Florida
If Acme’s here, can Coyote be far behind? – Bonita Springs Florida Weekly
If Acme’s here, can Coyote be far behind?
While riding my bike recently, I passed a construction site where a new house is being built. At the entrance to the project was a line of orange barrels marked “Acme Barricades.”
And I thought: “Acme Barricades? Wile E. Coyote must be building this house.” Because if you’re a kid like me who grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s, Acme could mean only one thing: the Acme Catalog from which Coyote ordered every gadget imaginable to outwit Roadrunner—gadgets that failed spectacularly every time.
During the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century, many corporations used the name Acme. It was a good name because “acme” is the Greek word for “high point, peak or summit,” implying that your company is tip-top, or better than any of the others. And it didn’t hurt that alphabetically, it would show up right at the front of the list in the phone book.
And yet, I thought, other than this morning’s orange barricade, when was the last time I ever saw any product with the name Acme on it? Do any companies call themselves Acme anymore?
TR KERTH / FLORIDA WEEKLY
As my mind spun through circles of ill-conceived logic, I resolved to do some Acme research as soon as I got home. Because, after all, that’s the main point of my morning bike rides—to prod my brain into following some absurd, meaningless train of thought that isn’t worth your time to follow. You probably have better things to do with your time, so I’ll dive down that rabbit hole of ridiculousness and then report back to you.
You’re welcome.
And so, when I got home, I dug through that rarely opened bottom kitchen cabinet where I stored paper phone books (remember them?) back in the days when I had an actual land-line telephone (remember them?).
And sure enough, there was an old 2018 Yellow Pages phone book, surely the last one ever sent to me. I was a bit surprised that I even had it, because I’m certain I had not opened a phone book for at least a decade before that one arrived.
So I went to work, scanning the Yellow Pages for Acme businesses, from air conditioning and appliances, through floor materials and florists, all the way past pest control, plumbers and beyond.
And I found not a single company called Acme in the entire book.
But why? How did one of the most common company names of a century ago—with products as diverse as whistles, anvils, and traffic lights—slide virtually to the edge of brand-name extinction?
The answer must surely be Wile E. Coyote, who ordered exclusively from the Acme Catalog whenever he sent away for some device to outwit the Roadrunner. Those film shorts began at the end of 1949 and grew in popularity over the ensuing decades.
The list of Acme products that Coyote ordered was virtually endless:
Acme dynamite.
Acme axle grease.
Acme giant rubber bands.
TR Kerth
All were total failures in Coyote’s war against Roadrunner, serving only to bring harm to Coyote. And yet, undeterred, he dug deeper still into the Acme Catalog:
Acme rocket-powered roller skates.
Acme dehydrated boulders.
Acme jet-propelled pogo stick.
Failures all.
And bit by bit, year by year, as Coyote failed time after time with Acme product after product, the list of actual Acme corporations in the Yellow Pages grew smaller and smaller.
And today, according to my extensive research in scanning the Yellow Pages of a phone book from 2018, the Acme corporate name is virtually out of business—at least in my area covered by that neighborhood phone book.
But why stop there? To go the extra mile for you, I turned to Mama Google to see if Acme existed anywhere in the non-paper Twittersphere.
You’re welcome.
I found ACME Foods, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia and becoming a full-service Supermarket in 1937, decades before Coyote’s Acme Catalog appeared. It still clung to the name through most of the 20th century— at least until it was bought out by Albertson’s, which was later bought out by Kroger. Acme Food stores? Mostly gone now.
And there was Acme Tools, founded in 1948 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the year before the first Roadrunner film was made—but with a hard-hatted mascot in its logo that looks suspiciously like a scruffy coyote wearing sunglasses. ¦
TR Kerth is the author of the book “Revenge of the Sardines.” Contact him at trkerth@yahoo.com.
TAMPA, Fla – New SNAP restrictions will start Monday in Florida.
What we know:
These changes will ban the purchase of many sugary sodas, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed, shelf-stable prepared desserts.
Hunger Free America, an advocacy group, is against these restrictions.
Joel Berg, the CEO, said some regulation is a good thing, but he wants to see it support access to healthy foods as a choice.
“We do support mandates to mandate that healthier food is available in stores that do accept SNAP,” Berg said. “So, it makes a lot more sense to make it easier to get healthier food.”
Berg said these restrictions are unnecessary in achieving a healthier America.
“We should make America healthier again by making healthy food more affordable, convenient and physically available,” Berg said. “We shouldn’t micromanage the eating patterns of adults to try to achieve that goal.”
The other side:
This is part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic disease epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long.”
What they’re saying:
Berg said that these changes, on top of cuts to the program nationwide, will increase hunger.
“It’s not that low-income Americans don’t want healthier food; it’s that they can’t afford healthier food,” Berg said.
This coincides with the announcement that there will be cuts to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies food to mothers and young children.
“President Trump’s budget just announced that he’s proposing taking away fruits and vegetables from the WIC program for pregnant women and children under five,” Berg said. “So, they’re taking away healthier food.”
The WIC cuts would take away $1.4 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.4 million people.
Big picture view:
The SNAP changes come as part of the MAHA movement and include more than 20 other states that will implement changes over the next two years.
The Source: Information in this story comes from WIC, SNAP and interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The engines are revving for one final day of high-stakes bidding and family fun at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction reaches its grand finale today with an action-packed “Super Saturday” lineup, promising to close out the weekend with a full slate of collector car sales, live entertainment, and fan attractions.
“Super Saturday,” presented by Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, officially kicks off at 8 a.m. when gates, food courts, and the exhibitor marketplace open to the public.
What to expect
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: The Fantasy Bid presented by Dodge begins early, running in tandem with the automobilia auction in the arena.
- 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Thrill-seekers can catch Dodge thrill rides on the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track.
- 10:00 a.m.: New amenities open to the public, including the Stella Artois, Staging Lanes, and Food Court patios, which offer shaded seating and auction views.
- 10:45 a.m.: The national anthem will be performed in the auction arena, signaling the start of the main collector car auction at 11 a.m.
- Afternoon Entertainment: DJ sets run from noon to 5 p.m. across the various patios, and a detailing clinic by Adam’s Polishes is scheduled for 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.
For those unable to attend, the whole event will be livestreamed throughout the day on the Barrett-Jackson website and the HISTORY channel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Today’s finale comes on the heels of a high-energy Friday that saw significant sales and notable celebrity interest.
Star power was evident throughout the day, particularly with vehicles tied to the Busch family. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible owned by Samantha Busch and a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Custom Coupe were among the day’s heavy hitters, each fetching $159,500. Kyle Busch’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Custom Coupe also drew a strong bid, selling for $143,000.
Other Friday highlights included:
- 1968 Ford Mustang Eleanor Replica: $137,500
- 2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Mamba Edition: $132,000
- 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Custom SUV: $126,500
- 1957 Ford Thunderbird Custom Convertible: $121,000
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
With a festival-style atmosphere and high-profile sales driving momentum, organizers expect a busy crowd for the final push at the auction block today.
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