Some things about Chicago you may not have known?

[Boats]

HOW COLD IS IT!

Example: Chicago vs the rest of the USA

When its about -

1. 60 degrees - Floridians wear coats, gloves, and woolly hats.
Chicago people sunbathe.

2. 20 degrees - Californians shiver uncontrollably.
Chicago people have the last cookout before it gets cold.

3. 20 below - People in Miami cease to exist. Chicago people get out their winter coats.

5. 40 below - Hollywood disintegrates. Chicago's Girl Scouts
begin selling cookies door to door.

6. 460 below (Absolute Zero) - ALL atomic motion stops. Chicago people start
saying. . ."Cold 'nuff for ya??"

7. 500 below - Hell freezes over. The Chicago Cubs win the
World Series

8. You must learn to pronounce the city name...it is Shi-ca-go, or
Sha-ca-ga... depending on if you live North or South of
Roosevelt Rd, respectively.


9. Next, if your road map is more than a few weeks old, throw it
out and buy new one. If in Naperville and your map is one day
old, then it is already obsolete.

10. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere, Chicago has its
own version of traffic rules... "Hold on and pray."

11. There is no such thing as a dangerous high-speed chase in
Chicago. We all drive like that.

12. All directions start with, "I-94" .. which has no beginning and
no end.

13. The morning rush hour is from 5AM to noon. The evening rush
hour is from 3PM to 10PM. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday
morning.

14. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended,
cussed out and possibly shot.

15. When you are the first one on the starting line, count to five
when the light turns green before going to avoid crashing with
all the drivers running the red light in cross-traffic.

16. Construction on the Northwest Tollway is a way of life and a
permanent form of entertainment. We had so much fun with
that we have added the Elgin O'Hare Expressway (which oddly
enough doesn't go to Elgin OR O'Hare) and I-355 to the mix.
All unexplained sights are explained by the phrase, "Oh, we're
in Cicero!"

17. If someone actually has their turn signal on, it is probably a
factory defect.

18. Car horns are actually "Road Rage" indicators.

19. All old ladies with blue hair in Mercedes have the right of way.
Period.

20. First Ave, LaGrange Rd, NW Highway, all mysteriously change
names as you cross intersections (these are only a FEW
examples).

20a. If asking directions in Cicero you must have knowledge of
Spanish.
20b. If in Bridgeport, Mandarin Chinese will be your best bet.
20c. If you stop to ask directions on the West or South side
you better be armed.
20d. A trip across town (east to west) will take a minimum of four
hours, although many
north/south freeways have un-posted minimum speeds of 75.

20e. The minimum acceptable speed on the Dan Ryan is 85. Anything
less is considered downright sissy.

21. The wrought iron on windows near Englewood and Austin are not
ornamental.

22. The Congress Expressway, commonly referred to as the
Eisenhower Expressway is our daily version of NASCAR
(though often at speeds that don't exceed 5 mph).
The Dan Ryan is called "The Death Trap" for two reasons:
"death" and "trap."

23. If it's 100 degrees, it's Taste of Chicago. If it's 10 degrees
and sleeting/snowing, it's opening day at Sox Park. If it's
rained 6 inches in the last hour, the Western open Golf Classic
is in the second round.

24. If you go to Wrigley Field pay the $25.00 to park in the
"Cubs Lot." Parking elsewhere could cost up to $2500 for
damages, towing fees, parking tickets, etc. If some guy with a
flag tries to get you to park in his yard, run over him.

[39mto39g]

do not drink the green chicago river. the green beer is ok, Kisswalkee ave is dangerous in daylight. Down town State street is way cool and lake shore drive has some of the pest views. Don't slow down at toll boths just through the money and get out off the way. The pecoso looks dumb.
Sears is tall and it moves? night view is the best.

[Jerry D]

Boats, are there any cars out on Lake Michigan or was it too warm for the snow removal people to scrape them up and dump them on Lake Michigan this year?

[tamariki]

Very enlightening. The only thing I knew about Chicago before reading that, was from Old Blue Eyes.
Jim

[Boats]

Jerry,

Way to warm. I know many are in the lake. I've only seen twice in my almost 60 years cars on the lake. Winter's have been pretty mild and very little snow. There must be something to this global warming.

I recall one year it was so cold that the lake froze up as far out as one could see from shore. That year was late 60's or early 70's - man it was cold too. 60 some days below freezing and many below zero. If that happen every year I'd have to move about 20 miles south of here.

Thank for the enlightenment. Glad I live her in Elk Grove CA, 5 miles south of Sacramento.

[Jerry D]

Thanks Boats, I didn't think it had been cold enough for the lake to freeze & for it to hold cars. A friend of mine Rich Davis was from around Chicago and he told me that when a car was stranded out on the ice they would bet when the spring thaw would open up the lake and the car would fall though the Ice.That would make an Interesting bar bet.

[revwardoc]

I've read that the word "Chicago" is Native American for "garlic field" or "place of the stinking onion". Either one fits.