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    Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

    (matduggan.com)
    625 points zdw | 18 comments | 27 Sep 25 15:46 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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    tptacek ◴[27 Sep 25 16:45 UTC] No.45397384[source]▶
    It's funny to me that in portraying Indiana as a "blank state" he's highlighting one of the most beautiful parts of the state (the route through the Dunes along the Michigan lakefront; if you've seen "Road To Perdition", you know what that area looks like). It's not important to the article, a complete tangent, but I can't not call that out.
    replies(13): >>45397497 #>>45397575 #>>45397622 #>>45397758 #>>45397836 #>>45397889 #>>45397934 #>>45398066 #>>45398439 #>>45398542 #>>45399419 #>>45399696 #>>45400123 #
    Arainach ◴[27 Sep 25 17:31 UTC] No.45397758[source]▶
    Then again, that stretch also has Gary.

    Having grown up in that area of the Midwest, I largely agree with the author's categorization, except that "people on their way to somewhere better who got tired and decided this was good enough" describes a LOT of the midwest, not just Indiana. Significant chunks of Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, most of Iowa/Kansas/Nebraska, etc.

    If you read the history of westward expansion, "got tired and decided this was good enough" is literally true for how much of the area got initially settled (by white people)

    replies(10): >>45397968 #>>45397991 #>>45398180 #>>45398278 #>>45398434 #>>45398572 #>>45398721 #>>45398868 #>>45401872 #>>45444087 #
    1. Waterluvian ◴[27 Sep 25 17:55 UTC] No.45397968[source]▶
    I took a moment to realize there’s a place called Gary, Indiana. And that there isn’t just some guy who is so infamous that he’s just known as Gary.
    replies(6): >>45398000 #>>45398179 #>>45398455 #>>45398466 #>>45398488 #>>45399200 #
    2. hinkley ◴[27 Sep 25 17:59 UTC] No.45398000[source]▶
    Clearly not a fan of musical theater. The Music Man ~~takes place in~~ repeatedly refers to Gary. Ron Howard sings a song called Gary Indiana in the movie version. He’s about waist high in that movie.
    replies(1): >>45398068 #
    3. evgen ◴[27 Sep 25 18:06 UTC] No.45398068[source]▶
    Pretty close, but the musical takes place in the fictional town of River City, Iowa and Henry Hill claims to be an alumnus of the Gary Conservatory (class of '05), which is the hook used to launch the song in question.
    replies(1): >>45398091 #
    4. hinkley ◴[27 Sep 25 18:09 UTC] No.45398091{3}[source]▶
    D’oh. You are correct.
    5. Rendello ◴[27 Sep 25 18:18 UTC] No.45398179[source]▶
    The town's even referenced in Futurama:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qUW1pabZpLE

    6. kens ◴[27 Sep 25 18:55 UTC] No.45398455[source]▶
    Gary, Indiana is still memorable to me 50 years later from when we'd drive through it, handkerchiefs pressed to our faces to block out the terrible smell from some sort of toxic industry. Is Gary still like that or has it been cleaned up?
    replies(2): >>45399883 #>>45401212 #
    7. jb1991 ◴[27 Sep 25 18:56 UTC] No.45398466[source]▶
    It’s actually a very famous city, but not for entirely good reasons. For starters, it did in my youth have the highest per capita rate of murder in the United States.

    However, Michael Jackson is from there. So there’s that.

    replies(1): >>45398738 #
    8. phlakaton ◴[27 Sep 25 18:59 UTC] No.45398488[source]▶
    It is known for not being Louisiana, Paris, France, New York, or Rome.
    9. thaumasiotes ◴[27 Sep 25 19:39 UTC] No.45398738[source]▶
    > it did in my youth have the highest per capita rate of murder in the United States.

    > However, Michael Jackson is from there.

    There are no coincidences.

    replies(1): >>45402038 #
    10. cipheredStones ◴[27 Sep 25 20:48 UTC] No.45399200[source]▶
    Every guy named Gary is named after Gary, Indiana. Gary Cooper named himself after the town, and then got very, very popular.
    replies(2): >>45400075 #>>45401180 #
    11. bookofjoe ◴[27 Sep 25 22:27 UTC] No.45399883[source]▶
    Reminds me of driving through Eureka, California in the early 80s and the overpoweringly horrible smell from the paper mills in the area.
    replies(1): >>45400444 #
    12. ◴[27 Sep 25 23:01 UTC] No.45400075[source]▶
    13. kyleee ◴[28 Sep 25 00:01 UTC] No.45400444{3}[source]▶
    Where did all the effluent go; directly into the bay?
    replies(1): >>45401326 #
    14. o11c ◴[28 Sep 25 02:15 UTC] No.45401180[source]▶
    Not all, only most Americans. For Brits it's usually after Sir Garfield (spear field) St Aubrun Sobers.

    And even before Gary Cooper there were people using it for Gerald (spear power), Gerard (spear hard/brave), and (old) Gerbert (spear bright). It is a cousin to, but believed not historically derived from, Garrett/Garrod. It is unclear whether German/Germain derive from this root or not. It is usually unrelated to Jared (which is usually a Hebrew name, but does have spelling variants that overlap Garrod).

    replies(1): >>45404422 #
    15. stockresearcher ◴[28 Sep 25 02:20 UTC] No.45401212[source]▶
    It doesn't stink much anymore. It's still extraordinarily poor, but this is also Gary:

    https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6196019,-87.2547571,3a,75y,3...

    16. genter ◴[28 Sep 25 02:43 UTC] No.45401326{4}[source]▶
    No, there's a pipe from Samoa Peninsula out to the ocean. (Fun fact, they're now using that pipe for the fiber optic cable that's landing here.)
    17. ykonstant ◴[28 Sep 25 05:42 UTC] No.45402038{3}[source]▶
    Bunch of murderous psychos going heehee as they murk you smoothly.
    18. Taikonerd ◴[28 Sep 25 14:07 UTC] No.45404422{3}[source]▶
    Thank you, I thought this was interesting!