Curiosid

Detroit-style pizza has become a bit of a national phenomenon over the last decade. The distinctive square pies have appeared on menus from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. Even Pizza Hut has its own version of the pan pizza. But the style hasn’t always been so popular. In this episode of CuriosiD, WDET’s Claudia Brancart looks into what Detroit-style pizza is and where it came from. | We want to hear from you! For a future episode we're working on, tell us your memories of Boblo Island. Leave a voicemail on the CuriosiD Question Line: (313) 403-5747. Have your own question about Detroit? Submit it at http://wdet.org/curious | This is the link to the Detroit pizza map from DETROITography that Laura mentions in the episode: https://detroitography.com/2020/05/22/map-detroits-pizza-place-geography-2020/

Back in November 2020, after the polls closed, chaos ensued at a convention center in Detroit where poll workers were counting absentee ballots. Republican challengers stormed the center, banging on the windows, demanding that workers "stop the count." In this episode of CuriosiD, WDET's Russ McNamara recounts what happened and answers listeners questions about what's being done to ensure something like that doesn't happen during the upcoming election. We want to hear from you for a future episode we're working on! Tell us who makes the best Detroit-style pizza and why it's so good there. Tweet us at @CuriosiDWDET or leave a voicemail on the CuriosiD Question Line: (313) 403-5747. Have your own question about Detroit? Submit it at http://wdet.org/curious

Inside Detroit there is a little city named Hamtramck. And no -- that's not a typo -- there really is no vowel between the 'm' and the 'ck.' Where did this unique-sounding name come from? WDET's Nargis Rahman looks into the origin of the word Hamtramck.

In the late 1960s, the City of Detroit got its first swimmobile. This pool on wheels was carted around to the neighborhoods for kids to swim in on hot summer days. WDET listener Angela Hart is one of many Detroiters who remembers swimmobiles from her childhood. She asked WDET to find out what happened to them. WDET's Laura Herberg looks into it for this episode of CuriosiD. Have your own question about Detroit? Submit it at http://wdet.org/curious. Now though August 31, 2022 we are specifically seeking questions about Michigan's 2022 General Election. Submit you election questions here: https://wdet.org/2022/08/09/do-you-have-questions-about-michigans-elections/ Stay in the loop! Twitter: @CuriosiDWDET @WDET @HerbergRadio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wdetdetroit/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WDETFM/ Website: http://wdet.org/curious

A listener wonders if the tall trees found in Detroit's Palmer Park are part of a virgin forest, untouched by man. Planet Detroit's Nina Ignaczak looks into it and finds that the answer is actually pretty complicated. Then WDET's Laura Herberg ventures into an old growth forest in East Lansing with Michigan State University Forestry Department Chair Richard Kobe. Wondering something about Detroit? Submit your question at http://wdet.org/curious. Have a reaction to this CuriosiD story? Leave us a voicemail by calling (313) 403-5747 or record a voice memo on your smart phone and email it to curiosiD@wdet.org. We may include your thoughts in a future episode!

In this episode we answer the question, "What's up with those CORN REAL GOOD signs around Detroit?" Maybe you've seen them? The red, yellow and blue hand-painted signs. Reporter Eli Newman tracks down the man behind them, Orrin Fields. It turns out Fields is selling elote-style corn dusted with Flaming Hot Cheetos from what would otherwise be a vacant lot in Detroit. Wondering something about Detroit? Submit your question at http://wdet.org/curious. Have a reaction to this CuriosiD story? Leave us a voicemail by calling (313) 403-5747 or record a voice memo on your smart phone and email it to curiosiD@wdet.org. We may include your thoughts in a future episode!

One WDET listener asks if the Dust Bowl ever made its way to Detroit. Spoiler alert: It did!

In this week’s episode of CuriosiD, where WDET answers your questions about Detroit and the region, Dan Golodner from Huntington Woods asks: “I moved from Washington, D.C. to Detroit in the mid-’90. And I’ve always loved the root beer float and people said, ‘You have to try the Boston Cooler.’ So, I tried it and was like, ‘What’s the deal here? Why’s it called a Boston Cooler and not a ginger ale cooler or something like that? I’m just curious.” Dan Golodner, Huntington Woods The Short Answer: The term “Boston Cooler” has a complicated history dating back at least as early as 1889. The way the drink was made and what it consisted of went through a few different iterations before it settled on the Vernors and vanilla ice-cream combination that we know today. At some point in the 1920s, Boston Cooler could refer to any sort of soda-pop and ice cream combination. For instance, Hires, a root beer company, promoted their own version of the Boston Cooler.

Over the years, listeners have been curious about Metro Detroit’s mile roads. Some have asked if they’re really one mile apart. Others wonder why some are not called “mile” roads. Angela Hoffman lives on Three Mile Drive and wants to know how her street got its name.

A cemetery and final resting place for some of the most significant remains in Jewish history is the subject of the latest episode of WDET’s series CuriosiD.

At Detroit Metro Airport – on the way to the McNamara [Mack-Nuh-MARE-uh] Terminal there’s a tunnel with large fans. Many travelers have wondered why the fans were there. Two WDET listeners contacted us to find out more. As part of the station’s CuriosiD series… WDET’s Laura Herberg looked into it with them.

I’m looking to transition to Detroit to start a new business and it’s difficult to determine the quality and density of the neighborhoods on Google Maps Street View because they haven’t been updated since 2013 and sometimes even longer. I’d like to know why that is. Why haven’t the maps been updated?

WDET listener Dan Lombardo asks, why there are brick pavers at Michigan and Trumbull and if they are original or if they are something they redo every now and then.

As part of WDET's series CuriosID, a listener wonders if driving an electric car could actually create more pollution, since it would force power plants to generate more electricity to charge it, thereby generating more smog.

A British plane had a catastrophic electrical failure over Canada while flying to a training mission in Nebraska on Oct.. 24, 1958.

Detroit's French connection is more than 300 years old, but is the comparison a modern invention?

“There used to be a Times Square in Detroit. I know there’s still a People Mover stop, and I know there’s a street, but there used to be an actual square. And I think it was named after the old newspaper, the Detroit Times, but where was the newspaper headquartered? And also, how big of a paper was the Times?”

WDET listener Priya Ganji has a diverse group of friends of Arab heritage, and she’s noticed their family, religious and cultural traditions are sometimes different from her own and other Americans’. So the 14-year-old asked “How did the Arab community grow to be what it is today in Detroit?”

Listener Bailey Townsend asks “Why is the Detroit River called ‘Detroit River’ when it’s actually a Strait?”

“I show American Saddlebred Horses and we used to have a couple big shows up here at the state fairgrounds which are no longer available. And it was very sad to see that the Michigan legislature decided not to pay for the maintenance of the coliseum and the grounds.