The 50 States’ Least Likely Natives – 1/2

I think everyone knows Bruce Springsteen’s from New Jersey. Same thing with the Beach Boys and California. Or Jimmy Carter and Georgia. Or Woody Allen and New York.

But did you know that Brad Pitt’s from Oklahoma, George Clooney’s from Kentucky, or Reese Witherspoon’s from Louisiana? How about Jim Henson of the Muppets being from Mississippi? How about NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine being from New York?

So, here they are … the least likely natives of all 50 states. Since that’s a lot of states and celebs, I’m breaking it up into two posts. This week, we’ll tackle Alabama through Montana.

 

Alabama

Courtney Cox

• Claim to Fame:  actress
• Birthplace:  Birmingham
• Stayed:  through high school
• Reason for leaving:  college (GWU, in DC)

Alaska

Curt Schilling

• Claim to Fame:  baseball player
• Birthplace:  Anchorage
• Left:  before high school
• Reason:  military brat

 

Arizona

Emma Stone

• Claim to Fame:  actress
• Birthplace:  Scottsdale
• Left:  at age 16
• Reason:  to pursue acting career (in LA)

Arkansas

Eldridge Cleaver

• Claim to Fame:  activist
• Birthplace:  Wabbaseka (pop. 255)
• Left:  at age 8

California

Robert Frost

• Claim to Fame:  poet
• Birthplace:  San Francisco
• Left:  at age 11
• Reason:  father’s death / move back with family

Colorado

John Kerry

• Claim to Fame:  politician
• Birthplace:  Aurora
• Left:  at age 1
• Reason:  military/diplomatic brat

Connecticut

The Carpenters

• Claim to Fame:  musicians
• Birthplace:  New Haven
• Left:  at ages 13 (Karen) and 17 (Richard)
• Reason:  to further musical careers (in LA)

Delaware

Valerie Bertinelli

• Claim to Fame:  actress
• Birthplace:  Wilmington
• Left:  in “early teens”
• Reason:  corporate (GM) brat

Florida

Jim Morrison

• Claim to Fame:  musician
• Birthplace:  Melbourne
• Left:  at age 4
• Reason:  military brat (father was an admiral)

Georgia

Spike Lee

• Claim to Fame:  director
• Birthplace:  Atlanta
• Left:  at age 4

Hawaii

Bette Midler

• Claim to Fame:  singer / actress
• Birthplace:  Honolulu
• Left:  at age 20
• Reason:  to further her career (in NYC)

Idaho

Ezra Pound

• Claim to Fame:  poet
• Birthplace:  Hailey
• Left:  at age 4
• Reason:  his mom hated it

Illinois

Robin Williams

• Claim to Fame:  comedian / actor
• Birthplace:  Chicago
• Left:  at age 12
• Reason:  corporate (Ford) brat

Indiana

Axl Rose

• Claim to Fame:  musician
• Birthplace:  Lafayette
• Left:  at age 20
• Reason:  to escape the law

Iowa

Ashton Kutcher

• Claim to Fame:  actor
• Birthplace:  Cedar Rapids
• Left:  at age 20
• Reason:  to model in NYC

Kansas

Kate Spade

• Claim to Fame:  fashion designer
• Birthplace:  Kansas City
• Left:  mid-college (Univ. of Kansas)
• Reason:  to attend Arizona State

Kentucky

Johnny Depp

• Claim to Fame:  actor
• Birthplace:  Owensboro
• Left:  at age 7
• Reason:  dad’s new job

Louisiana

Jared Leto

• Claim to Fame:  actor
• Birthplace:  Bossier City
• Left:  at age 8
• Reason:  military brat

Maine

Anna Kendrick

• Claim to Fame:  actress
• Birthplace:  Portland
• Stayed:  thru high school
• Reason for leaving:  to pursue acting career (in NYC)

Maryland

Frank Zappa

• Claim to Fame:  musician
• Birthplace:  Baltimore
• Left:  at age 12
• Reason:  for health (had asthma, earaches & sinus problems)

Massachusetts

James Taylor

• Claim to Fame:  musician
• Birthplace:  Boston
• Left:  at age 3
• Reason:  dad’s new job (professor at UNC med school)

Michigan

Burt Reynolds

• Claim to Fame:  actor
• Birthplace:  Lansing (claimed to be born in Georgia)
• Left:  at age 10
• Reason:  army brat

Minnesota

Bob Dylan

• Claim to Fame:  musician
• Birthplace:  Duluth
• Left:  at age 20
• Reason:  to pursue his musical career (in NYC)

Mississippi

Jimmy Buffett

• Claim to Fame:  musician
• Birthplace:  Pascagoula
• Left:  as pre-teen
• Reason:  military brat (Army Corps of Engineers)

Missouri

Eminem (Marshall Bruce Mathers III)

• Claim to Fame:  musician
• Birthplace:  St. Joseph
• Left:  at age 11
• Reason:  parents’ separation

Montana

David Lynch

• Claim to Fame:  director
• Birthplace:  Missoula
• Left:  at age 1
• Reason:  USDA brat (father was a research scientist)

Most Ridiculous NCAA Conferences

Remember the Pac-10? Remember when the Big 10 had ten teams? Remember when the ACC was actually on the Atlantic coast?

Well, not no more, folks. I tell ya, it is really starting to get out of hand. 

Now, the question for me is always, is there any way to put a number on this craziness? Perhaps the easiest way to do that would be to simply compute the longest distance between any two teams in that conference. Now, I’m not talking about the 15 miles between Duke and UNC. I’m talking about, say, Duke and Stanford.

So, based on that, here are the eight craziest conferences out there. I’m limiting it to only those conferences with numbers over 1,000 miles, ranking them by increasing mileage. Finally, I looked at driving mileage, not air.

