There are 15 towns on Cape Cod and each one has its own story. Some of them are well known – some not so much. Here are 15 fascinating facts – one for each town on the Cape – that might make you see this sandbar a little bit differently:
Dennis: Brown Bragging
Picture 10 of 15
Many American towns have a claim to fame, and some bring more pride than others. But Dennis can say it invented the brown paper bag. At least, Dennis citizen Luther Crowell invented a machine in the 1800s which made them popular. While this may not seem like a major contribution, the humble brown bag is indeed a homey symbol of lunchtime across America. There is something to be said for this uncommon distinction – after all, who doesn’t appreciate lunch?
When I was a kid in Hyannis, helping work at a gas station behind my house, a guy pulled up to the pump and wanted some gas. He handed me a “can of OIL” that he said needed to go in the gas tank, before the gas. I NEVER heard of such a thing!. I opened the can, poured the oil in then put the amount of gas he told me to. I asked AL (the proprietor) what that was about. He told me it was a Foreign car, called a SAAB, and it used oil with the gas.
I owned one of those old Saabs with the 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine. Got great milage but not a lot of power and always started on cold Cape Cod mornings. Mine was a little blue station wagon and I had to replace the transaxle (transmission) 3 times. I gor pretty good at changing it out in a few hours. The little engine was so small I was able to just pull it out of the engine bay and set it on the floor. The body pan finally rusted out.
What about Marstons Mills !
WHERE IS YARMOUTH?!?!
Judging from the dates of the comments, this feature first was published ca 2016 — you’ve had 7 YEARS to add a unique fact about YARMOUTH! Get with your own program!