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Nebraska Cornhuskers (corn)

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BUCKYLE;2146854; said:
Is that the prison from Harry Potter?
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Ak-sar-ben is Nebraska backwards. It was one of the strangest things I saw when I first went to Lincoln.

aktrak10.jpg
 
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muffler dragon;2146861; said:
Ak-sar-ben is Nebraska backwards. It was one of the strangest things I saw when I first went to Lincoln.
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There's a street near my office called Aksarben. Someone mentioned it's Nebraska spelled backwards, and I was like "huh, okay".

What's the story with 'Aksarben' anyway?
 
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FCollinsBuckeye;2146895; said:
What's the story with 'Aksarben' anyway?
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Way back when I was just a little Husker sitting on my Granddad's knee, Aksarben was a wonderland of farm-based entertainment. There was a race track for thoroughbred racing, a grandstand for tractor pulls, an indoor arena for rodeos and sundry shows, and a dinner hall where supporters held an annual banquet. The glitterati of all Omaha would attend - and before you scoff, recall that Omaha at that time had more millionaires per capita than any other city in America. I think it still does(?).

The Rodeo was a lot of fun. Packed houses, interesting entertainment - for the 1970s, anyway.

Aksarben died in the late 80s. The world just moved on. The grounds were razed in the 1990s and I think they put housing there now.
 
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FCollinsBuckeye;2146895; said:
There's a street near my office called Aksarben. Someone mentioned it's Nebraska spelled backwards, and I was like "huh, okay".

What's the story with 'Aksarben' anyway?
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When in doubt, wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ak-Sar-Ben_(arena)

Ak-Sar-Ben, or Aksarben, was an indoor arena and horse racing complex in Omaha, Nebraska. Built to fund the civic and philanthropic activities of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, the thoroughbred race track was built in 1920 and the Coliseum (capacity 7,200) was built in 1929. The racetrack closed in 1995 and the arena in 2002; the facility was demolished in 2005, and is currently being redeveloped for a variety of uses, including dormitory housing for the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Ak-Sar-Ben is "Nebraska" spelled backwards. The Knights originally said they were turning Nebraska around, thus "Ak-Sar-Ben."
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I have no idea what the outcome of "turning Nebraska around" amounted/s to.
 
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knapplc;2146904; said:
The glitterati of all Omaha would attend - and before you scoff, recall that Omaha at that time had more millionaires per capita than any other city in America. I think it still does(?).
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I imagine that being "Li'l Chicago" probably had some input into that, but I haven't a clue.

FWIW, that's not a negative statement. Just a matter of what little history I've come to understand about the area.
 
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muffler dragon;2146912; said:
I imagine that being "Li'l Chicago" probably had some input into that, but I haven't a clue.

FWIW, that's not a negative statement. Just a matter of what little history I've come to understand about the area.
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I love Chicago.

Fact that nobody cares about but me: During the closing days of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the mayor of Chicago offered to annex Omaha as a suburb.

Apparently nobody cared about Iowa back then, either. :biggrin:
 
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knapplc;2146914; said:
I love Chicago.

Fact that nobody cares about but me: During the closing days of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the mayor of Chicago offered to annex Omaha as a suburb.

Apparently nobody cared about Iowa back then, either. :biggrin:
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The mob probably had little use for corn aside from the distillation process. :wink:
 
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