Forget all the chest thumping about being the tenth largest city in America, we’re the third most fun city in America. No kidding. This is according to Cranium, Inc. (link) They should know. They make board games and their CEO’s title is Grand Poobah. No kidding. Here’s the top ten:
1. Minneapolis
2. Orange County, CA
3. San Jose, CA
4. Atlanta
5. Chicago
6. Raleigh - Durham - Chapel Hill, N.C.
8. Oakland, CA
9. Salt Lake City - Ogden, Utah
10. Seattle
I’m sure the good people who made up this list are fun loving, so I don’t want to spoil their merriment and tell them that Orange County is not really a city – although the name can be deceiving. But if we decide to go for the brass ring, here’s the plan: we get Orange County disqualified. Then, we just have to knock off our parka-wearing friends in Minnesota. Should be easy, right? Maybe not. Here’s what the Grand Poobah said:
“At first blush, it seems a little surprising that Minneapolis is that place. But when you realize that it’s home to Mary Tyler Moore, four professional sports teams and the largest shopping mall in the U.S., it’s almost a no-brainer.”
We don’t have four professional sports teams, but we’re working on it. (link) Santana Row isn’t the largest mall, but it’s newer. Now, for a famous woman with three names – Janet Gray Hayes, your city needs you.
I always wondered what happened to the chess club members in high school.
Obviously, they are making lists of fun places for Grand Poobah.
Having traveled to every one of those cities, except Raleigh, I wonder how Fresno didn’t make the list. It is n.Not everyday you can see an egg fry on the sidewalk.
The real top ten fun cities:
1) San Francisco
2) London
3) Rome
4) Venice
5) New York
6) Florence
7) Munich
8) Honolulu
9) Boston
10) Washington D.C. (for political junkies)
As for the poohba list, I’m reminded of the famous WC Fields epitath—
“All things considered, I’d rather be in Philadelphia”
But can Janet Gray Hayes throw her hat in the air and look cute?
Must be a slow day in “fun city.”
All right, I was saving this one up, but I’ll go ahead and let it out. According to depression statistics, we’re the eighth happiest city in the country, right after, ugh, Fresno:
http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100103843
I suppose it requires a “woman of a certain age” to recall that Minneapolis was the home of Mary Richards, a character played by Mary Tyler Moore, who was born in Brooklyn, NY. If the Grand Poobah of a firm built on trivia is unclear on this fine point, what else is he missing?
Not that San Jose isn’t a fun city. You don’t see mastadon bones making headlines in Orange County, do you?
Maybe Anaheim should chnage its slogan to “Capital of the Happiest Place on Earth.”
With the exception of Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle, that could be the most boring cities list. If you’re under 40 and single San Jose is not that much fun.
Just returned from Raleigh-Durham to find this list.
OAKLAND, a FUN city? Yeah, if ya like to dodge bullets from pimps and drug dealers. These cranium guys must have taken a couple of nines in the cranium to put Oaktown on the fun list at all, let alone top ten.
JohnMichael O’Connor