h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, I was cruising by and read your article about the Erie Gauge War and the subsequent comments about a possible Mollie article. That piqued my interest as I have a interest in the history of the Pinkerton Dectective Agency. Did you one of Allan Pinkerton's (the founder) earliest cases was the infiltration and exposure of the Mollies over a murder case? Very interesting--I'm looking forward to any article you might write on them in the future. (No pressure here )

Signed,

Someone in another state that is well known for having hotheads who dislike authority.

As soon as I get some breathing room, I plan to do a write-up on the Mollies. I've still got two more golf courses to play to finish up my 'Golf in Hershey' project for h2g2 university.

They're a special part of Pennsylvania history and really deserve my undivided attention.

Hope you enjoyed the Erie entry.

One of the things I love about Pennsylvania is its weird history (like the Hot Water War and the Whiskey Rebellion) and odd characters (like 'Dirty' Simon Girty and 'Robber' Lewis).

Of course, since my ancestors played a role in the Whiskey Rebellion, I might be forced to give it some special treatment as well.

Cheers!

- X

It sounds like you have some tough research to do on the golf article there....maybe I should think about a University project on the best times of the day to take a nap or the best eating establishments in my hometown!

I reckon places to eat in Montanna might make a fine university project.

Why not?

It's not like we've got rules here or anything...

Rules? We don' need no steenkin' rules!




Speaking of restaurants, that sort of university project would be short and sweet out here. There's a place up the road with three items on the menu: steak, steak, and steak.

Just like in the movies when the rugged hero walks into a tavern and says 'Gimme a beer.'

That never seems to work when I try it - perhaps I'm not rugged enough.

Whenever I ask for beer, the barkeep always says gruffly, 'What kind?'

I had one of those classic moments in a local watering hole, the Roundup Bar in Greenough, Montana. Our group wandered in after a hard day Christmas tree hunting in the Rattlesnake Mountains (no kidding). Anyway, it was just like in the movies. Our passel of strangers came in, someone stopped the music--even with that scratching noise familiar to LP players--, conversation stopped dead, and each and every patron turned to look at us. Under my breath I did my rendition of "Dueling Banjos". Unfortunately the barkeep did not address any of us as "pardner". More's the pity.

That used to happen to us a lot in college in western Pennsylvania.

My disreputable friends would accidentally wander into a coal miners' bar and everything would freeze.

At least nobody said 'you've got a pretty mouth, boy'

A quick beer or two and we'd flee back into the night, leaving them to talk about those long-haired punks who had the audacity to intrude on their ritualistic drinking.

Squeal like a pig, boy!

Wow. It must have been that posting that knocked me out for the past week!

I reckon it's quite possible that film is the defining work on redneck 'culture' in America.

I think so as well. No other movie captured the music, the lifestyle, the pathos...

In any case it heavily influenced me. Now every time I see someone of a stoopid and/or redneck persuasion I start "singing" Dueling Banjos. Now if I only had a song for the yuppie trash...

~Everybody have fun tonight~
~Everybody Wang Chung tonight~

It's always worked for my hoodlum friends...

No, I mean a song for the jerks who (keep in mind they were once all about peace, love, and ecology) drive their perfectly clean, never-left-the-pavement SUV from their all-white gated surburban neighborhood while talking on their cell phone on their way to shop at the Super Wal-Mart after stopping for "dinner" at McDonald's first.

Something that says "screw the rest of the planet...I've got what I want".

Any ideas?