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What in the world? Archives

May 22, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

No correct answers to this week's WITW, which is part of the statue in front of the Greensboro Police Department on West Washington Street:

WITW%20boy%20head%20052209.jpg


Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

May 19, 2009

WITW: Short stuff

So who is this?

WITW%20051909.jpg

Yes, he's in Greensboro.

No, he's not famous like the last WITW.

Continue reading "WITW: Short stuff" »

May 8, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

This week's WITW entry is the handle on Gen. Greene's sword :

WITW%20reveal%20050809.jpg


Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

May 5, 2009

WITW: Eye for detail edition

Here's a small piece of something from, well, something:

WITW%20main%20050509.jpg

So what is it?

Continue reading "WITW: Eye for detail edition" »

May 1, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

This week's picture is the underside of the railroad bridge over the Davie/McGee/MLK nexus:

WITW%20reveal%20050109.jpg

No, I have no idea how that car got in the picture. I couldn't do that again if I tried.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

April 27, 2009

WITW: Industrial edition

I'm back at it with something from Greensboro:

WITW%20042709.jpg


So what is this?

Continue reading "WITW: Industrial edition" »

April 10, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

This week's What In The World picture is a sculpture at N.C. A&T:

WITW%20reveal%201%20041009.jpg

Specifically it's "Progress," a work by sculptor Richard Hunt. It sits near Craig Hall, A&T's business school. That's Crosby Hall in the background.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

April 7, 2009

WITW: Blue and silver skies edition

Remember when it was sunny and warm? Yeah, me too -- barely.

To help you remember what spring looks like, here's this:

WITW%20main%20040709.jpg

So what is it? No, not the blue thing. The silver thing.

Continue reading "WITW: Blue and silver skies edition" »

March 27, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

Most weeks when I do this I get a few right answers and a few wrong answers.

This week, however, all 16 people I heard from knew that this week's offering is the N.C. A&T Aggie dog:

aggie%20dog%20032709.jpg

This one is atop the main entrance to Aggie Stadium. (There are at least two others around campus that I know about. I'm guessing there are more.) I wish the resolution of the shot was a little better, but the sign is pretty far up there and my point-n-shoot can zoom in only so close. If the Aggie Dog has any chewed-up bits of Ram, Eagle or Pirate in its teeth, they're not shown here.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

March 24, 2009

WITW: A Tuesday picture

So what's this?

WITW%20032409.jpg

If you think you know, e-mail me at john.newsom@news-record.com. Put WITW in the subject line and include your name and where you live.

One hint this week: Greensboro. I didn't say it was a good hint.

March 13, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

Only one person hazarded a guess about this week's WITW, and that guess was the Jefferson Pilot (aka the Lincoln) building in downtown Greensboro.

It's a decent guess. Charles Hartmann, the same architect who designed the JP building, also did this one, which is the Atlantic Bank Building in Burlington:

WITW%20Atlantic%20Bank%20031309.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

March 9, 2009

WITW: Yet another tall building

I've pretty much run out of tall buildings in Greensboro. So I happened to be out of town recently and snapped this:

WITW%20small%20030909.jpg

Your clue: It's a tall building (duh), and it's in the Triad.


Continue reading "WITW: Yet another tall building" »

March 3, 2009

WITW: It's cold out there

No WITW this week because I still can't feel my hands, and I wasn't outside all that much yesterday or today. Our staff photographers did it up right, and they have the slideshow to prove it.

I took one picture Monday I liked:

LF%20building%201%20030209.jpg


I'm pretty sure you all know what that is.

I hope to be thawed out by next week.

February 27, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

This week's WITW entry is the former Miller Furniture building on South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro.

WITW%20reveal1%20022709.jpg

If you look just to the right of the lamp post, you'll see the "M"-for-Miller logo.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

February 23, 2009

WITW: Back at it edition

Sorry for the extended break. Two weeks ago I was neck deep in NASCAR preview. Last week they turned off the lights and shut the doors for a day, and when I got back I spent the day in Burlington.

Before all that happened, I was going to post this:

WITW%20small%20022309.jpg

Your clues:

(1) Greensboro
(2) It has been in the news this month.

Continue reading "WITW: Back at it edition" »

February 6, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

Monday's image ... is the Koury Convention Center at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons, aka the hotel at the mall:

WITW%20main%20020609.jpg


Joe Koury had his reasons for building this thing (the original parts of it are to the right, just out of the camera view) where he did. But I always wonder what downtown would look and feel like these days if the Four Seasons was somewhere downtown.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

February 2, 2009

WITW: Another tall building edition

I love tall buildings. One of my few regrets about living in NYC way back when was that I never worked above the 17th floor. (It was in this building, in case you're wondering.

