10 facts about the MOA

My sister, who thinks she's funny, shared with me this link to Mental Floss's 10 Quick Facts about the Mall of America, suggesting that my partner and I get married in the chapel there. Hardy har har. 

There were a couple of items on the list that were actually both news and interesting to me.

2. The mall has its own zip code (55425, in case you're dying to know).

5. There are a couple of passing references to the old Metropolitan Stadium, if you've got eagle eyes. Both are found in the Nickelodeon theme park area of the mall if you're willing to brave throngs of kids to play I Spy. But if you aren't willing (I probably won't be), here they are. The first is a bronze plaque that marks where home plate once stood -- it's embedded in the floor in the northwest corner of Nickelodeon Universe. The second is probably quite perplexing if you've ever been on the Log Chute and noticed what appears to be a random chair affixed to the wall that has nothing to do with the ride. It shows the spot where the longest home run at the Old Met was hit by Minnesota Twin Harmon Killebrew, who blasted the ball 520 feet from home plate.

I knew about the home plate because it was the answer to the very first Least Dangerous Game. (When's that coming back, anyway?) The chair I did not know about. That's neat.

The comments are pretty funny, too. The Minnesota homers come out of the Mental Floss woodwork.

I really hope the post's author isn't flying here just to shop. What a letdown.

Wait a minute, if she wants to go to all that just to spend money here, I'm fine with that, even if it's not a choice I would make (ever) (in a million years).

I am, however, willing to indulge any out-of-town guests. My sister, who thinks she's funny and who recently visited, did not make that request. I'm hoping I do not come up with a brilliant holiday gift idea that can only be obtained in some kind of specialty store that is only located locally at the Mall of America. That place turns my natural introversion into full on agoraphobia.

Erica Mauter

cinna.mn is a place to talk about minority experiences in Minnesota. Contact erica@cinna.mn.