"Tagline Guru" survey has 'Big Apple" number one nickname

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 16:20:04 -0400, Wilson Gray wrote:

>Thanks, Ben! But would you believe that Marshall, TX, is already on
>the list as self-proclaimed "Pottery Capital of the World"? Pottery
>may be more of a draw than fire ants, but not much more, IMO.

And if you go to the Wikipedia page for Marshall, you'll find that it's
also  the Cultural Capital of East Texas, the Gateway of Texas, the Athens
of Texas, and the City of Seven Flags.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall%2C_Texas

(Isn't Athens, Texas, 100 miles to the west, the Athens of Texas?)


--Ben Zimmer


>On 9/21/05, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at rci.rutgers.edu> wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 14:33:24 -0400, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>
>> >How can this be?! My birthplace, Marshall, TX, "The Fire-Ant Capital
>> >of the United States," didn't make the cut? I'm so disappointed!
>>
>> You'll need to add that to Wikipedia's "Self-Proclaimed Capitals" list...
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_city_nicknames#Self-proclaimed_Capitals_of_the_World
>>
>> No fire ants, but they do have the fire *hydrant* capital of the world
>> (Albertville, Alabama) and the fire *brick* capital of the world (Mexico,
>> Missouri).
>>
>> There's a reasonably comprehensive list of city nicknames here:
>> http://got.net/~landauer/lists/CityOf.html