So what's this?

WITW%20small%20020209.jpg

Two hints: It's in Greensboro, and it's a lot shorter than the building I linked to above.

Continue reading "WITW: Another tall building edition" »

January 30, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

The coffee cup is painted onto the side of the Smith Street Diner at 438 Battleground Ave.:

WITW%20diner1%20013009.jpg

Go for the world's largest biscuits. Stay for the coffee.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

January 26, 2009

WITW: Time for coffee edition

There's never a bad time for coffee. And speaking of coffee, what in the world is this?


WITW%20small%20012609.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: Time for coffee edition" »

January 21, 2009

WITW: Frozen Wed. update

On Friday, I wondered out loud if the fountain I snapped last week was frozen. After last night's temperatures got into the negative 20s (give or take), I figured it would be. And here it is:

fountain%20close%20012109.jpg


Yeah, it's that cold outside this morning.

Continue reading "WITW: Frozen Wed. update" »

January 16, 2009

WITW: The Friday reveal

Monday's picture was of the fountain in Center City Park:

WITW%20fountain%20close.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

January 12, 2009

WITW: Jan. 12 edition

Happy New Years, WITWers. (I think it's pronounced WIT-wers. But maybe not.)

Here's something I saw wandering the streets of downtown Greensboro on a cold-but-finally-sunny Friday. What is it?

WITW%20small%20011209.jpg


Continue reading "WITW: Jan. 12 edition" »

December 24, 2008

WITW: The Christmas Eve reveal

This week's What in the World is the Friendly Center Santa:

WITW%20santa%20head%20122408.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: The Christmas Eve reveal" »

December 22, 2008

WITW: Naughty or nice edition

Quick, quick: What's this?

WITW%20small%20122208.jpg

If you know who it is and where it lives, e-mail me at john.newsom@news-record.com. And please put "WITW" in the subject line.

I'll give you the details on Wednesday.

December 19, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

Well, whaddya know: This week's WITW is the World's Largest Highboy:

WITW%20bureau%20far%20121908.jpg

The things you see in and around High Point ...

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

December 16, 2008

WITW: Belated Dec. 15 edition

Normally I like to post the weekly WITW picture on Monday. But while I was on the phone with a local police chief for this story, this other story broke out. I was the relief shift for the first two N&R reporters who worked on the story. During my stint at Friendly Center (from about noon to 3 p.m.), I did a lot of things not related to WITW:

* Chatted with a couple of the local teevee reporters and camera folks
* Walked over to Barnes & Noble for some coffee
* Interviewed a mom and son who were inside the Old Navy store when the shooting happened, then filed a few inches of copy from the mall parking lot
* Told a woman that she needed to talk to the police (and not me) to get her car from the Wachovia parking lot
* Watched the cops mill around and later gather up much of the yellow crime scene tape
* Saw the fire truck roll up to clean up the blood
* Watched the Brinks truck drive away.

You'll note that (except for the random interview -- they walked up to me and started talking) there wasn't actually much journalism going on. I was there to make sure we didn't miss a police briefing, but there wasn't any. So it goes.

Here's a tip for anyone ever stuck at Friendly (and maybe any other large parking lots): The light poles have electrical outlets in them. That's something I didn't realize until about 2:45, and I wasn't going to risk my life (again) to fetch my laptop from the car.

That's the not-so-short story for the one-day delay in WITW. Speaking of ...

Continue reading "WITW: Belated Dec. 15 edition" »

December 12, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

This week's WITW is a mermaid:

mermaid%20face%20121108.jpg


Specifically, it's this mermaid. Look familiar?

mermaid%20mural%20121108.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

December 8, 2008

WITW: Dec. 8 edition

So who in the world is this?

WITW%20small%20120808.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: Dec. 8 edition" »

December 5, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

This one was a little obscure, just the way I like it.

Monday's WITW is a piece of public art called "Planet Earth." It's at the corner of East Lee and South Elm in downtown Greensboro. And here it is:

WITW%20full%20usa%20120508.jpg

True and actual fact: It's not actually a sea mine, but an air compressor from a U.S. Navy ship.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

December 1, 2008

WITW: Dec. 1 edition

You know the drill. What's this?

WITW%20small%20120108.jpg

One hint: You can see it from the intersection of two major Greensboro streets.

Continue reading "WITW: Dec. 1 edition" »

November 21, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

Monday's piece of abstract architecture is part of the bridge that connects the School of Music to the rest of UNCG:

UNCG%20bridge%20102108.jpg


I took this shot back in September, which is why there are so many green leaves on the trees. The shot looks south, back toward the high-rise dorms.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

November 17, 2008

WITW: Back by popular demand edition

... which is shorthand for the boss asking, "Sooooo, are you going to have another 'What in the World' anytime soon?"

Truth be told, you crushed my spirits. I was sure the Elephant Eye WITW would be a stumper. But when 128 of you (give or take) got it right ... (sigh) ... who knew that High Point Road was so heavily trafficked?

Anyway, I'm still fishing for some good ideas. I'm a little burned out on downtown buildings and oversized animals. If you got some ideas for things I should tackle with my point-n-shoot, send them my way.

In the meantime, here's something I dug out of the files for a bleak and chilly day. What in the world is this?

WITW%20111708.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: Back by popular demand edition" »

November 7, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

Man, there's no fooling you people.

What I posted on Monday with the promise that this would be The Hardest WITW Evah!!!! turned out not to be not so tough to guess after all.

Here's the elephant that lives in the parking lot of American Furniture Warehouse at 3900 High Point Road (near Merritt Drive):

WITW%20elephant%20110708.jpg

Watch out! Here it comes!

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

November 3, 2008

WITW: Election eve edition

So what's this?

WITW%20small%20110308.jpg

One hint: It's along a major Greensboro roadway.

Another hint: Think about the title of the post.

Continue reading "WITW: Election eve edition" »

October 31, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

To celebrate the completion of yet another World Series (congrats, Phillies!), I present to you an oversized baseball:


WITW%20baseball1%20103108.jpg


Monday's shot was of one of those jumbo baseballs that hangs out by NewBridge Bank Park in downtown Greensboro. To the best of my knowledge, they don't actually use these particular baseballs in games.

Though they should. That would rock.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

October 27, 2008

WITW: Oct. 27 edition

Sorry for the delay. The morning got busy, and then I had to cover the mad non-rush of crowds to this afternoon's Joe Biden rally.

So. What in the world is this?


WITW%20small%20102708.jpg


Continue reading "WITW: Oct. 27 edition" »

October 24, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

Looks like I stumped you. The Monday picture was of the Southeastern Building at the corner of North Elm and East Market streets:

WITW%20reveal1%20102408.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

October 20, 2008

WITW: Oct. 20 edition

I wandered back downtown for this shot:


WITW%20small%20102008.jpg


So what is it?

Continue reading "WITW: Oct. 20 edition" »

October 17, 2008

WITW: The rainy Friday reveal

Anyone who's out and about today, that's too bad. It's chilly and nasty out there, and I've had to venture out to take a picture (more on that in a bit) and cover a house fire. (Those folks are having a much worse day of it than me -- trust me.)

For those of you still inside and tethered to the computer, here's the reveal of Monday's photo:


WITW%20fishbones1%20101708.jpg


Yep, that's Fishbones, a restaurant and bar at the corner of Walker and South Elam avenues. No, as you can tell from the weather, that's not the picture I took today.


Continue reading "WITW: The rainy Friday reveal" »

October 13, 2008

WITW: Oct. 13 edition

Last week's food-themed post went over pretty well, so I want to try another one:

WITW%20small%20101308.jpg

So what in the world is this?

Continue reading "WITW: Oct. 13 edition" »

October 10, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

Boy howdy you people like yourselves some Beef Burger. Monday's WITW picture was indeed the West Lee Street landmark:

beef%20burger%20square%20sign%20101008.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

October 8, 2008

WITW: Mid-week boxcar edition

When I worked in Sports, I used to have to park out in the blue lot, the one at the back of the N&R building. The rail siding that we use to bring paper rolls into the building splits the lot in two, and every once in a while Norfolk Southern will leave a boxcar there.

Boxcars are pretty non-descript. They're boxes, after all, and not all that inherently interesting. Some of them have graffiti scribbles on them. And then there's this one:

boxcar%201%20100708.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: Mid-week boxcar edition" »

October 6, 2008

WITW: Oct. 6 edition

Time for lunch. So What In The World is this?

WITW%20small%20100608.jpg


Yeah, yeah, I know. It's a hamburger. I got that.

Your chore is to figure out where this burger is hanging out.

Continue reading "WITW: Oct. 6 edition" »

October 2, 2008

WITW: Special Thursday birdie edition

What in the world?!

