March 1st, 2019: Ice Car
 

It’s common knowledge the people living in Michigan are crazy, none more so than the Yoopers.
Yoopers live on the Upper Peninsula in places like Iron Mountain and Kingsford, to name one concentration.
Of course living so close to the great white north, winters are brutal, so they hide out in their Yooper holes waiting for it to be over.
But every time they tried to look out the window to see if winter was over the window would fog up so they could barely see.

If they couldn’t see the ice on the pond how would they know winter had ended and it was safe to exit their Yooper holes?
Someone said put something big on the ice and when we can’t see it anymore we’ll know winter has left us.
They looked around but all they could find that way big enough to be seen was a junk car so it went out on the ice.

After the car was on the ice the Yoopers started talking about when they thought it would happen. That led to disagreements,
followed by heated arguments, then bets to settle who was right. But when you get a bunch of people betting, it's not a team sport,
it has to be more precise than just a day to get a winner, so they started betting on the exact time of that day.
How do you know the exact time without a 24 hour watch by someone.. uh, someones. This is back before 24 hour time-stamp video.
:idea: No problem, tie a rope to the car and the other end to the plug on an electric clock.

http://cellar.org/img/yoopers.jpg

Five years ago the Iron Mountain–Kingsford Rotary Club took over sponsorship on this and selling three guesses for $10.
They set up time stamped video, a cable to retrieve the car after it sinks, and politically correct, environmentally safe, car.
The victim is an Orange 1998 Saturn Sedan sinker... sinkee? Oh, first prize is $1500.


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I know what they say about UP, but it sure would have been easier to use a boat.

They do the same kind of thing in Alaska on a river. However, do to recovering from scars of the first Union-Kaylon-Krell war, I have been unable to research the details.

I love stuff like this. I mean, it's pointless and stupid, and a waste of car parts. But you gotta do something fun during the long winter.

A similar activity is covered in Neil Gaiman's book American Gods.

SPOILERS. DO NOT CLICK IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT, BUT MIGHT.

(AND NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD READ IT)

I came here to say this...