Odd Facts - Travel Deals

Chicago is often called the “Second City,” but if you spend any amount of time there you’ll learn that there is nothing second-rate about the place. The busy financial, business and cultural capital of the American Heartland, Chicago is cosmopolitan cool and an excellent place to spend a long weekend or two.

While you undoubtedly know a bit about the Windy City and all of its famous sites, here are a few facts that will impress your friends and help assure that you to have the time of your life while you are there.

• In Chicago, it is a criminal offense for anyone except a police officer to use a slingshot.
• There is a Chicago law that makes it illegal for male Chicagoans to fish in their pajamas.
• If you ever decide to go to a dance in Chicago, make sure you don’t take a nap on the dance floor, or you could get arrested.
• It is illegal for Chicago residents to take their French poodles to the opera.
• The first automobile race ever seen in the United States was held in Chicago in 1895. The track ran from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois. The winner was J. Frank Duryea, whose average speed was 7 miles per hour.

One final fact: Priceline will hook you up with a cheap flight to Chicago if you act before January 23, 2006. If you need an affordable place to stay and where it is okay to where your pajamas, use the hostel search to find the very best Chicago area hostels.