Okay, let’s see what we got …

Big East

1424 miles

Providence to Creighton

Fun fact:  Nine of the 11 schools are Catholic 

It’s on IMdB

American Athletic 

1744 miles

Temple to UTSA

Fun fact:  Have two teams named the Owls, Rice and Temple

Sun Belt

1521 miles

Old Dominion to Texas State

Fun fact:  According to this Wikipedia map of the actual sunbelt, four Sun Belt teams shouldn’t be in the conference

Conference USA

1822 miles

Liberty to New Mexico State

Fun fact:  Will jump a little further down the list when the Univ. of Delaware joins in 2025

Western Athletic

2067 miles

Seattle to UT Arlington

Fun fact:  34 former members

And this is on YouTube

Big 12 

2155 miles

West Virginia to Arizona State

Fun fact:  Actually has 16 teams

What the future might hold in store

Big 10

2844 miles

Rutgers to Univ. of Washington

Fun fact:  Actually has 18 schools

ACC

3126 miles

Boston College to Stanford

Fun fact:  2 teams are now on the Pacific Coast

Got it?

Really Weird Mushrooms - 2/2

Last week, we looked at weirdly-named mushrooms #50 through #26. This week, it’s a countdown to #1. Here we go!

 

25. Dog Stinkhorn (Mutinus elegans)

“Its common names in French, Phallus de Chien, Satyre des chiens, also hint at its resemblance to a dog penis.”

Fun fact:  Other stinkhorns include netted, lattice & chambered

 

24. Ragged Dapperling (Lepiota clypeolaria)

I can definitely see the ragged part

Fun fact:  “Dapperling” means “little dapper fellow” (which I don’t see)

 

23. Manywarts (Amanita polypramis)

Yup, no shortage of warts here

22. Sock Hop (Marasmius cohaerens)

“A bland, boring LBM (Little Brown Mushroom)” (MushroomExpert.com)

Fun fact:  I have absolutely no idea where the “sock hop” comes from (and could only find it in Peterson’s)

 

21. Litter Tooth (Phellodon fuligineoalbus)

Sticky surface atrracts leaves, sticks & other detritus (hence the “litter”)

AKA:  Other Tooths include Cracked, Dusky, Fleshy, Stacked, Sweet & Zoned

 

20. Veiled Oyster (Pleurotus dryinus)

“One of the more obscure varieties of edible oyster mushroom”

19. Dungdrops (Bolbitius titubans)

Gumdrops and cough drops … meet Dungdrops

Fun fact:  AKA the Sunny Side Up, which sounds much more pleasant

 

18. Depressed Hedgehog (Hydnum umbilicatum)

The “depressed” comes from an indentation in the cap

Fun fact:  AKA as the Dimpled Hedgehog

 

17. Recurved Earthball (Scleroderma flavidum)

A kind of puffball

16. Liver Milkcap (Lactarius hepaticus)

Its color is supposedly “liver-brown”; the cap exudes a whitish substance when torn

Fun fact:  Other milkcaps (and there are many) include Bleeding, Coconut, Curry, Fishy, Huddled, Slimy, Smoky & Sooty

 

15. Scaley Earhorn (Turbinellus floccosus)

Surprisingly descriptive

Fun fact:  AKA Scaly Vase & Shaggy/Scaly/Wooly Chanterelle

 

14. Tiny Navelcap (Loreleia postii)

Oddly explanatory

Fun fact:  Latin name after American mycologist, Dr. Lorelei L. Norvell 

13. Cloying Brittlegill (Russula fragrantissima)

“Odor strong and fragrant, reminiscent of maraschino cherries, almonds, or benzaldehyde”

Fun fact:  Other Brittlegills include Blackeye, Frogskin, Stinkstain & Stubby

12. Champagne Deathcap (Amanita crenulata)

From its color and noted toxicity

Fun fact:  Other Deathcaps include Caesar’s, Chlorine, Sock-foot & Turnip-foot

 

11. Troop Crumblecap (Coprinellus disseminatus)

Grow in large groups, or “troops”

Fun fact:  It was either this or Corrugated Crumblecap (Coprinellus disseminatus)

10. Drumstick Truffleclub (Tolypocladium capitatum)

Grows on truffles; top looks like a … er …uh, club. Yup, that's it, a club.

9. Poison-Pie (Hebeloma crustuliniforme)

It’s poisonous alright

Fun fact:  Also known as the rather tempting Fairy Cakes

8. Stinking Parasol (Lepiota cristata)

Has “an unpleasant odour resembling burnt rubber”

Fun fact:  AKA Stinking Dapperling (see #24)

7. Dingy-Dish (Lepista tarda)

Google returns mostly recipes for this one

6. Big Laughing Gym (Gymnopilus junonius)

No clue what’s so funny

C’mon, at least gimme a smile!

Fun fact:  AKA Spectacular Rustgill & Laughing Rustgill

5. Green Gillgobbler (Hypomyces viridis)

Alliteration for the win!

Fun fact:  Actually an infection of Russula mushrooms

4. Pimplecicle (Cordyceps militaris)

No, Google, I did not mean “pimple cycle”

Fun fact:  Grows out of underground insect pupae

3. Scurfy Twiglet (Tubaria furfuracea)

Shakespearean curse?

Fun fact:  AKA the Totally Tedious Tubaria (Wikipedia)

 

2. Mousepee Pinkgill (Entoloma incanum)

“Said to have an odour reminiscent of caged mice”

Fun fact:  Often, but not always, greenish

1. Irksome Cavalier (Tricholoma inamoenum)

“Irksome” meaning poisonous in this instance, I guess

Fun fact:  Other cavaliers might be Collared, Soapy, or Sooty