I had a very American Weekend. Saturday morning we left our comfortable safe-as-milk suburban house in our Japanese car and set off on the six lane freeway, exiting over the hills to Small Town USA, a.k.a Half Moon Bay. This weekend Small Town came to life, thousands of visitors descending for the annual Pumpkin Festival. We had pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, gawped at the champion pumpkin (1528 lbs !!), and cheered our favourites at the pumpkin pie eating contest. Grand Marshall was Baseball Hero Will “The Thrill” Clark. Then we wandered down to the beach (still warm enough with your clothes on) where we saw bottlenose dolphins leaping in the surf. Finally we went back to town for a cheap Mexican dinner and then got in our car and returned through hyperspace to Palo Alto.
I began to find this interesting, so Googled for some more. Of course, I have been thoroughly beaten to it. There is a list of “capital of” places here and a more general list of town nicknames here. My favourite is Fort Payne Alabama. This is apparently the Sock Capital of the World. I think our friends in Nottingham may contest that.
For many decades, the USA has been able to claim that it is the Scientific Capital of the world. This it seems to me is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you turn up at Stanford or MIT or Caltech or whatever, it can be quite hard to find a genuine American. The corridors are full of Poles and Brits and Italians and Japanese and Russians. Its the best because everybody is here. Thats why they come. Because everybody is here. Because this is where they come …
If Western Capitalism falls about our ears, will they all go home ?
The e-Astronomer 
Socks not our department, Andy. Nottingham’s claims to World Capital status are lace (which was industrialized here) and eligible young women (because the lace industry historically meant that young women far outnumbered young men in the city). Contrary to recent myth, serious violent crime rates are right on the average for the UK . Oh, and more recently, there is astronomy of course…
Nottingham? No, sock capital is Loughborough – we’ve got the world famous Sock Man ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevl/289954953/ and he even has his own MySpace entry it seems: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=139600861 ).
As I recall, Morgan HIll lays claim to being the Mushroom Capital of the world. (At the very least, it has a competing Mushroom Festival to Gilroy’s Garlic Festival.)
Eek. Confusing Nottingham and Loughborough ? You can tell I did my PhD in Leicester, and so believe thats the only place in the East Midlands that matters of course. Now Leicester, thats maybe the potato crisp capital of the world ?
Don’t forget, that’s Loughborough, pronounced “low brow.” As for crisps, I thought that Leicester had recently traded Lineker for Gandhi (even though he is rubbish at free kicks).
At least nobody will be squabbling with Cedar Bluff, Alabama, for the title of “Crappie Capital of the World
“…