Monday, November 17, 2014

Good morning crew,


Joe, I'm not sure if it was a play on words, but I think the word should have been the Leaning Tower of Pisa (which is in Italy) Leaning Tower of Pizza is a pizza place in East Oakland, CA. -Linda Parker


Dear Linda, you may not know this bit of etymology, but while the Tower of Pisa was originally a bell tower for a cathedral, the building was used for many purposes over the course of its existence.

Sometime in the early 1800s the ground floor of the Tower was a bakery and restaurant. The proprietor of this victualer was very successful with an invention of his featuring his bread dough rolled flat and baked with meat and cheese on top.

He called his invention a Piza, since he was originally from Genoa and this is how his accent interpreted the name of the famous building he occupied.

By the time immigration exploded in the United States following the conclusion of the Civil War many Italians brought with them this culinary delight from what had become, in some local dialects, the Tower of Piza.

Thus, the modern pizza owes its name to an innocent mis-pronunciation and the misnomer of the Tower of Piza to a mistake in translation.


So I hope you will forgive me I used a slightly different interpretation of the name from the orthodox. I like to consider myself at least a little multi-cultural.

Laugh it up,

Joe

joe@gophercentral.com

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"Developers are working on a new app that gives you a 10-second warning before an earthquake. The app is called 'Too Late.'" -Conan O'Brien

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"Prince took his first selfie yesterday with an actual camera, because his publicist says he doesn't own a cellphone. Or in other words, I guess he's still partying like it's 1999." -Jimmy Fallon

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"A tiger has been seen running around Paris. Citizens were told to stay indoors and do whatever's necessary to protect the wine and cheese. They should leave home only to smoke and to judge others." -Craig Ferguson

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Felix, my husband, was playing golf with our town's fire chief when he hit a ball into the rough. As Felix headed for the brush to find his ball, the chief warned him, "Be careful, the rattlesnakes are out."

The chief explained that calls had been coming in all week requesting assistance with removing the snakes.

"You've got to be kidding," Felix replied in astonishment. "People actually call the fire department to help them with rattlesnakes? What do you say to them?"

"Well," said the chief, "the first thing I ask is, 'Is it on fire?'"


*-------------- Guaranteed to Roll Your Eyes --------------*
Do you know why the blonde in California quit being Catholic?

She went to Mass every Sunday, but eventually the air fares to Boston caused her to go bankrupt.