Man sues strip club for getting whacked in the face with a boot

by Jamie Rhein on

What is it about Ohio? During Jay Leno’s monologue last night, he quipped about a man who is suing a strip club in Akron for getting hit in the face with a stripper’s boot when it flew off her foot during a high kick.

That’s more weird than the story I heard on Saturday Night Live last September about Sarah Palin’s face being mowed into a corn maze in northern Ohio.

Here’s what happened in Akron, according to this report on Ohio.com. When the man’s cousin from out of town came for a visit, the bright idea of heading to a strip club for a good time came up. So off they went, perching themselves on chairs close to the stage.

Unfortunately, when “Tiara” did her high kick, her boot flew off, smacking Yusuf Evans in the nose, bending it a manner that it shouldn’t have been bent. Because the boot was a platform-style boot, it did extra damage. Now Evans says he has a hard time breathing out of one nostril. It gets clogged, you see. He’s asking for more than $25,000 compensation for his woes.

To avoid getting hit in the face with a stripper’s boot, here are three suggestions for what to see in Akron if one has an out of town guest. You can see a stripper club anywhere, but these three places are one-of-a-kind.

  • At Harry London Quality Chocolates you can tour the factory and sample chocolates. That might satisfy another type of craving since there are 500 different varieties.
  • Learn about another type of rubber at the Goodyear World of Rubber Museum. Akron is the “Rubber Capital of the World,” after all.
  • Dr. Bob’s Home–Dr. Bob Smith founded Alcoholic’s Anonymous. His home is now a museum. Some people who go here say they feel calm.

Peru To Sue Yale University?

by Kraig Becker on

According to a story posted on AdventureJourney.net, a website dedicated to adventure travel, the country of Peru is suing Yale University, for the return of a number of artifacts taken from the country nearly a century ago when legendary explorer Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911.

At that time, Bingham’s discovery captured the imagination of the world, as photos of the Lost City of the Incas gave an eager audience a glimpse of another time and place. But Bingham didn’t just send photographs back to civilization. He also reportedly brought back more than 40,000 artifacts from the site, most of which made their way back to Yale, where they still reside today.

Now, Peru would like these relics returned, and has entered into litigation to get them back. Thousands of visitors flock to the country each year, in no small part thanks to its rich history, and these artifacts are a direct link to that history and a valuable commodity for the tourist economy there. The items also happen to belong to the Peruvian people, and are symbols of their culture and ancient Inca traditions, which still play a role in modern Peru today.

This isn’t just an issue for Peru either. Other countries, most notably Egypt, have worked hard to recover treasures that were taken from them by imperialist powers in centuries past. Fortunately, many nations are now returning these artifacts to their rightful owners. It remains to be seen if Yale will follow suit.

Chinks Peak in Idaho gets a name change in time for Chinese New Year

by Jamie Rhein on

In the name of cultural sensitivity, Chinks Peak in the Pocatello Range in Idaho has a new name. It’s official name is now Chinese Peak.

The name change came after a long time effort to make this particular mountain reflect the important contributions that Chinese pioneers made in Idaho history. Chinks Peak was deemed racist.

In this report, one person on the panel expressed concern that this name change may lead to a flurry of other name changes because there are other mountain peaks and valleys with racist sounding names. He named “papoose” and “squaw” as examples. He also said that changing names sanitizes American history. On the other hand, there’s the argument that keeping the name perpetuates stereotypes and the idea that people who have a Chinese background are outsiders.

Why places are named what they are turns up details of history that offer unusual stories. Booger Mountain comes to mind. In the case of Chinese Peak, there are two accounts. One is that a Chinese person was found dead on the mountain. Another is that there was once a Chinese shanty town located on it. Regardless of the official name change, my hunch is that it will take awhile for the new name to roll naturally off people’s tongues. Old habits die hard. Maybe this will start a new name trend.

The mountains in the photo are the ones that are next to Pocatello. I have no idea if Chinese Mountain is in the distance. Click here for a recent photo taken from the top of the mountain.

A Travel Guide to Shangri-La

by Kraig Becker on

The mystical, mythical Shangri-La has held a special allure to travelers since the release of the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton. In the book, the main character survives a plane crash in the Himalaya only to discover a hidden valley that is a paradise on Earth where the people live for hundreds of years without a care in the world. Since that time, many have searched for the possible location of Shangri-La, hoping to discover the place for themselves.

Now, author Michael Buckley has written a travel guide to the legendary place. The book, entitled Shangri-La: A Travel Guide To The Himalayan Dream, is an interesting mix of myth and reality, as it serves as a guidebook for such places as China, Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal, while still focusing on Shangri-La, a place that doesn’t really exisit at all. The book weaves in local legends, with tales of the yeti and sacred Himalayan peaks, while still providing practical information on Himalayan culture, the best treks in the region, places to visit, and more. There is even a field guide to the wildlife you’ll encounter there.

World Hum has recently conducted an interview with Buckley in which he talks about the challenges of writing a travel guide for a mythical place and why that myth has become such an indelible part of western culuture. He also touches on his own experiences in the Himalaya, where he has spent more than 20 years immersed in the culture and landscapes there.

Shangri-La is one of those unique legendary places that often inspires travel. The mere mention of the place conjures up visions of far off, snowy mountain kingdoms. And while it may not exisit as a real place on a map, the mere thought of it is enough to send us off looking for it none the less.

Booger Mountain and Booger Hollow: What’s with the boogers?

by Jamie Rhein on

While looking for funny names of towns, I came across Booger Mountain and Booger Hollow. Intrigued I dug further to find out where these names came from and more about these places in the United States.

Booger Mountain is a place in North Carolina known for its Christmas trees. As a marketing campaign, the area uses the motto, “Always Pick a Booger.”

Don Burleson, who pens the blog, “Don Burleson Blog: Because you have the right to my opinion,” presented that detail, plus information about Booger Holler and Booger Swamp wine. He also included a picture of Queen Elizabeth going fishing, if you know what I mean.

Further sleuthing turned up Booger Woods in the Charlie Daniel’s song “The Legend of Wooley Swamp.” In the lyrics, Booger Woods is said to be in this swamp.

There is more booger lore, such as Booger Hollow, Arkansas and the origin of the name “booger.”

There are a few places called Booger Hollow. A hollow (holler) is a narrow valley between hills and mountains. One Booger Hollow is in Arkansas. Here you can find the Booger Hollow Trading Post and the Booger Burger.

From reading the details on a Web page on the Booger Hollow Trading Post, I’ve learned that the word booger is not connected to nose boogers, but to spirits or ghosts. It’s a short form for “boogie man” as in “If you don’t behave, the boogie man will get you.” Like the boogie man that’s under your bed.

Various regions of North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky use the term. These were settled by Scotch-Irish who came from a part of the world where shadows, mountains and fog added to a sense of the mysterious belief that places could be haunted. Still, this did not keep The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from doing this hilarious segment on Booger Mountain. The date is April 1, 1999. I expect the story was jazzed up a bit. Still, what a hoot.

The Booger Mountain Tree Farm is listed as winning awards in the 1980s but isn’t on the page of current wholesale growers. However, in this recent thread on City-Data.com has info about where the farms are. Plus, Steve Rhode’s photo was posted this past December.