Zzyzx Road in San Bernardino County, California, is famous for its spelling and for
an awful movie
of the same name. Zzyzx Road is named after the community of Zzyzx,
which was once Camp Soda and Soda Springs. But why the name change? Road
Trippers has the story.
Well, that's where things get
a little weird. Curtis Howe Springer was one of those old-timey radio
evangelists, way back in the day. However, he wasn't actually a minister
of any kind. He was born in 1896 in Birmingham, Alabama, and spent much
of his early life convincing people he was a doctor. He proclaimed
himself to be the "last of the old-time medicine men", but the American
Medical Association disagreed. They proclaimed him "King of the Quacks"
in 1969.
Throughout his life Curtis also claimed to be a boxing
teacher in the U.S. Army, the "Dean of Greer College" (a
defunct/bankrupt school in Chicago), he was a rabble-rouser during
Prohibition (he was in favor of it, and railed against "Demon Rum"). He
also loved making up universities. Like "National Academy, The Springer
School of Humanism, the American College of Doctors and Surgeons, the
Westlake West Virginia College, and two non-existent osteopathy schools
in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania and New Jersey." He sounds like a real
catch. My favorite though is how he'd write his name on pamphlets for
speaking engagements: Curtis Howe Springer, M.D., N.D., D.O., Ph.D.
You
can see where this is going: Curtis Howe Springer came up with the
name. But his story is both fascinating and outrageous, and
you should go read the whole thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment