What's the biggest dump in Ohio? (Cleveland, Portsmouth: live, stations, radio)

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by missik999

Don't forget to mention the Cuyohoga River, the river so polluted that it has caught on fire at least 13 times. Once back in the 60's a huge river fire burned over a million dollars worth of boats and a waterfront office building.

Like so many other rivers, in other cities, at the time?

[missik999]

Originally Posted by JR_C

Like so many other rivers, in other cities, at the time?

I don't recall so many other rivers catching fire and causing a million dollars damage? Refresh my memory?

[missik999]

Apparently the Cleveland Tourism Board offered $14 million for anyone who could produce a new tourism video for Cleveland. These two attempts were widely shared on news and radio. Here are the lyrics, but you should check them out on YouTube because they are hilarious:

Wicked Sweet Videos: Get Buzzed: Hilarious Cleveland Tourism Video (http://www.wickedsweetvideos.com/2009/05/hilarious-cleveland-tourism-video.html - broken link)


Fun times in Cleveland today!
Cleveland!
Come on down to Cleveland town everyone
Come and look at both of our buildings
Buy some food that's prepared near the street
Who knows you might even see this guy
You should come on down to West 6th Street
It's the perfect place if you're a douschebag
Watch the poor people all wait for buses
Who the $%&** still uses a pay phone
Here's the place where there used to be industry
This train is carrying jobs out of Cleveland
Cleveland leads the nation in drifters
Here's a statue of Moses Cleveland
He's the guy who invesnted Cleveland YEA!


After the Cleveland Tourism Board rejected their first attempt, the guys made another attempt to produce a video displaying Cleveland in a better light.

Fun times in Cleveland Again!
Still Cleveland!
Come on down to Cleveland town everyone
Under construction since 1868
See our river that catches on fire
It's so polluted that all our fish have AIDS
See the sun almost three times a year
this guy has at least two DUIs
Flats looks like a Scooby Doo ghost town
Don't slow down in East Cleveland or you'll die
Our economy's based on Lebron James
Buy a house for the price of a VCR
Our main export is crippling depression
We're so retarded that we think this is art
It could be worse but at least we're not Detroit!
We're not Detroit!

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by missik999

I don't recall so many other rivers catching fire and causing a million dollars damage? Refresh my memory?

All that was before my time, but I've read that rivers in industrial cities caught fire fairly regularly. But I can't find any references to the Cuyahoga fire causing a million dollars damage. (which is what would make the Cuyahoga fire unique, I assume?)

[missik999]

Originally Posted by JR_C

All that was before my time, but I've read that rivers in industrial cities caught fire fairly regularly. But I can't find any references to the Cuyahoga fire causing a million dollars damage. (which is what would make the Cuyahoga fire unique, I assume?)

Before my time as well, but I grew up in Ohio and remember studying this in Ohio History class. Found this on Wikipedia:

There have reportedly been at least thirteen fires on the Cuyahoga River, the first occurring in 1868.[12] The largest river fire in 1952 caused over $1 million in damage to boats and a riverfront office building.[13] Fires erupted on the river several more times before June 22, 1969, when a river fire captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays."[

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by missik999

Before my time as well, but I grew up in Ohio and remember studying this in Ohio History class. Found this on Wikipedia:

There have reportedly been at least thirteen fires on the Cuyahoga River, the first occurring in 1868.[12] The largest river fire in 1952 caused over $1 million in damage to boats and a riverfront office building.[13] Fires erupted on the river several more times before June 22, 1969, when a river fire captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays."[

Interesting. But, this doesn't mean it didn't also happen elsewhere. Can you prove that there were no other fires in other cities, that didn't cause more than $1 million in damages?

[Townes Van Zandt]

Originally Posted by missik999

Apparently the Cleveland Tourism Board offered $14 million for anyone who could produce a new tourism video for Cleveland. These two attempts were widely shared on news and radio. Here are the lyrics, but you should check them out on YouTube because they are hilarious:

Dude, no way. Where did you find that video?? I've like never seen that! =0

Seriously though, did you use a time machine to travel 3 years back to find that?

Good lord, man....what decade is this? Are you still using dial-up? Are you wearing parachute pants still?

Somebody get this guy a high speed modem!

[missik999]

Originally Posted by JR_C

Interesting. But, this doesn't mean it didn't also happen elsewhere. Can you prove that there were no other fires in other cities, that didn't cause more than $1 million in damages?

While considering that it is impossible to prove a negative, I did google "river fires" and the results were nearly 100% Cuyahoga. After searching through the results I found mention of a fire in two other rivers: the Chicago River in 1800's and the Rouge River, no year was stated. I was unable to find reports of damage from either of those river fires.

But, on the positive side, I did find an article about an interesting film on how the Cuyahoga has been cleaned and restored.

THE RETURN OF THE CUYAHOGA is a fascinating look at the life, death and rebirth of one of America’s most polluted rivers. Perhaps best known as “the river that burned,” the Cuyahoga is, in fact, an emblematic waterway. Its history is the history of the American frontier, the rise of industry, and the scourge of pollution. In 1969, when the river caught on fire, the blaze ignited a political movement that not only saved the Cuyahoga and its communities, but continues today with the current environmental movement.

The Cuyahoga caught fire as far back as 1883. In 1914, a river fire threatened downtown Cleveland, until a providential shift in the wind turned it away. In 1918, a river fire spread to a shipyard and killed seven men. The Cuyahoga burned again in 1936, 1948, 1949 and 1952. Then on June 22, 1969, the polluted Cuyahoga, slick with oil and full of debris, caught on fire. The river didn’t just burn in Cleveland — it burned in the nation’s imagination. Along with the rise of other social movements in the late sixties, the country was also beginning to take note of our damaged environment. The fire started a chain of legislation and events that continue today, including the creation of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, Earth Day, and the Environmental Protection Agencies at the federal and state levels. The Cuyahoga is America’s best example yet of a watery success story. The dead river came clean — and back to life again

[missik999]

Originally Posted by ksu sucks

Dude, no way. Where did you find that video?? I've like never seen that! =0

Seriously though, did you use a time machine to travel 3 years back to find that?

Good lord, man....what decade is this? Are you still using dial-up? Are you wearing parachute pants still?

Somebody get this guy a high speed modem!

It was played (to death) on Indy radio stations and also featured on local news channels. Sound bites from these are still used by local morning radio jocks, so I am reminded of them occasionally.

[urbancharlotte]

This is too easy. The small southern Ohio town of Portsmouth has got to be the "Pill-billy" capital of America. I used to live near this dump. I should know.

38.732226,-82.994585 - Google Maps