Contest #853 – “A Christmas Story” Leg Lamp Statue, Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA

In the Movie “A Christmas Story”, the father character enters a contest and wins “a major award”. Unaware of what it is, the family awaits the arrival until this very moment:

Ok, so how did that become this? And why in Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA?

Well, it’s quite a circuitious story.

A professor at the University of Oklahoma Art School, Noland James, was born in Chickasha. At some point in his life, he created a lamp using the bottom half of a mannequin

This lamp sat in his office for most of his teaching career and was a subject of interest for many students, faculty and vistors. Once such “admirer” was later to find himself on the production team for “A Christmas Story” and designed the leg lamp for the movie. Was he inspired by Dr. James’s lamp? No one seems to know, but the city leadership of Chickasha took that info and most definintely ran with it.

Starting in 2020, they started using a giant inflatable leg lamp in their Christmas parade. They used the same inflatable in their “Christmas in July” parade in 2021 and their 2021 Christmas (presumably in December?) parade. Such was the publicity and acclaim, that they decided to erect this monstrosity er, statue in the town square by the old train station.

If you visit this small town 50 or so miles south of Oklahoma City, you can also see Dr. James’ original artwork, at the Grady County Historical Society.

Those who won the “Major Award” by finding it before the hint:

  • Graham Hedley
  • hhgygy
  • Garfield
  • Bas van Limpt
  • Angie CF
  • Martin de Bock

and those who had to settle for a “Minor Award” by finding it after:

  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Phil Ower

Contest #852: “Big Pistachio” near Alamogordo, New Mexico, US

One could say that this location started off with a small seed of an idea. It started as a humble tribute from a son to his father. From there, it developed a measure of celebrity and in some ports of call, evolved into a “destination” in its own right. Tim McGinn, owner of the pistachio ranch, said he wanted to “honor the memory of his father, Tom McGinn, who originally founded the pistachio and grape-producing farm.” The World’s Largest Pistachio was built in 2007. The location is just north of the town of Alamagorda, New Mexico in the southwest US.

Found before the hint:

  • Garfield
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Graham Hedley
  • hhgygy
  • Martin de Bock
  • Eloy Cano
  • Felix Bossert
  • Philip Ower
  • Angie CF

After the hint :

  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • Bas van Limpt
  • The Curiosity

Contest #851: Big Merino in Goulburn, NSW, Australia

The Big Merino is a 15 metres tall concrete merino ram, located in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. Nicknamed “Rambo” by locals, the Big Merino contains a gift shop on the ground floor and a wool display on the second floor. Visitors can climb to the top and look out through the Merino’s eyes to view the local area.

The Big Merino was officially opened on 20 September 1985 at 98 Hume Street, Goulburn, approximately 800 metres north-east of its current location.

In 1992 the Hume Highway bypassed the town, which resulted in a loss of 40 busloads of tourists to the Big Merino complex per day. On 26 May 2007, the Big Merino was moved to a location closer to the new Hume Highway to increase visitor numbers, and is now located near the freeway interchange at a service station. A drive-through car wash now occupies Rambo’s original location.

Found before the hint:

  • Garfield
  • hhgygy
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Martin de Bock
  • Graham Hedley
  • Angie CF
  • Eloy Cano
  • Phil Ower
  • Bas van Limpt
  • Lighthouse

Contest #850 – Institut sénégalais de recherches agricoles (ISRA), Sinthiou Maleme, Senegal

This site is part of a network of laboratories and research centers dedicated to agriculture advancements and improving food access in this west African nation. It appears to be a station of the larger Centre National de Recherches Agronomiques division of ISRA.

Those who found the location were:

  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield

Which, also means that Eloy and Garfield are the winners of this series with 19 points each. Congrats!!

For those into the stats of this game, we’ve been to Senegal twice and on both occasions have had only two correct responses: for those wanting a challenge made easier by the fact you know the country, here is the image from the other time:

Contest #849: the heliport parking lot just north of the Maraya Concert Hall, Saudi Arabia

Contest #849 took us in the desert of western Saudi Arabia to the heliport used by visitors to the Maraya Concert Hall. The concert hall is the largest mirror building in the world at nearly 10,000 square metres. But the concert hall location was thought to be too easy for this group of players, so the heliport parking lot just to the north was chosen.

