Curiosid

A listener asks, "Are the many different Cass locations in Michigan named after Lewis Cass? Do people know how horrible he was?"

Listener Cheryl Pernell was intereted in examples of busing in Detroit Public Schools around 1963. Pernell was bused to Dossin Elementary for the 1st through 7th grades, instead of going to Ruthruff in her neighborhood.

“Why is it just ‘John R?’ Most people use the last name of a person, not the first name, and an initial, so, I always thought that was kind of strange. And also, who was John R., and why was the street named after him?”

Yes, but other than miners, few people have ever seen the inside of them.

“Who were the Native Americans* that lived in the Detroit region, and how did they interact with the Europeans who settled it?”

What’s up with the Detroit incinerator? Where is it, what’s going on there, and why does it smell so much on certain days and not others?

"Why are there five separate cities that are seemingly small size with the same basic name in the Grosse Pointes? I was trying to figure out if there was there some type of dispute over land or if they were controlled by families or something of that nature?”

What happens to the stuff I recycle with the City of Detroit (curbside recycling)? Where and how is it sorted? Is it sold, and what happens to the money?

A listener asked why there is no subway or elevated transportation in Detroit, and whether it was determined before or after the rise of the auto industry.

Who are the deciding parties when it comes to choosing Renaissance Zones (in Detroit), and what criteria do they use to choose them? What is the history of Renaissance Zones?

“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.”

A listener wonders if Detroit ever had a gay neighborhood.

How did the International Ambassador Bridge become privately held? It just seems that, like, two sovereign countries should be in charge of an international crossing, a really large international crossing?

How have pheasants survived and thrived in the urban setting of Detroit, and have they always been here?

“I pass a tall old business building that appears to be empty now but it has a very decorative lintel over the entrance that has the capital letters N-B-C and I was wondering what that was and if it was the National Broadcasting Corporation or something else.” Terry Segal

"I used to be from Lincoln Park and our hometown had a water tower. Why did we have it? Why did some cities have these huge water towers, and what did they use them for? " Carl Prunkard

“Why is it that sometimes police officers use lethal force and other times they don’t? How do they determine when?” asked listener David Ewick of Southfield.

What franchisees look at when deciding on a fast food location. And what it means when they pick your part of town.

“Why are sidewalks in Indian Village stamped with Swastikas? The stamps are uniform and official, like a company laying the concrete made them. Do they predate the Nazi party in Germany? Are they associated with a company affiliated with the Nazi party? The sidewalks are clearly old, but I’m not sure they are date stamped to provide a clue.”

Your favorite place in Detroit just may have bones buried under it from the early days.