The Winnipeg Jets face the Chicago Blackhawks in today's game. The Jets are coming off of a 3-2 overtime victory against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, giving them a record of 6-3-1. The Blackhawks surprisingly have a record of 5-4-2 and are coming off of a 2-1 extra frame win against the Los Angeles Kings, also on Thursday night. Winnipeg's own Jonathan Toews and Max Domi will be in the lineup for the visitors in this afternoon's match.
Even though it isn't “My Kind of Town”, we all know Chicago is home to the Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, and the Blackhawks, among other teams. But here are a few facts that you might not know...
Receiving millions of visitors annually, the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower) is one of Chicago’s most popular attractions. It is the second tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. On a clear day, visitors can see four states from the Skydeck: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan....
A view of the Skydeck...
Where did the idea of putting paint in a can with a spray tip come from? Chicago paint salesman Ed Seymour actually invented this artistic substance, which is now used to create colorful works in public spaces all over the city...Is that what they call it now, I always thought of it as graffiti...
Chicagoan Jimmy Dewar worked as a manager at the famed Hostess Brands factory. During that time, Dewar wanted to create a pastry that was filled with cream. His invention, the Twinkie, launched in 1930 and was named after an ad for “Twinkle Toe Shoes” that Dewar came across. The original Twinkie was filled with banana cream, but was replaced with vanilla cream during WWII when bananas became scarce...
Flowing through downtown Chicago, the Chicago River has a fascinating history. Not only does this river run through various systems and canals, but it is also the only river in the world that flows backwards. A reversal technique was introduced for sanitation reasons to divert the sewage away from Lake Michigan’s water supply. The reversal of the river was recognized as being the largest public earth-moving project ever completed. It was also acknowledged as a great engineering achievement...
Interestingly, Chicago did not get its nickname “The Windy City” simply because of its breeze. One of the first known instances of Chicago’s “windy city” nickname came from a New York Sun reporter named Charles A. Dana in 1893, who editorialized that the city’s politicians were “full of hot air.” Chicago and New York were in a head-to-head competition at the time to host the next World’s Fair, and Chicago’s “windbag” advocates were not shy about campaigning for their hometown in order to win. Despite Dana’s best efforts to discredit Chicago as a “windy city”, the 1893 World’s Fair was held in Illinois, not New York.
Even before the World’s Fair debate, there were other published instances of the windy city nickname. The Cincinnati Enquirer used the term in 1876 in reference to a tornado that blew through the city, while also capitalizing on the term’s double meaning to highlight local speakers who were “full of wind.”
From there, the nickname stuck, and the rest is history...
The name "Chicago" comes from the French interpretation of the Native American word for "striped skunk," which was also the name given to the wild onions that grew near the Chicago River. I knew something stunk about the Blackhawks...
At the end of the 19th century, almost the entire city of Chicago was lifted. Buildings were raised over a period of 20 years in order to match the new street level, which had been built up to accommodate a new sewage and draining system...
The initial spark of the Great Fire of 1871 is unknown, although it is commonly believed that a cow belonging to Catherine O' Leary kicked over a lantern starting the fire, but this story is thought to be unlikely. The fire was able to spread quickly due to the overwhelming number of wooden structures, sidewalks, and streets. The fire department also initially travelled in the wrong direction before finally arriving at the out of control blaze.
The Great Fire of 1871 burned over three and half square miles, destroying 18,000 structures and taking the lives of over 300 people. However, on the same day as Chicago's Great Fire, there was an even deadlier and costlier, yet less known fire in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.
Trash and debris from the Great Fire of 1871 was used to fill in a portion of Lake Michigan to expand Chicago's Grant Park...
The first Ferris wheel was invented in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. The ride was over 264 feet tall and featured passenger cars that weighed over 1,200 lbs and were roughly the size of a city bus. Although the original was demolished in 1906, a 15-story replica can be found at Navy Pier of Chicago...
In 1918, over 100 waiters were arrested for poisoning bad tippers in Chicago. Yikes...
In 2013, the nationwide pest control company Orkin announced that Chicago was the most rat infested city in the US, followed by Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York, and San Francisco. Chicago also won the city with the most bedbug infestations for the years of 2012 and 2013...
Let's hope that Chicago doesn't have any “bite” today... Go Jets Go!
