By Michael Karl Witzel ©2007-2008
Hamburgers made their debut on the food scene as irregular lumps of chopped beef, hand shaped according to the improvisational jazz of lunch counter short order. During the early years, long before the cookie-cutter aesthetics of the Big Mac came into vogue, concerns over circular uniformity and ingredients were minimal.
When fry [...]

By Michael Karl Witzel ©2007-2008
What’s 38 feet long, has 22 windows, four legs, an 18 square foot living room, 26 foot tail, two eyes 18 inches in diameter, two 22 feet tusks, stands 65 feet tall, has a neck circumference of 48 feet, a pair of 17 foot ears, and a trunk? It’s [...]

By Michael Karl Witzel ©2007-2008
Among the endless catalogue of gasoline trademarks once spotted along America’s Mainstreet, no refined motor fuel has been obfuscated with as much controversy as the Phillips gasoline brand. Ever since their first gallon of go-juice gurgled up through a visible register fuel pump, an excess of amusing yarns and unbelievable anecdotes [...]