Contest #557: Roe River, Giant Springs State Park, Montana, USA

Much to the chagrin of the citizens of Lincoln City, Oregon, the Roe River, which flows from the Giant Springs to the Missouri River, it the official holder of The Guinness Book of World Record as “Shortest River”.

At 201′ (61 m), getting the Roe recognized was the brainchild of 5th Grade teacher Susie Nardlinger (who, oddly enough, taught at “Lincoln Elementary” in nearby Great Falls) and her 1987 class. This surpassed the “D” river in Lincoln City (about 750 miles / 1200 km away) whose previous record length came in at 440′ (130 m).

The people of Lincon City were not about to just let this go without a fight. In addition to claiming that the Roe was nothing more than a drainage ditch that some elementary students measured as a class assignment, they also claimed that their beloved D was, in fact, only really about 120′ (37 m) long (at “extremely” high tide). The Roe proponents shot back that the D was just an ocean water backup. This went back and forth until eventually the fine people at Guinness threw up their hands in disgust and discontinued the category just to end the argument, leaving the Roe as the permanent title holder.

“Oh, I saw the river the whole time…”:

  • Garfield
  • Phil Ower
  • hhgygy
  • Abcdefg Hijkl

“Ahhh, now I see that little stinker…”:

  • LawnBoy
  • Andy McConnell
  • Walter_V_R
  • Luís Filipe Miguel
  • Sandworm
  • rob de wolff
  • gscrp

Contest #556: the Comedy Carpet in Blackpool, England

The Comedy Carpet in Blackpool was this week’s contest, and generated lots of correct answers. For the prize this week, based on the comedic theme, we will be deducting 2 points from anyone who got it right before the hint and 1 point for those after the hint. In essence, this means you would have been better to not answer or get it wrong.

Now that I have everyone’s attention, it was all a joke – and points will be assigned as normal.

Created by artist Gordon Young, and designed in collaboration with Why Not Associates, the Comedy Carpet is a celebration of comedy on an extraordinary scale. Referring to the work of more than 1,000 comedians and comedy writers, the carpet gives visual form to jokes, songs and catchphrases dating from the early days of variety to the present. Sited in front of Blackpool Tower, the 2,200m2 work of art contains over 160,000 granite letters embedded into concrete, pushing the boundaries of public art and typography to their limits.

Those who found this included (all before the hint):

  • Walter_V_R
  • Sandworm
  • hhgygy
  • Abcdefg Hijkl
  • Garfield
  • Gillian B
  • Rob de Wolff
  • Phil Ower
  • Chris Nason
  • Glenmorren
  • Eloy Cano
  • Jeather
  • Hilde Lambeir

Contest #556 Hint

I was having a drink just before the show and a man said to me “Do you always take your whiskey neat?” I said “No, I don’t. I sometimes don’t wear a tie and let my shirt hang out.”

And a bunch more just like that.

Contest #555: Laguna Garzon Bridge, Garzon, Uruguay

Built in 2015, this bridge replaced a ferry crossing at the mouth of this scenic lake. The architect, Rafael Viñoly, designed the bridge in this circular fashion to force travellers to slow down and take in the beauty of the site.

Laguna Garzón Bridge from Rafael Viñoly Architects on Vimeo.

Those who found it included:

  • Glenmorren
  • hhgygy
  • Sandworm
  • Phil Ower
  • Abcdefg Hijkl
  • Yakub
  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Gillian B
  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • gscrp
  • Farceur
  • Jesus Rodriguez
  • Robin
  • Walter_V_R
  • Rob de Wolff
  • Farid
  • Hilde Lambeir
  • BC11

And after the hint:

  • bibiweb
  • Chris Nason