I wish politicians
would listen to the voters and maybe grow some balls in the process.
Officials in Fort Wayne Indianna have balked at naming the city's latest civic building after its most successful mayor – Harry Baals. The city had thrown open the choice of moniker for its latest erection to the people. A campaign to name the building after Harry Baals soon gathered steam, with citizens eager to commemorate …
Yes, but you have to wonder at the validity of the vote in this case.
Put it this way. If I were given some candidate names for a new building to put all the local government types in and one of them was the "Hairy Balls Center", I know where my vote would be going.
Unless of course the "Richard Head Building" and "Gareth Hunt Offices" were on the same ballot. Then it would be a tough call.
".....I've gotten through it. I think everybody else can, too."
Yes, but you weren't gifted with a first name that may be easily misread or pronounced as "Hairy". That's the bit that moves it from the sniggering category to the gales-of-laughter-spraying-coffee-everywhere one.
I won't speak for the entire USA, but in my part of the country -- mid-Atlantic East Coast -- "wanker" is actually getting fairly popular. I think a lot of it has to do with the Internet exposing us to British slang. I actually prefer a lot of specifically British slang because it sounds so much edgier and nastier somehow: "wanker", "bleeder", "tosser", "snogging", "git", etc.
I was also introduced to a lot of British slang via Monty Python as a teenager: "I'd like you to meet Mr. Sniveling Little Rat-Faced Git, and his wife, Mrs. Dreary Fat Boring Old..."
Surely 'Wanker' has been around in the US for a while. I seem to recall Kelly LeBrock in Weird Science saying "why do you have to be such a wanker, Chet". In fairness she was from NY but raised in London so thats probably why that line was added, but come on, who can forget anything she said or did in that film!
I think I actually learned the word "Wanker" from that film.
And you can go from Intercourse PA to Climax MI riding freeways most of the way. I have lived in or near Fort Wayne for many years, and remember when they changed the name of one of the park roads to "Harry Baals Drive." Visitors loved it, and said it gave them a reason to respect the town when they could not think of any others.
there is a Wankum in germany in the n/west
best one i know of is a chinese restaurant on the old coast road nr Denia in Spain called... Wan-Kee-Long
genuine!
lol, re: this story, it's prolly funnier to yanks cos of their pronunciation. I remember when i was at school stateside as a kid and there was this kid called 'harry' in my class.. i remember the teacher repeatedly correcting this pronunciation in our class.
"No Todd!! (or whoever said it) his name is HARRY, not 'Hairy'... is he covered in hair?"
and we'd all roar with laughter.
If they didn't want suggestions they shouldn't have asked. Only an idiot wouldn't have for seen the former mayor's name nominated AND the most popular. This is a teaching moment for our city. Embrace our history, of which Harry Baals was a big part of. People voted for him 4 times for a reason and I doubt if it had anything to do with his name, at least after the first election.