Welcome To Pig's Eye

All of our cities and states have their interesting histories (not really yours, only mine does) that we can all be proud of or just baffled by. Sometimes the history is something that only the They Might Be Giants will appreciate.

Well, in the honor of Constantinople and New Amsterdam comes Pig's Eye, the city name that may only be rivaled by Porkopolis (apparently just a nickname, but a wicked nickname).

Pig's Eye, the once great name of what we now all refer to as Saint Paul, was the heart and center of all culture in the entire world and center to civilization during the... I had to stop myself there. None of that culture and worldwide civilization stuff is true. Pig's Eye is just a great name for a great city.

It all started with Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, that nice looking man who thrived in a town that eventually was named after him (well at least after his nickname because I am fairly certain that his parents (nor legally through some government document) gave him the middle name Pig's Eye with or without the quotation marks around it).

We should all read/research the wonderful history of old Pig's Eye through various sites, look up information on Pig's Eye brand beer or look up information on what became of Pig's Eye following the name change to Saint Paul (in case you were wondering, it is still awesome).

What terrible and horrific names did your "I've only had one name and no imagination" city have in the past.

***Be warned if you do a image search on Pig's Eye. I did that to try and find a nice image of the Pierre of the likeness of him in the beer brand. It wasn't pretty, unless you like pictures of pig's eyes. I don't.***

Tall/Freak/Mutant Bikes

Continuing the bike trend is the amazing tall bike and types of freak/mutant bikes. If a bike a is a great thing, another bike that is made of multiple bikes must be a greater thing.

How do tall bikes, something that exists around the world, fit into Minnesota? Let me tell you about The Black Label Bike Club. The Black Label Bike Club (started in Minneapolis) is considered the first outlaw bicycle club.

All of the recent craze, including the international Black Label Bike Club chapters and many other bike clubs that have started, didn't start until this group of people from Minneapolis decided that they were going to do something cool/fun/unique (the way we like to do things here in Minnesota).

I could bore you with talking about tall bikes and describing why they are cool, but until you see them in person, hang out with friends who have them and get scared to get on one yourself, my words will probably mean nothing. So go, look them up, see crazy pictures, check out the history, look into your nearest bike club and remember to thank Minnesota for making it a popular thing for you to enjoy.

Punk comic Nothing Nice To Say had a continuing story about Bike Gangs and tall bikes, if you wanted to laugh while reading this (oh, and this guy was originally from Minnesota).

For Derek, who thinks it is too cold to ride a bike in Minnesota, check out this Nothing Nice To Say comic.

Also, here is a Minnesota new article in case you wanted a little more information.

When is the last time your short, single frame high city created a growing and sustainable subculture?