Posts Tagged ‘mythbusting’
DC Mythbusting: Water, Water Everywhere
‘Potomac River – Traffic on the Key Bridge – 04-20-10′
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’
I went for a swim in the Potomac River this weekend, and right before I jumped in the water I heard two fellow triathletes have the following conversation:
Triathlete 1: I have a friend who signed up for this race, but he dropped out because [...]
DC Mythbusting: Danger!
‘Nacho #19′
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
I was born and raised in the suburbs, and when I decided to become a city planner and move to a major city, I heard from many people in my parents’ generation about how dangerous Washington DC was. ”It’s the murder capital of the country!” But is it [...]
DC Mythbusting: Lincoln Edition
‘Lincoln’
courtesy of ‘Samuel Gordon’
Had enough of the tourists yet? Not only do they stand on the left of Metro escalators and block entire sidewalks with their matching-t-shirt armies, half of what they’re saying about the monuments and memorials in our city is wrong. The Lincoln Memorial is the subject of several monumental myths, so this [...]
DC Mythbusting: Monumental Myths
‘TJ, from above’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99′
It’s officially tourist season here in DC, and our once-serene monuments and memorials are again overrun with school groups in matching t-shirts and families pushing strollers the size of SUVs. They’re here to see the monuments and memorials all over the city, and to educate future generations about the founding of [...]
DC Mythbusting: White House Flag
‘The White House – The Dream Home of Many Children’
courtesy of ‘adcristal’
There are all sorts of rules and regulations about the proper display of the American flag– when it can be displayed, where it can be displayed, and how it should be regarded. For example, apparently it’s a violation of the Flag Code to display [...]
DC Mythbusting: The 2010 Census (Or, How You Are Worth $4,656)
‘274/365 Filling out the census’
courtesy of ‘eiratansey’
I love busting myths about the city in this feature, but myths about owning vs. renting, the international nature of DC’s residents, and how no one is from DC would be impossible to bust without cold hard data. And where do we get that data? The Census! And now [...]
DC Mythbusting: The Lost Forts of DC
‘Fort Gaines at Tenleytown 1864′
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’
Some of the myths about the city seem a little far-fetched, particularly the more historic ones about the layout of the city. Traffic circles meant to confuse invading armies? No J Street because Pierre L’Enfant held a grudge? Come on. Here’s another one I heard– there’s a system of [...]
DC Mythbusting: Daytime Population
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courtesy of ‘flipperman75′
Now that the snow is melting and the city is returning to normal, let’s focus on a non-snow topic for a change. Last Friday’s commute from hell showed us all that the city’s transportation network wasn’t quite ready for the influx of commuters going to work. That got me thinking– how many people [...]
DC Mythbusting: International City
‘Flagged entry’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
Hi, and welcome to a new year of Mythbusting! We’re going to start out the year off with a myth about the character of the District. When I first moved to DC, I always thought it was such an international city– walking down the street, you hear people speaking foreign languages, [...]
DC Mythbusting: Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree
‘Christmas in Washington – 090′
courtesy of ‘giantminispacegoat’
Welcome to a holiday edition of Mythbusting! This week we’ll be figuring out exactly what is going on with the Christmas trees in DC. How many National Christmas Trees are there? There’s the one outside the Capitol and the one outside the White House, but are [...]
DC Mythbusting: DC is a Company Town
‘The Capitol’
courtesy of ‘Tyrannous’
Welcome to another Mythbusting feature! This week, we’ll be tackling the myth that the District of Columbia is a company town– that is, that the majority of jobs in the city are federal government jobs. DC is the center of the federal government, so wouldn’t it make sense that most of the [...]
DC Mythbusting: Metro Map to Scale
‘Metro_Compared’
courtesy of ‘Don Whiteside’
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Mythbusting! After our last feature busted some misconceptions about the busiest Metro stations and lines, we’ll tackle another Metro myth this week: that the Metro map that you see in stations is proportional. The official Metro map shows right angles and evenly-spaced stations throughout the [...]
DC Mythbusting: Haunted DC
‘Thomas Trueman Gaff Monument’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’
Hi, and welcome to a Halloween edition of Mythbusting! This week, I’ll see if my mythbusting skills can translate to ghostbusting. I’m going to tackle three different spooky DC myths and see if I can find any validity in the legends. Sound good? Let’s get started.
The Demon Cat in the [...]
DC Mythbusting: Georgetown Metro Stop
‘Georgetown Tunnel’
courtesy of ‘MikaAltskan’
Hi and welcome to another edition of Mythbusting! This week we’ll be tackling the myth of the Georgetown Metro. The legend explains why Georgetown, a vibrant part of the city with many attractions, does not have a Metro station. Legend has it that Metro planners had originally planned a station for Georgetown, [...]
DC Mythbusting: No J Street Because L’Enfant Held a Grudge
‘DSC_0016.jpg’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
Here at DC Mythbusting we’ve covered a lot of myths, but the one I referenced in the first ever Mythbusting feature is one of the most persistent I’ve ever heard. That myth attempts to explain the lack of a J Street in DC. In all four quadrants of our [...]
DC Mythbusting: No One is From DC
‘moving boxes’
courtesy of ‘ilya’
Welcome to another edition of DC Mythbusting. This week we’ll tackle the myth that no one is really from DC. The District has a reputation as a transient city, with young go-getters coming here after college, putting in a few years on the Hill, then moving on to bigger and better things. [...]
DC Mythbusting: Takoma or Takoma Park?
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courtesy of ‘Hoffmann’
Welcome to another edition of DC Mythbusting. This week we’ll be tackling a myth about nomenclature– is the town on the other edge of the boundary with DC called Takoma or Takoma Park? If it is Takoma Park (which is the name you hear more often), why on earth is the Metro station [...]
DC Mythbusting: Built on a Swamp?
‘Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens – Egret Among the Reeds – 7-20-08′
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’
Welcome to another edition of DC Mythbusting. I’m sure you’ve heard that the muggy mosquito-filled summers in DC are due to its location on a swamp. The Chicago Tribune named their DC bureau’s blog “The Swamp” and it is oh-so-clever to call sleazy [...]
DC Mythbusting: “Lobbyist” Coined at Willard Hotel
‘WASHINGTON 2-35′
courtesy of ‘chantoozie’
Welcome to another edition of DC Mythbusting! This week we’ll be busting the myth of the term ‘lobbyist’. The legend that I’ve heard countless times in the District is that the term ‘lobbyist’ originated at the Willard Hotel when Ulysses S. Grant was in office (1869-1877). Apparently President Grant would frequent the [...]
DC Mythbusting: Traffic Circles
‘Sheridan Statue Hoof’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Welcome to another edition of DC Mythbusting! Last week we discussed how, contrary to popular belief, the height limit wasn’t based on the Capitol or the Washington Monument. This week I’m here to debunk the myth of the traffic circles in DC. I have heard from a couple [...]
