Here are my most pressing questions from my trip to Oregon. If you know the answers to any of these, let me know. It will save me from having to ignore patrons at the reference desk while I look up the answers.
- Who made the Tree of Life statue near Saltair in western Utah?
- Why does Elko exist?
- If you plant a billion different breeds of roses next to one another do you end up with cross pollination problems?
- What's Red Bull's connection to Portland?
- How closely are Ponderosas and Redwoods related?
- Why did the Chataqua women's groups die out?
- How do you rake a Japanese garden without leaving footprints in the gravel?
- What's the deal with the Shanghai Tunnels? When were the tunnels built? For what purpose? Are they called the Shanghai Tunnels because they're connected with Chinatown or because of the kidnappings they enabled?
- Do catfish have feet?
- When did US trains stop transporting passengers?
7 comments:
Comment from a random person:
8) They were built in the mid to late 1800's. Originally they were built supposedly to transfer goods from the waterfront to the businesses farther inland, but in practice they were mostly used for illegal activity: kidnapping, opium dens, moonshining ventures, prostitution, bare-knuckle boxing, and probably lots more. They were called the Shanghai Tunnels because one you were kidnapped, you were put aboard a ship, and the farthest port a ship would go to from Portland was Shanghai. Hope I've answered your questions. :)
Thank you! Yes, you answered my questions very well.
The answer to question #1 can be found at:
http://www.utah.com/amusement/metaphor_tree.htm
I suppose I could write out what is presented on the website, but then I would feel compelled to cite (downside of being a librarian) the website and I don't feel like looking up the APA or MLA style for citing a website.
Excellent! Thank you.
Japanese garden raking: they walk backwards and pull the rake in front of them, and start in the middle and work their way out. Did you also know: they rake the gravel to make "water lines." The gravel is supposed to be water/the ocean, and if there are large landscaping rocks in the middle of the gravel, those are supposed to be islands with mountains. Their landscaping is meant to be a landscape in miniature.
Also #10: U.S. trains still transport passengers. For almost all of my teenage years I rode Amtrak along California's coastline at least once a month to visit my Dad (it's absolutely beautiful and definitely something to do if you're visiting there). Amtrak also has cross-country trains, including one that stops in Provo! But the prices are more expensive than taking a plane or driving, so it's really a sight-seeing kind of thing. But people do it, I've known lots of people who rave about it. You can see a map of their routes here.
I, too, rode Amtrak for part of my youth, and my sister rode it just last year. I have fabulous and scary stories about riding the train.
In answer to question #2--Elko exists solely to provide a pit-stop/gas-filling-spot/I've been driving forever and it's really late and there is no town anywhere, and then you come into Elko with it's motels that break all three of Megan's hotel rules and you are happy-spot.
Ah, yes. I've actually spent some time in an Amtrak station myself. At 3:00 am. I wasn't riding myself; I was just seeing a friend off. I should rephrase question #10 to be What percentage of US trains are passenger trains vs. cargo trains and when did car/plane travel overtake train travel?
Breanne--Yes, we saw a really nice Japanese garden with the rocks and the waves. It was super cool.
Moo--What are the three hotel rules?
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