Lena Blackburne's Secret, Magical Mud
I don't know if any of you are baseball fans. It's been years since I've gone to a game. (I was once a Mets fan. No nasty notes from Yankee lovers, please.) But I still found this story pretty darn interesting. I mean, what could possibly be better than SECRET MUD? (Okay, a lot of things. But just go with me this one.)
A brand-new baseball is slippery and difficult to throw with any accuracy. So pitchers like to dirty a ball up a bit before they hurl it. But finding the right "dirt" is more difficult than one might think. In the past, pitchers tried just about everything from tobacco juice to shoe polish. Nothing worked very well--until the 1930s, when a man named Lena Blackburn discovered the secret near his home in New Jersey.
There was something magical about the dirt Blackburn dug up. It reduced wild pitches and even made umpires happy. (And they're notoriously difficult to please.) So for the last 70 years, every single major league baseball team has rubbed its baseballs with Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud.
And for the last seventy years, the location of the magical mud has remained a well-guarded secret. Only two people on earth know where to find it. Those two people must be pretty rich, right? Well there's another twist to this story. A little of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud goes an awfully long way. Each season, all the major league baseball teams put together only use about 32 ounces.
And how much does 32 ounces of magical mud cost? A whopping $58.
Listen to the whole story here!
posted by Kirsten Miller at 10:45 AM
23 Comments:
this is pretty cool i love little family owned companies like this. Sounds like a cool good luck charm
If it can "make umpires happy", it sounds as if there is a mutated string of Fille Fiable in there.
Hmm...
It's pretty cool, either way.
I bet its red clay. its all over the place in new jersey
GO PHILLIES! world series champs!!!
I think there was an episode of dirty jobs about that guy...
oooooooooooooooh...secret, magical mud. guranteed to please umpires.
Must. Find. Location. Of. Mud!!!! Who's with me?? :D
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww its M-U-D mud mud mud mud muddly mud mud muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudddddd
that's so cool!
awwwww........ you're a mets fan???????
Yankee's rock
kirsten please go to stormsblog.webs.com
Lately I've noticed lizards sneaking into my house. I thought nothing of it, except I should shut the door harder. However, after hearing about a killer Komodo dragon, whose cousin has recently been found, and not to mention seeing this video:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2936/lizard_attack_longer_version/, I'm beginning to question the little reptiles motives...
That means the mud costs about $1.81 an ounce!
I'm back! My summer, to say the least, was insane. Now that my life has some vague idea of structure, I will hopefully be on more frequently. School is rather dull, so needless to say I my mind could use the stimulation!
Sameanoymous: There is also a lot of red clay in NC
That's facinating! Baseball has some pretty cool stories.
Ima going hunting for that mud XD Maybe it's even near my house... *goes out searching*
So I wonder if anyone has done a chemical test on it to see what its made of...
wait liltomboyblue you just barely started school, where do you live?
my dad is a big baseball fan.pease out,and bye to the world.
i was bored so i read that one post that you said you were going to face your worst fear cuz of a dare from lauren myracle or something like that...you hate eggs!!! me too!!! my worst fears are: being stranded alone in open ocean, going further than waves in the ocean, fish(especially tuna), getting on an escalator in wet flip flops(bad experience with escalators: i was little and fell down a crowded escalator going up. just recently was able to get ion one without totally freaking out), eggs(one time i was forced to eat cold rubbery eggs for breakfast. i do not eat breakfast!), needles(only shots. i am good at sewing and knitting),unmelted cheese(however i love melted cheese), chupacabras, isolation, trusting people, and MOTHS. however i cant gurantee any of these are real except for eggs, SO DONT TRY ANYTHING, PEOPLE!!! and its not like you could if you tried cuz i am not who i seem to be....
OMG!!! When are you going to finish the next Kiki Strike book? I don't want to pressure you to finish it or anything, but I'm really worried that you may have stopped writing them!
hey KM, here's something you should check out: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/gallery/2009/mar/25/evolution-biodiversity?picture=345028058
<3 Sinclair
so is it turning into a thing to only post once a week?
Kiki, your story mentions the inspiration for Kaspars pseudonym.
Perhaps my Rockies could've used a little of this last night? Stupid Philidelphia, knocking us out of the running like that. D: (no angry comments from Philly fans, please)
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