived in Buffalo, Troy, Syracuse, and Binghamton, which makes me something of an upstate NY connoisseur. I’d heartily endorse Buffalo for all the reasons mentioned by Laura and Kristen, and add that real estate is stupid-cheap.
Binghamton, Syracuse, and Troy, while rocking places circa 1890, not so much.
posted by Kate on 8-15-2007 at 6:34 pm
_flossiest city? Saint Louis, Missouri.
Home to no less than 30 colleges and universities, this city has smarts like you wouldn’t believe. Plus, we have the mathiest structure of all time: the Gateway Arch, a 630 foot catenary in all of its aluminum glory. Plus, it makes St. Louis the only sity with an easy to carry handle.
St. Louis is home to lots of culture, including an outdoor sculpture park, museums that include tributes to art, history, dogs, transport and toys, a science center, a zoo, and a botanical garden. And, in the _flossiest move of all, if you time it right, you can get into all of them for FREE. We even have an outdoor theater, the largest in the country, in which you can see shows for FREE. Cultured and intelligent we are!
Plus, I agree with the nominations of Portland OR, and Minneapolis MN. :)
posted by Kmanpat on 8-15-2007 at 8:05 pm
So I hate to double post, but besides correcting my spelling (city is spelled wrongly above) I was reminded of another thing that makes St. Louis _flossy. TRIVIA NIGHTS!
That’s right, we are home to the largest number of trivia nights at least in the states. Basically, you pay to sit at a table with seven of your closest friends and answer ten rounds of ten trivia questions of varying categories. Top teams win prizes, and much fun is often had be all. In peak season, you can find as many as a dozen different ones in a weekend, making The mental_floss quiz seem horribly undaunting.
OK, I think I’m done. :)
posted by Kmanpat on 8-19-2007 at 10:35 pm