September 4, 2017

Could it be? Could it possibly be September already? Seems like last week was July and I was on vacation. Oh, by the way, welcome to Week Number 318 of Big Facts from Little Minds, an outreach service of O’Connor University. You send me lotsa money, I’ll send you a diploma. By the way, we are an accredited institution, certified as thus by TOCA, the Tuition Optional Collegiate Association.

Talking about vacation reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend the other day. He expressed interest in my old hometown’s once-lively shipbuilding industry, so I directed him to some on-line pictures of ships built in Manitowoc, including 28 submarines during WW2.

The launching of those subs sideways instead of bow-first, as it’s done in most yards, was deemed to be risky if not impossible. A side launch, the experts said, would capsize the hull, flipping it upside down, an outcome not deemed desirable by the US Navy.

Enter the engineers. These guys equipped with little more than slide rules and adding machines figured out that, no, the hull would NOT capsize. It would roll pretty good, but would recover its preferred vertical orientation in short order.

They got the go-ahead to build ‘em sideways and launch ‘em in the same manner. They built the hulls on large timbers which were canted slightly toward the water. The hulls were held in place by huge ropes, which prevented the hull’s natural inclination to slide seaward.

On launch day the timbers were greased heavily from the keel to the point where the hull would drop into the water. After the obligatory champagne bottle-smacking of the bow and a band’s stirring renditions of patriotic music, a squad of well-rehearsed dockworkers swung their axes in unison and severed the ropes holding the hull in place. The hull slid down the ways (as they’re called) and hit the water, heeling over at a pretty dramatic angle, generating an impressive ‘tsunami’ wave on the other side of the river, but NOT capsizing.

The engineers were right. It worked just fine. If you would like to see some great pictures of their victory over doubt, just Google ‘pictures of submarine Peto launching at Manitowoc.’ There is one that’s particularly good, showing the huge wave and the timbers flying up in the air as the ship enters its natural element.

There are copies of this picture in homes, businesses and museums throughout the Manitowoc area. There was a copy (maybe the original) displayed in the lobby of the radio station I worked for in the ‘60s, owned by Francis Kadow, who in addition to being a broadcaster, was a very talented professional photographer. We were under the impression that he had made the iconic image, because it was not like him to display someone else’s work. No matter; it’s a great shot, whoever who took it.

Well, alright, let’s see what you’ve done with our questions from last week.

Not many comments, unfortunately, due, I suppose, to the ‘comments’ section of the website not being operational. Once again, I encourage you to just email me at john.oconnor@eagleradio.net. It really doesen’t take much longer than leaving a comment in the usual place at the bottom of this page.

But we DID have two persistent souls who emailed replies to our weekly trivia quiz.

Terry was first in with the answer to the Kansas kid scientist’ question. Yes, it was Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto at the age of 24.

And Susan dropped in to tell us that it was Triangle Rexall Drug in the 1600 block of Main, which had the last real soda fountain in Great Bend. Not only did they have all your usual soda fountain treats, but great sandwiches made fresh every day. They closed in the mid ‘80s, I believe.

That leaves three questions still active:

What astronaut landed on a farm and scared the people until they found out who he was?

What actor with sort of an ‘other-wordly’ name uses his mother-in-law’s maiden name as his last name? (Hint: he’s been appearing in a popular series on Netflix.)

What pop-soul duo put ‘the sound of Philadelphia’ back on the map in the 1980s?

And speaking of Netflix, what popular ‘80s TV series is now back with a new cast and new episodes?

Here’s a GB question as a bonus: what fast food place with a funny-looking slanty roof once held forth in the 1800 block of Main?

Hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend. Again, to reply to our questions, just email me at john.oconnor@eagleradio.net . Your responses are key to my wanting to continue writing this weekly feature.

Have a good week.

John