This weeks news from around the web:
8 Fascinating Object Graveyards
The World’s Weirdest Hotels
One Fish, Two Fish, Places That Look Dr. Seuss-ish
The 10 best silly events in Britain
Six Creative Bus Stops from around the world.
Gatorama hatching festival
Coral Castle: An obsession lives on as roadside attraction
A report on the World’s Largest Chocolate Fountain.
Archive for August, 2009
Pit Stop – August 31, 2009
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Krystal Square Off – Coming Soon – Part 2
I feel as if I’ve been slacking on the updates lately…but I promise you it is for a very good reason that will reveal itself in due time…and hopefully by that Imean in time for the Krystal Square Off happening at the end of September!
For today, here’s some more news from the circuit: Last week Pat Bertoletti became the first person to qualify for the event! I wish I could have been there! Krystal posted a few videos so we can all see what happened!
First, the kick off and running of the grill!
The Krystal Square Off qualifier:
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The Arctic Building
I’m sure you’ve all seen buildings dressed with gargoyle accoutrements…but how about walruses? The exterior of the Arctic Building in Seattle, Washington is dotted with twenty-five walrus heads!

The building was built to excess for people who had excess: those that returned to Seattle after striking it rich in the Klondike Gold Rush!

According to the Lonely Planet guidebook to Seattle that pointed me in the building’s direction, the tusks of the walruses are said to have originally been authentic ivory. However, when an earthquake hit in the 1940s a few of them were shaken loose. Because of the hazard this caused to pedestrians they were then replaces with epoxy substitutes.

Site: Walruses on The Arctic Building
Location: 700 3rd Avenue at Cherry, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free to see.
Hours: Always visible
Date: June 24, 2009
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Angie's Umbrella
Aside from grunge and the Space Needle and coffee there’s another thing Seattle is famous for: rain. The city gets about 37 inches of waterfall a year and some 200 cloudy days. While some might shy away from a dreary day, others, like myself, relish in it. To me, there is nothing like a day where you can sip a mocha and wrap yourself in a sweatshirt and watch the raindrops fall.

One of the things I found most fascinating about Seattle is that when it started to drizzle no one would put up an umbrella. It was a far cry from my home in Chicago where the slightest hint of a mist means umbrellas wide open above everyone’s head. I’m the oddball of the city who doesn’t even own an umbrella, let alone carry one in case of emergency. So, if for nothing else, I loved the way Seattle-ites embraced their weather and continued to go on with their lives despite a little water.
With all the rainy days the city has it seemed only appropriate that, while walking between the waterfront and the Olympic Sculpture Park, I stumbled onto this outdoor sculpture: Angie’s Umbrella.

Created by Jim Pridgeon and Benson Shaw, the sculpture is a large 30-foot high inside-out red metal umbrella. The windswept umbrella statue rotates a full 360 degrees on a traffic Island between the Market and Belltown. According to Seattle Pi it marks the exact location of the divide: “it’s where Western Avenue and Elliott Avenue meet at Lenora Street.”

Site: Angie’s Umbrella
Location: Western Ave. & Elliott Ave. at Lenora St., Seattle, WA
Cost: Free to see.
Hours: Always visible
Date: June 24, 2009
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Akio Takamori's Young Woman, Girl, Mother and Child
I stumbled upon these statues on my first day vacationing in Seattle. While meticulously following my map from my hotel room in Seattle Center to Capitol Hill and passed these on my way and couldn’t help but stop for a moment to check them out.
Standing outside of a Whole Foods store there were three seven-foot statues depicting a rosy-cheeked Asian family standing in a circle.

The sculptures, titled “Young Woman, Girl, Mother and Child,” are by Seattle-based artist Akio Takamori.

Site: Akio Takamori’s Young Woman, Girl, Mother and Child
Location: Whole Foods Market, 2210 Westlake Ave., Seattle, WA
Cost: Free to see.
Hours: Always visible
Date: June 24, 2009
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Pit Stop – August 24, 2009
A look at the world’s weirdest festivals.
8 Fascinating Object Graveyards
Once a popular attraction, Mystery Hill may close.
A list of unusual museums.
Plans to unveil the world’s oldest human footprints to tourists.
Overland Park approves museum development.
CMOG to Break Worlds Largest Glass Pumpkin Record
Route 66 offers tastes from the past.
Pit Stop – August 24, 2009 | No Comments » |
Krystal Square Off – Coming Soon!
OK…so I completely forgot to save the photos I was going to post today! So instead I will take a time out to post some news on a very special event I am so incredibly excited for: THE KRYSTAL SQUARE OFF!!!

Last year and the year before I packed off to Chattanooga, Tennessee to witness the greatest hamburger eating contest in the world live and in person. I plan on doing it again this year too! This year’s event will take place September 27 in Chattanooga!
Are you excited? I sure am!
This year Krystal is mixing things up with some rule changes. They posted a video announcing that this year there will be no dunking and they will be given some bigger burgers to munch on:
Unfortunately Chicago is a White Castle town and there are no Krystals anywhere near here, so I won’t be making it to any qualifiers.
But you know who will? My favorite Chicagoan Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti who will be kicking off the qualifying tour this weekend! Krystal posted a video that I just had to share of him eating Krystals without chewing and an angus burger in 9 seconds in preparation for this weekend…
Crazy.
Mark your calendars for the big show on September 27…and for more news check out the Krystal Square Off Blog!
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