Found before the hint:

  • Phil Ower
  • hhgygy
  • Lighthouse
  • ZORRO THE FOX
  • Graham Hedley
  • Martin de Bock
  • Paul Voestermans

After the hint :

  • Angie CF
  • Garfield
  • Bas van Limpt
  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • Eloy Cano

Contest #848: the Råbjerg Mile migrating sand dune, Denmark

Contest #848 took us to far northern Denmark and the Råbjerg Mile. This sand dune is one of the largest migrating sand dunes in Europe and the last big one in Denmark. Two government acts proclaimed in 1857 allowed the Danish government to buy or expropriate areas of sand drift and to allow the purchase of areas adjacent to the drifts. Dune grasses and conifers were planted to stabilize the sands and these plantations became common after 1880. This sand dune was left to be studied – it migrates up to 15 metres per year to the northeast leaving a low, moist layer of sand behind it, back westwards towards the sea, where the Mile originally formed more than 300 years ago.

Found before the hint:

  • Lighthouse
  • hhgygy
  • Martin de Bock
  • Angie CF
  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • zorro the fox
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Garfield
  • Graham Hedley
  • Eloy Cano
  • Phil Ower
  • Bas van Limpt

Contest #847: the Bulford Kiwi near the town of Bulford, England

Despite the NZ visible in the image and the fact that the chalk figure is a kiwi, this location is in England.

It was created by soldiers of the New Zealand Expiditionary Force while they waited to go home after WW1. There are quite a few chalk figures in this area but this is the only one not a white horse or military badge.

Found before the hint:

  • Lighthouse
  • hhgygy
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Phil Ower
  • Garfield
  • Angie CF
  • Graham Hedley
  • Martin de Bock
  • Bas van Limpt
  • Eloy Cano
  • Zorro the Fox
  • Ashwini Agrawal

Contest #846 – Birth place of Martin Luther King Jr, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Martin Luther King's Boyhood Home

Often mistaken to be a parsonage, the house where Dr. King was born was owned by the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, not the church itself. Reverand Williams and his wife bought the house in 1909. His daughter Alberta married Dr. King’s father (then named Michael King) in 1926, and the couple moved into this house. His son Michael was born in 1929. Michael King Sr took over the church when Reverand Williams died in 1931. In 1934, he travelled to Berlin for the Baptist World Alliance Congress in 1934, and while there, ended up studying the life and works of Martin Luther. When he returned home, he legally changed both his name, and his son’s, to Martin Luther King.

The home is now a part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and is administered by the US National Park Service. Tours of the home conducted by Park Rangers are sometimes available.

Those who figured out that we dumped the New Years theme and went here before the hint were:

  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Martin de Bock
  • Lighthouse
  • Phil Ower
  • Jason Hattermann
  • hhgygy
  • Bas van Limpt
  • Zorro the Fox

And those who cursed our name once the read the hint:

  • Angie CF
  • Graham Hedley
  • LawnBoy
  • Ashwini Agrawal

Contest #845 – Gold’s Gym Khalda, Amman, Jordan

It’s a new year, and with it, a staggering number of people setting out to new year’s resolutions, among the top of them to “get into shape”. Lots of people all over the world flocking to gyms, so we thought we would include one.

Here is the largest commercial gym in the world as of posting. Gold’s Gym Khalda in Amman is 6 stories tall (3 reserved for women only) and over 140,000 square feet of space. There are 4 swimming pools and 2 cycling studios. As several of our contestants noticed, there is also a full padel court.

Those who “worked it out” (sorry, just couldn’t avoid the pun) before the hint:

  • hhgygy
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Eloy Cano
  • Lighthouse
  • Martin de Bock
  • Garfield
  • Graham Hedley
  • Phil Ower
  • Zorro the Fox
  • Angie CF

and after the hint:

  • Bas van Limpt

Contest #844 – Moët & Chandon and Hôtel Moët & Chandon – Eperney, France

Dom Perignon statue in Epernay

No, the French monk Dom Pierre Pérignon did NOT invent sparkling wine. He improved the process and made it viable (or as viable as he could for the time), but Méthode Champenoise was invented by a British scientist known as Christopher Merritt 30 years before Dom Pérignon set foot in Hautvilliers.

Nevertheless, his contributions were enough to the industry that he is imortalized by a statue at the Moët & Chandon location in Eperney in the heart of the Champaign region of France. Also, his name is attached to the single most famous brand of Champaign produced.

In addition to the winery shown here is Hôtel Moët & Chandon. Built as a private residence in 1793 by Jean-Rémy Moët, it hosted Napoleon and Josephine among many other distinguished guests.

Those who drank from this location’s flutes all before the hint:

  • Graham Hedley
  • Garfield
  • Martin de Bock
  • Phil Ower
  • hhgygy
  • Zorro the Fox
  • Angie CF
  • Eloy Cano
  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Lighthouse
  • Bas van Limpt