Most Famous Wood Chipper

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Geo: 46.8759, -96.7823

We are getting a little short of time so after a quick visit to the Mall Of America in Minneapolis, and a lunch with our two favourite Minnesotan bikers we had to make our way to Fargo North Dakota. The last time we had lunch with Kevin and Art, we were dining at a café in Havana, Cuba and they were trying to find materials to build a life raft since they were running low on currency and were getting concerned about being permanent guests of Fidel. It was good to confirm that they had made it out and that they were cautiously planning their next out-of-country experience.

So let's be honest. North Dakota, the least visited state in the Union, is only known for 2 things- the movie 'Fargo' and the fact that more ducks reproduce in North Dakota wetlands than anywhere in the U.S. (does anybody really know that?). How bad are things for this Rodney Dangerfield of a state- none of the scenes in the popular movie Fargo was actually filmed here. Additionally, the movie was loosely based on two true events that happened in Minnesota, not North Dakota. That said, the movie wouldn't have been as compelling with the non-existent Minnesotan accent.

Including the ducks, any native North Dakotan would passionately deny that they speak the way they do in the cult movie but…. they do. Because the lead character was a female police officer, the movie sits firmly on DH's list of greatest movies ever. Her favourite line of the movie was "I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your policework there, Lou". Substitute ‘Dave B' for ‘Lou' and you have a line she used a lot very early in her own policing career- usually after Dave returned from an alley with scrapped knuckles shortly after chatting with a suspect.

The folksy use of "yep", “nope”, “youbetcha”,”uff da” and “okiedokie” is more than common, and every now and then we'd be looking around for a translator. If you go to the post office to mail a “paggitch”, if you refer to a snack as a "bunny lunch", if being delayed by snow is to be "snow-stayed"… you must be from North Dakota.

The number one attraction in North Dakota is the wood chipper from the Fargo movie carefully housed inside the visitor centre- complete with a human leg sticking out of the feeder (you have to see the movie to get this reference). The second biggest attraction is the Walk of Fame- unlike most such Walks, since North Dakota is a little shy of local celebrities, this Walk of Fame has the handprints of anyone famous who happened to visit North Dakota either accidentally or on purpose (even that seems to be a relatively short list).

People should know more about North Dakota (after all if ND seceded from the Union, it would be the world's third strongest nuclear power), but it remains a largely unknown land mass. To help rectify that problem I'm providing a list of ND factoids:

- It's illegal to go dancing in Fargo with a hat on. It is even illegal to wear a hat at a party where other people are dancing. It is also illegal in North Dakota to take a nap with your shoes on.
· The smallest city in North Dakota is Maza, with a population of 5 people. North Dakota does not have towns or villages. Each place is officially a city, no matter how small it is.
· The world's largest hamburger was eaten in Rutland, North Dakota. It weighed 3,591 pounds and more than 8,000 people were invited to the meal.
· Milk is North Dakota's official state beverage.
· In North Dakota, it is unlawful to serve beer and pretzels at the same time in any bar or restaurant.
· North Dakota is the only state in the nation to never have an earthquake.
· If you are in a covered wagon, it is legal to shoot an Indian on horseback.
· North Dakota grows more sunflowers than any other state.
· North Dakota holds the Guinness World Record for the most snow angels made simultaneously in one place. On February 17, 2007, 8,962 people made snow angels at the state capitol grounds.
· An average of 21 tornadoes a year hit North Dakota.
· One of the quirkiest sports in North Dakota is lawn mower racing. By the time mowers are customized, they can reach speeds of 60 mph.

There's not a ton of WOW's in North Dakota but we had a really good time here- it's one of the few states with a reasonable number of Tim Hortons coffee shops so there must be good things happening here.

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Photos

Viking Presence
Scandinavian roots run deep in Minnesota, and so does the belief among some that the first Vikings who inhabited the state were not of the National Football League variety.

Kensington Runestone
The theory that the ancient Norsemen explored Minnesota as much as 1,000 years ago blossomed after Swedish-American farmer Olof Ohman and his son discovered a 200-pound, rune-covered slab of stone in 1898 while clearing stumps near the rural town of Kensington.

Kensington Runestone
The inscription on the Kensington Runestone claimed that Vikings led by Paul Knutson had come to the prairies of western Minnesota in 1362 in search of the Vineland colony established by Leif Erickson

Evidence Of Vikings
Although experts nearly universally declared that the runestone and subsequent discoveries of Viking swords and relics were hoaxes, the idea that Nordic explorers once visited Minnesota gained new life after archaeologists uncovered evidence in Newfoundland that Leif Erickson had indeed traveled to North America.

Fargo Was Home To Roger Maris
Maris set the MLB record for home runs during the 1961 season with 61, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs in 1927.

Some Didn't Like That He Broke Ruth's Record
Maris downplayed the challenge, saying, "I'm not trying to be Babe Ruth; I'm trying to hit sixty-one home runs and be Roger Maris."

Babe Ruth Was The Original Sultan Of Swat
The crown passed to Maris.

Comments

[Doug & Elaine]

Some witty, biting commentary on this Northern State!

[mss-2014]

That's encouraging?!?!

[mss-2014]

Hahahahaha!!

[Amanda]

Best movie ever

[mss-2014]

That's scary....

[mss-2014]

Well, that's something that I will NEVER need ;)

[debbiebutt]

Dave said that you must be mistaking him with someone else,He was a master with words which seemed to calm the ass@&*# s down.

[Great Uncle Vern]

Elicits memories from when I was a 3 year old on the old Saskatchewan homestead. The strongest radio signal came from Fargo North Dakota. That was before the Canadian Broadcasting Commission (1932) and the CBC (l936).

[Crich]

Is that the same bra from the Woody Allen movie from the 70s. Size 4000 with an X cup.