WITW%20bird%20100208.jpg


Seriously -- what in the world is this? A crane? A heron? I'm terrible at ID'ing birds other than blue jays (they're blue, duh), cardinals (they're red) and robins (they have orange heads).

Continue reading "WITW: Special Thursday birdie edition" »

September 26, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

WITW's first foray out of downtown took us to ...

... UNCG. That's the area right above the entrance to the Patricia A. Sullivan Science Building on the eastern end of the campus.

WITW%20reveal%20less%20sky%20092608.jpg

Kristen of Durham got it mostly right in the comments to the original post. The brick building in the reflection is not the Cone Hall dorm, which is a little farther north, but the science building, which kicks out from the entrance area.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

September 23, 2008

WITW: Sept. 23 edition

Sorry to be a day late with this, but I got backed up last week, and Monday was the first good sunny day I had had in a while. (Speaking of sun, where in the heck did it go?)

Here's what I've got for you this week:

WITW%20092308.jpg

So what is this?

Continue reading "WITW: Sept. 23 edition" »

September 19, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

Yep, that is the Guilford Building at 301 S. Elm St.:

WITW%20corner%20shot%20091908.jpg


Two of you got it right: Anne Pittman of Greensboro and Arthur Totten of Washington, D.C.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

September 16, 2008

WITW: Sept. 16 edition

Sorry for the delay in posting this week's entry. Normally I like to get it online on Monday. But my yesterday was consumed by writing about people dying in all sorts of awful ways. I don't mean to sound flip, but a large part of my job is writing about death and destruction.

This picture has nothing to do with either death or destruction.So what it is?

WITW%20small%20091608.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: Sept. 16 edition" »

September 12, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

It only took three weeks to stump you. It could be that no regular downtown drinkers saw the Monday edition. Or it could be that my choice of WITWs was too obscure. Anyway, here's what it is:

WITW%20reveal%20091208.jpg

Still not getting it? A couple of more pics after the jump.


Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

September 8, 2008

WITW: Sept. 8 edition

Here's Round 3. What in the world is this?

WITW%20small%20090808.jpg

Want some clues? They're after the jump ...

Continue reading "WITW: Sept. 8 edition" »

September 5, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

What in the world is that piece of abstract sculpture I posted on Monday?

It lives outside the West Market Street United Methodist Chuch, across from the old Guilford County Courthouse. And here it is:

WITW%20reveal%20090508.jpg

We had two people who got it right this week. One was C.A.R. from Greensboro, who becomes the first two-time WITW winner. C.A.R. nailed last week's offering, too. The other was N&R reporter Gerald Witt, who, even though he sits next to me in the N&R's newsroom/cube farm, swears he wasn't following me on the day I shot those pics.

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

September 2, 2008

WITW: Sept. 2 edition

Here's picture No. 2:

WITW%20small%20090208.jpg

Here's the hint: I drive past this thing every day. And if you work (or live) downtown, you probably do, too.


Continue reading "WITW: Sept. 2 edition" »

August 29, 2008

WITW: The Friday reveal

So what in the world was that picture I posted on Monday?

Meet Lovey, O. Henry's dog:

WITW%20large350%20082908.jpg

Continue reading "WITW: The Friday reveal" »

August 25, 2008

WITW: Aug. 25 edition

Here's your first "What in the World?" picture. So what is it? And where it is?

WITW%20small%20082508.jpg

Hint: It's in downtown Greensboro, and it's pretty well trained.

If you know, drop me an e-mail at john.newsom@news-record.com and make sure to put WITW in the subject line. I'll post your correct answers (and maybe some wrong guesses) on Friday.

What in the world is What In the World? Here's the post that explains it all.

August 21, 2008

What in the World? The kickoff

What in the world?

Yeah, exactly.

WITW%20082108.jpg

"What in the World" (which I'll now call WITW just to be, you know, cool) is something new here at Triad Diary. It's a weekly guess-the-picture contest that will work something like this.

On Mondays, I'll post a picture I took. Your job is to figure out what in the world it is. I'll post some clues to help make your job a little easier. (First clue: The pictures will be local. OK, local-ish.)

On Fridays, I'll show you the picture in its larger context so you can go, "Ah, so that's what it was."

Simple enough, right?

Each week the person (or persons or people) who guess the WITW pic will win fabulous prizes. By "fabulous prizes," I mean you'll get your name in the Friday blog post.

If you want to play along, use the comments thread below each post or e-mail me at john.newsom@news-record.com. Make sure you put WITW in the subject line so I see it. Include where you live (that is, your city) and, if you want, your name.

I'll have the first picture up Monday.

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