Smoke On The Water: The Lake Erie Fire

by Kevin Burton    Lake Erie catching on fire was one of the storylines of my Ohio upbringing. I laughed about it in passing, but never sought any of the details.    Turns out those details were more than a little fuzzy. The fire was actually on the Cuyahoga River, which leads into Lake Erie. …

Visiting Johnny Carson’s Boyhood Home Town

by Kevin Burton    There was a time when one man captured this nation’s attention, made us laugh and in a way, held us together.    And that national smile began with the first five notes of that song, The Tonight Show theme.     “Daaaaa dum dum daaaa daaaa….”     You heard those notes and …

New Coke, The Worst Corporate Idea?

by Kevin Burton    Did you miss Bad Idea Day last week, April 23?     Well it wasn’t actually named, per se. But New Coke was introduced on that day, in 1985. That’s good enough for me.     What was the worst corporate idea of all time? Who’s to say?  But New Coke is often …