A Curmudgeon Rerun: "Words and Their Meanings: 'World Famous'"

America is quite a country. Here, in this golden land of opportunity where dreams come true, even the least among us can rise from the humblest of beginnings to become world famous. Surprisingly, this rarified level of prestige can be reached easily—in fact, even without achieving world fame . . . or even local fame—by simply ignoring the meaning of the words . . . and creating a website. In fact, even in the absence of a website (after all, not everyone who is world famous has internet access), a billboard, flier, or hand-painted roadside sign will do, so long as it proclaims the self-bestowed status to all who happen by.

This week we celebrate those dreamers, those achievers, those "no-one-can-tell-me-I'm-exaggerating" entrepreneurs who have overcome the potentially daunting hurdles of logic, language, and truth to ultimately succeed at arbitrarily dubbing themselves "world famous." [Note: many of the photos below contain links to these world famous sites for your further study.]

As you can see, Joe's World Famous Pizza serves not only Athens, Alabama, but the surrounding areas as well!

No wonder Joe looks so proud.

And then there's Marco's World Famous Pizza . . . which serves "Milwaukee's best pizza" . . . and JB's World Famous Pizza, which operates in both Sycamore, Illinois and DeKalb, Illinois. Looks like the whole world loves pizza from the Midwestern U.S.

(Establishments as world famous as JB's, of course, aren't obligated by the rules of spelling or grammar. People all over the world know just what they mean when they proclaim . . . )

You may wonder how Graziano's in Canastota, New York became world famous. Well, you see, Graziano's is more than just a restaurant. It's an inn as well. As it says on their website, "You’ll feel like a champ, waking up in the themed boxing room." As you'll discover if you click the link, the website no longer exists, presumably because Graziano's World Famous Restaurant & Inn no longer needs to advertise.

Not in the mood for world famous Italian food? There are plenty of other world famous culinary choices. You can always spot the international flair from the sophisticated web designs, which feature the latest fonts and finest photography.

(You'll probably want to request a reservation several months in advance for Gus's.)

Impressively, Ogden, Utah's World Famous Pho achieved world fame rather quickly, even before opening or hiring dishwashers. That's not surprising, what with "Renowned Executive Chef Sabin Te" at the stove—a culinary wizard so sought after that he's had to obscure any Google search results. Sadly, the restaurant is now listed as permanently closed, no doubt because of the difficulty of meeting the world's overwhelming demand for pho from Utah.

The World Famous Kenton Club is currently featuring such world famous bands as Creature Party, The Disorderlies, Asheater, Skulldozer, and of course, The Fucking Fucks, all of which you'll find listed on their site.

It's always standing-room-only at Hayward, California's World Famous

Turf Club, where (as depicted in the photo) Hayward's "in crowd" goes to party.

World fame isn't limited to purveyors of food and drink. You can also get your hair cut at World Famous Barber Jon's, your car dipped in world famous peelable auto paint, or enjoy "distinguished, welcoming, and tactful" adult entertainment at World Famous Big Al's in Peoria.

No list of world famous things would be complete without the many world famous cultural experiences, such as The World Famous Toilet Seat Art Museum . . .

And the World Famous Crochet Museum. Good news: As their modern website proclaims, "We are always open, even though we may not be there and usually do not take appointments. The address is 61855 Highway 62, Joshua Tree, California, just east of the Joshua Tree Saloon."

If your travels ever take you to Mikonos, or Halifax, or Barcelona, or Lucca, or Kyoto, or anywhere really, be sure to mention these legendary American establishments. It'll be a great conversation starter, as even those who've never visited the States will surely have heard of Big Al's, Gus's, The Turf Club, and the World Famous Crochet Museum.

Words and their meanings. They only matter if you care about accurate communication. Otherwise, you too can be world famous!