The Bizarre, The Unusual, The Unexplained Blog

If you ever journey to Portland, Oregon, you will be able to experience the World’s Smallest Park. According to Wikipedia, Mills End Park is a circle two feet across.

Mills End Park, Portland, Oregon

Reportedly, Dick Fagan,  a columnist for the Oregon Journal, contended, he spotted a leprechaun digging a hole outside of his office one day. He immediately captured the creature and was granted a wish, when he let him go. Fagan wished for a park. He unfortunately did not specify the size. Thus Mills End Park was created.

Fagan regularly wrote about the the park in his newspaper column. The leprechaun, Patrick O’Toole, was also discussed. Fagan died in 1969, but the memory of his park lived on. The people of Portland wanted to honor him for all he had contributed to their city.

In 1976, the city of Portland, made it official. Thus, Mills End Park became part of the City Park system. The park has had some unusual occurrences including being the home of a butterfly swimming pool as well as having a miniature Ferris Wheel placed there. The small Ferris Wheel was delivered by a normal sized crane. You can find the park at SW Naito Parkway. Read the entire Wikipedia article here.

In Portland you can also discover some of the finest pizza made anywhere on the planet. Master pizzaiolo, Brian Spangler, creates these pizza pies at Apizza Scholls. Spangler, has been featured in the Legends of Pizza audio series. Visit this link to read a review of Apizza Scholls.

Spanglerhas been gaining national recognition as one of the finast pizza makers in the country. He was visited by noted baker Peter Reinhart and reviewed for the Legends of Pizza Volume 1  audio. The Legends of Pizza, Volume 1 and 2 is available in e-book form by going to this link.

So next time you are in Portland, visit the Worlds Smallest Park and have some of the Best Pizza in the Wolrd. You will not be disappointed.

Albert Grande, Bimwah-in-Training
http://albertgrande.com/
grandepublishing.com
http://bimwah.net
The Best Pizza Resource on the Internet
Hawaii Secret Dot Com
LawofReciprocity Site

The Unusual, The Unexplained…

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Jason Lewis, had a big idea. Could he travel around the world using only human power? The answer is yes, but his journey lasted 13 years.

During that time he endured crocodile attacks, broke both his legs in Colorado, was detained as a spy and had his partner give up and go home.

Not Lewis, he continued on. His journey took him 46,000 miles as he circumnavigated the entire globe. He started in 1994.

He fell in love. He roller bladed across North America, traveling from Miami to San Francisco. He used a specially rigged pedal boat to cross the Pacific.

His partner, Steve Smith, joined him for a part of the journey. Their friendship became strained in the first 111 day leg across the Atlantic. They crossed North America separately, but reunited to travel to Hawaii, in their boat.

The damage had been done, however. Smith made it as far as Hawaii with him. Smith had enough. He abandoned the quest when they reached Hawaii. That was five years ago.

Lewis continued on. He kayaked. He walked. He swam. From Hawaii, Lewiscontinued on to Australia, Asia, Africa, Asia and finally Europe.

He had an International support team that assisted him with his travels. He accepted donations and also worked his way across the planet.

Each part of the trip was done entirely with human power. No sails, no motors. Pure physical determination and sheer will.

There is much to be said about following one’s dream. Much can be learned about the human condition through this trek.

Lewis finished his adventure, where he started, in England.

His travels have been documented at his website: Expedition 360: A Human Powered Circumnavigation.

Take a break, Jason. You deserve it.

Albert Grande, Bimwah-in-Training
http://albertgrande.com/
grandepublishing.com
http://bimwah.net
The Best Pizza Resource on the Internet
Hawaii Secret Dot Com
LawofReciprocity Site

The Unusual, The Unexplained…

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Chuck Shepherd is a weird person. Very weird. OK, maybe he’s not that weird, but he writes about weird stuff. He is the creator of a newspaper column called News of the Weird.  This column appears in over 250 newspapers world wide.

The strangest part of his reporting is that all of the stories are true.  He proclaims that this is “proof true stories are weirder than made up stories.”

Here are some recent  examples: A North Carolina company billed the Pentagon over $20,000,000 for shipping two washers valued at 19 cents  a piece.

A 70 year old from Edmonton, Canada, uses the Sunday Edition of her newspaper as an integral part of her diet. She eats it in strips because she said it tastes good. “I can’t explain it,” she said. Doctors discovered a huge wad of newspapers stuck in her throat.  The doctors contend, that except for throat blockage, eating newspaper is not harmful.

In California, a man armed with a can of Pledge and a lighter, accidentally burned down his mobile home, while trying to get rid of a wasps nest.  In addition to burning down his home and all of the contents inside, he also destroyed a truck, a trailer and an outbuilding.

And these stories are just part of one column. Visit Chuck’s website and get weirded out yourself.

Here is the link: News of the Weird Get over there right now.

The Unusual, The Unexplained…