Wrigley and Diddley: Disappearing Chicago Institutions

Looking back on the last few shows, there seems to be a common theme: disappearing Chicago institutions. It all began in…

In Inventions, when I discussed the history of the vending machine. Believe it or not, they’ve traced this device back to the 1st century. Supposedly the idea began with Hero of Alexandria. He came up with a coin-operated contraption for dispensing holy water. Most people refer to him as a mathematician and an engineer, but what about an entrepreneur? Purchasers of holy water placed a coin on a tray, which then put levers and values into motion finally dispensing holy water. Not only did Hero of Alexandria use a coin as payment for his product, the coin also served to dispense exactly the right amount of water. Due to the inclination of the tray, the coin would fall off, causing a counterweight to close the valve.

Vending machine. Máquina expendedora.
Device. Aparato, dispositivo
Coin-operated. Que funciona con monedas
Contraption. Artilugio, aparato
To dispense. Repartir
Lever. Palanca

One of the first places vending machines reappeared hundreds of years later in the United States was in train stations. That’s precisely where I discovered the vending machine as kid, at Chicago’s Randolph Street train station. The product? Chewing gum. And not ordinary chewing gum. The vending machine was stocked with Wrigley’s chewing gum, a Chicago institution. You could choose between Wrigley’s Spearmint, Doublemint, and my favorite flavor: Juicy Fruit.

To stock. Abastecer



Last April, the Wrigley Company was sold to Mars, Inc. for $28 billion. That’s another Windy City institution that has disappeared, which leads to another Chicago institution that has vanished: Ellas McDaniel, better known as Bo Diddley.

Windy City. El mote de Chicago (La ciudad de los vientos)

Bo Diddley died on June 2, 2008. He’ll probably be remembered more for his guitar theatrics and showmanship than for his songwriting. Elvis studied him and some people say that the moves he pioneered were later copied and further developed by Jimi Hendrix. Diddley’s first single was recorded at Chicago’s Chess Records. While Diddley expressed some of his “bluesmanship” on the A-side, called “I’m a Man,” it was the B-side, “Bo Diddley,” that showcased him as a rock-n-roller. And that was the song that gave him his name. We can thank Billy Boy Arnold for that.

Showmanship. Espectacularidad, teatralidad



Billy Boy Arnold was one of the first Chicago bluesmen to actually have been born in Chicago. (Bo Diddley was born in Mississippi and didn’t move to Chicago until he was 7). Bo was singing, “Papa gonna buy his babe a diamond ring” and Arnold suggested changing it to “Bo Diddley’s gonna buy his babe a diamond ring.” Arnold explained that Bo Diddley meant a “funny, bow-legged kind of guy.” Ellas McDaniel liked the title so much that, to everybody’s surprise, he credited the song to the artist… Bo Diddley! And that’s how McDaniel became known as Bo Diddley for the rest of his life.

Bow-legged. Que tiene las piernas en arco

Published by: Drew Crosby