Category: Trivia

Lessons from the Trail

These are some things I learned on the Downeast Sunrise Rail Trail:

1. According to the sign of complex rock/paper/scissors/lizard/Spock-like hierarchy of right-of-way, cross-country skiers trump most other forms of transportation but must yield to dogsledders.

2. Mile markers do not necessarily start with zero at the start of the trail.  Apparently there is a Secret Start somewhere else.

3.  If you get hooked on finding that really cool (at least in our imagination) store at mile 9ish, which is always just around the next bend, you can forget to do that math and end up biking over 18 miles.

The name not taken…and thank you for that

This post comes to you today from New Hampshire.  But I just learned that this spot used to be part of Massachusetts!   This is from a real estate listing that Gale sent me, for a house around the corner.  (If only I could convince her to buy it – how fun would that be?)

Regarding Goffstown:

“This town started as a part of Massachusetts, and was known as Narragansett Number 4, Piscataquog Village, and then Shovestown before installation of the New Hampshire provincial government. In 1748, the area was granted to new settlers, including Colonel John Goffe. He had fought in the French and Indian Wars, worked for Governor Wentworth as a surveyor, and became judge of probate for Hillsborough County. Goffstown was officially named for Colonel Goffe when it was incorporated in 1761. The town includes the village of Grasmere, named for the English home of poets Wordsworth and Coleridge.”

What did you think it meant?

Sally learned this:

“Op-ed does not mean “opinion-editorial” – it literally means it’s opposite the editorial page!”

She pointed out that Wikipedia says:
“An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page (though often mistaken for opinion-editorial), is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper’s editorial board. These are different from editorials, which are usually unsigned and written by editorial board members.”

Telltale

This is a “telltale”.  Today it’s over a gorgeous rail trail, but once it was over a train track of the Northern Railroad in New Hampshire.

I don’t think I would have noticed it if I had not learned about it from the New Hampshire Rail Trail book by Charles F Martin.

He says: “These are horizontal bars holding a set of vertical metal strips that hang down toward the track.  If a train worker were on one of the cars and couldn’t see the bridge coming, then a telltale would tickle his back, reminding him to keep down”

 

Filming Thataway

Insider tip!  Sally taught me that when you see a yellow road sign with an arrow and cryptic letters both right-side-up AND upside-down, it means they are pointing to where a movie is being filmed!

She saw this one one when The Zookeeper was being filmed in Boston:

Note that they can flip this baby to point in any direction.

Sally noticed a new one on Sunday, it said “IHYD” and she was sure it was pointing to another shooting location.

Yup. She found out this this is for “I Hate You, Dad”, starring Adam Sandler, Susan Sarandon, James Caan.

Sally says “Also, look for all the people in the cast, because they’re already being spotted around Boston!”

 

Your Milk’s Home Town

This is from the website of the desperately-trying-to-launch Manchester Food Co-op:

How do you know if your milk is bottled locally?

 Look for the code.
Each dairy product has a number code on the package. The first two numbers of the code tell you what state the milk is processed in and the rest of the code indicates the processing plant.

The codes for New England are: Connecticut 09; New Hampshire 33; Massachusetts 25; Rhode Island 44; Vermont 50; Maine 23. If a code starts with these numbers, you know the product was bottled right here in New England.

To learn where your milk is bottled, please visitwww.whereismymilkfrom.com