Twin United pilots throw opening pitches in Chicago’s crosstown classic

by Grant Martin on

The rivalry between the Cubs and the White Sox is no doubt one of the greatest in the sports community, each teams reflecting the vastly different attitudes and culture between the north and south sides of Chicago. Despite the tension, however, there’s always room for some joviality, and this year, United jumped into the fray by bringing a pair of its identical twin pilots down to U.S. Cellular field to throw the first pitches.

Identical twin pilots you say? Yes indeed. Turns out, the Rayl brothers had parallel careers at United and Continental respectively, and now that the airlines have merged they work for the same company. It’s almost like our resident pilot Kent Wien and his brother Kurt at American Airlines. Only identical. And slightly creepier.

Spend a month at the museum – literally!

by Kraig Becker on

Have you ever walked the halls of a particularly great museum and wished that you could just stay there forever, soaking in the art, historical displays, or scientific demonstrations? Then we have just the thing for you, as the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is hosting its second Month at the Museum contest. The winner gets to live at the museum 24/7 for a full month.

Applications are now being accepted for Month at the Museum 2, with the winner living, breathing, and eating science every day for 30 days straight. While taking up residence at MSI, the person selected will be blogging, tweeting, and posting videos of their experiences at the 14-acre facility. And once the museum closes for the night, they’ll have the run of the place to explore to their heart’s content.

If you’re interested in becoming this year’s temporary tenant, you’ll need to be available to move in from October 19th to November 17th. You’ll also be outfitted with a number of tech gadgets to help you serve as the museum’s ambassador for the month, and you’ll receive $10,000 cash for your trouble as well.

Last year, Kate McGroarty won the job and her experiences are still archived online here. It seems she had a great time and enjoyed her stay at the museum. Perhaps it’s your turn this year?

Inside the WBEZ Studios in Chicago to Learn about the Rust Belt

by Paul Brady on

At the outset of my trip, I needed some guidance. A sort of Rust Belt Virgil, willing and able to orient me to the exciting and dynamic and tragic state of the Great Lakes region. With my route passing through Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, there seemed no one better for the job than Micki Maynard, a journalist now spearheading a public radio project called Changing Gears.

More than just a radio show, Changing Gears is a multi-year, multimedia effort that aims to tell the stories of people in the Great Lakes, through radio, yes, but also online and in video, with reporters stationed around the region. The questions they’re asking: How are people in this part of the country reinventing their cities, their local economies and even themselves in the face of cataclysmic change? Those are the stories Changing Gears hopes to capture and some of which Micki shared with us in our video interview at the WBEZ studios on Chicago’s Navy Pier.

Traveling the American Road – Changing Gears’ Micki Maynard


Making Cars in the Great Lakes: Inside Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant

by Paul Brady on

Before I left Chicago for points east, I had a chance to tour Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, a complex that finishes about 1160 vehicles a day. A great majority of those are Ford Explorers, pieced together by line workers wearing safety glasses and headphones, working pneumatic tools in a hypnotizing ballet of endless repetition. Whir, whir, whir.

Walking the floor, following pedestrian pathways marked by bright yellow paint, I watched linemen and women raise engine assemblies into vehicle bodies, hang doors and bolt wheels, as conveyor belts ceaselessly inched the unfinished machines ever forward. (A tip: When touring the plant, one steps over the drive-chains running through channels in the floor.)

My tour guide Larry, a dead ringer for Jesse Ventura, even let me jump in a just-finished Explorer the moment it rolled off the line. Videographer Stephen Greenwood, who’s riding along for this part of my ride, captured the mesmerizing shots after the break.

Traveling the American Road – Ford Assembly Plant Tour


Traveling the American Road: A Video Introduction from Chicago

by Paul Brady on

Last week, I kicked off a summer-long road trip around the country, a project we’re calling Traveling the American Road. After picking up my ride in Chicago, I set out to see the city, and this video intro will fill you in on the project, a quest to find out how people are confronting change in the wake of the Great Recession and determine the state of the American road trip in an era of $4-a-gallon gas. Oh, and you can keep up with us here on Gadling, at travelingtheamericanroad.com or on Facebook, Twitter and Gowalla.

Traveling the American Road – Introduction