What I learned riding the rails
Last year there were 1,953 collisions at railroad crossings across the United States—eighty-six in Georgia, which ranks No. 5 in the nation.
Atlanta: The top “Winter Wonderland” in America?
Start spreading the news! Although Atlantans almost never get to experience the joys of building snowmen in meadows and all visions of making snow angels are dashed by the realities of Decembers marked by alternating frigid rain and balmy days in the 70s, a new ranking of "Top Ten Winter Wonderlands," trumpets Atlanta as number one.
Survey: Atlanta No. 22 global city brand
Well, Atlanta, be careful what you wish for. The endless touting of the ATL as a world-class city is paying off, with our town squeaking into the top 25 on a new Guardian study of global city brands. Barely.
Atlanta: Most redneck city in the USA?
Consider, as they say, the source. The same folks over at the Movoto real estate blog who recently decreed Atlanta the most nerdy city in the U.S. have now dubbed us "most redneck."
The redneck-calculation methodology developed by Movoto's Natalie Grigson includes: percentage of high school dropouts; number of gun stores, taxidermists, Walmarts, country music stations, and Western gear vendors; and proximity to a NASCAR track. Also lawn mower repair stores.
Alright, Natalie. We'll concede on most of the findings—especially the guns and dropouts. But did you have to make a Jeff Foxworthy reference? We'd have gone with the Stone Mountain laser show.
The redneck-calculation methodology developed by Movoto's Natalie Grigson includes: percentage of high school dropouts; number of gun stores, taxidermists, Walmarts, country music stations, and Western gear vendors; and proximity to a NASCAR track. Also lawn mower repair stores.
Alright, Natalie. We'll concede on most of the findings—especially the guns and dropouts. But did you have to make a Jeff Foxworthy reference? We'd have gone with the Stone Mountain laser show.
Our Place in the Universe: No. 10 for real GDP
A chart from the McKinsey Global Institute looks at what cities were most economically powerful, in terms of real GDP, in 1978, and what cities were most powerful in 2010. And Atlanta went up five spots from fifteenth place to tenth! Thanks, Olympics!
Retiring in Georgia
It won't hurt your wallet so much to grow old in Georgia as in many other parts of the country. A private room in a nursing home here costs $63,875/year on average, which is less than the national media rate of $81,030.
Atlanta ranks No. 1 for steampunk
You're more likely to find someone sporting 19th-century goggles, a bustier, a pocket watch, and a machine arm while riding a skeletal, steam-powered tractor in Atlanta than you are in any other U.S. city.
We like NYE, religion, and learning pole dancing
Here's an event idea: a NYE party in a church with plenty of columns that the waitresses use for pole dancing. It should sell out in a minute. At least according to Eventbrite.
Infographic of the Day: Which way Falcons fans will vote
Election Day is all about voter groups. The Minority Vote. The Women's Vote. Someone reportedly has paid to put up misleading signs to suppress the College Vote. But no one ever talks about the...
Evidently Atlanta is the worst city for newspapers
In case you missed it—and you probably did, because as you’ll soon learn, Atlantans don’t read much news—Atlanta is the worst city in the country for newspaper readership.
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