Thanks to: 9 Fun and Interesting Facts About Chicago, 50 Interesting Facts about Chicago | FactRetriever.com and 55 Facts about Chicago that Will Leave You Intrigued
Even though it isn't “My Kind of Town”, we all know Chicago is home to the Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, and the Blackhawks, among other teams. But here are a few facts that you might not know...
Receiving millions of visitors annually, the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower) is one of Chicago’s most popular attractions. It is the second tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. On a clear day, visitors can see four states from the Skydeck: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan....
A view of the Skydeck...
Where did the idea of putting paint in a can with a spray tip come from? Chicago paint salesman Ed Seymour actually invented this artistic substance, which is now used to create colorful works in public spaces all over the city...Is that what they call it now, I always thought of it as graffiti...
Chicagoan Jimmy Dewar worked as a manager at the famed Hostess Brands factory. During that time, Dewar wanted to create a pastry that was filled with cream. His invention, the Twinkie, launched in 1930 and was named after an ad for “Twinkle Toe Shoes” that Dewar came across. The original Twinkie was filled with banana cream, but was replaced with vanilla cream during WWII when bananas became scarce...
Flowing through downtown Chicago, the Chicago River has a fascinating history. Not only does this river run through various systems and canals, but it is also the only river in the world that flows backwards. A reversal technique was introduced for sanitation reasons to divert the sewage away from Lake Michigan’s water supply. The reversal of the river was recognized as being the largest public earth-moving project ever completed. It was also acknowledged as a great engineering achievement...
Interestingly, Chicago did not get its nickname “The Windy City” simply because of its breeze. One of the first known instances of Chicago’s “windy city” nickname came from a New York Sun reporter named Charles A. Dana in 1893, who editorialized that the city’s politicians were “full of hot air.” Chicago and New York were in a head-to-head competition at the time to host the next World’s Fair, and Chicago’s “windbag” advocates were not shy about campaigning for their hometown in order to win. Despite Dana’s best efforts to discredit Chicago as a “windy city”, the 1893 World’s Fair was held in Illinois, not New York.
Even before the World’s Fair debate, there were other published instances of the windy city nickname. The Cincinnati Enquirer used the term in 1876 in reference to a tornado that blew through the city, while also capitalizing on the term’s double meaning to highlight local speakers who were “full of wind.”
From there, the nickname stuck, and the rest is history...
The name "Chicago" comes from the French interpretation of the Native American word for "striped skunk," which was also the name given to the wild onions that grew near the Chicago River. I knew something stunk about the Blackhawks...
At the end of the 19th century, almost the entire city of Chicago was lifted. Buildings were raised over a period of 20 years in order to match the new street level, which had been built up to accommodate a new sewage and draining system...
The initial spark of the Great Fire of 1871 is unknown, although it is commonly believed that a cow belonging to Catherine O' Leary kicked over a lantern starting the fire, but this story is thought to be unlikely. The fire was able to spread quickly due to the overwhelming number of wooden structures, sidewalks, and streets. The fire department also initially travelled in the wrong direction before finally arriving at the out of control blaze.
The Great Fire of 1871 burned over three and half square miles, destroying 18,000 structures and taking the lives of over 300 people. However, on the same day as Chicago's Great Fire, there was an even deadlier and costlier, yet less known fire in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.
Trash and debris from the Great Fire of 1871 was used to fill in a portion of Lake Michigan to expand Chicago's Grant Park...
The first Ferris wheel was invented in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. The ride was over 264 feet tall and featured passenger cars that weighed over 1,200 lbs and were roughly the size of a city bus. Although the original was demolished in 1906, a 15-story replica can be found at Navy Pier of Chicago...
In 1918, over 100 waiters were arrested for poisoning bad tippers in Chicago. Yikes...
In 2013, the nationwide pest control company Orkin announced that Chicago was the most rat infested city in the US, followed by Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York, and San Francisco. Chicago also won the city with the most bedbug infestations for the years of 2012 and 2013...
Let's hope that Chicago doesn't have any “bite” today... Go Jets Go!
Thanks to: 9 Fun and Interesting Facts About Chicago, 50 Interesting Facts about Chicago | FactRetriever.com and 55 Facts about Chicago that Will Leave You Intrigued
Lets keep on getting wins and forcing our way to 1st in the Central division.
