by Mike Rosso
Back in September 2014, Time magazine released an edition called “The Answers Issue.” In it was a compilation of answers to some of today’s most burning questions, such as, When did we start saying ‘groovy’? When will we discover alien life? and When do men lose their virginity?
Believe it or not, they managed to fill up 112 pages with these important queries (minus about 30 pages of ads), so Time readers now know everything there is to know about nothing. A month later I was sitting at a gate in DIA with plenty of time on my hands, so I began to compile a list of things about Colorado about which I was curious. Where is the largest lake in Colorado? Which is the oldest town? What is the state’s biggest crop? And so forth.
I managed to fill up five pages of a yellow note tablet with these musings before finally boarding. I then tucked it away, nearly forgetting about it after returning from my trip.
Though we focus most of our content on the Central Colorado region, I decided to go big: Let’s cover the entire state. Topics were proposed to many of our regular contributors, and the results are presented in these pages.
There are quite a few obscure facts not presented in this issue, but we’ve covered quite a few bases. (Speaking of which, did you know the first baseball game played in Colorado was in 1862? See page 32.)
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Recently I took the plunge and acquired a smartphone. I call it my batphone (Adam West, eat your heart out), and it knows a lot more than I do. I confess, it’s a handy device for this particular occupation: for recording interviews, shooting photos, making calendar appointments, checking emails, etc. from remote locations, and yes, even making phone calls. I started using its Internet function to gather some Colorado facts, only to consider the irony of using a small electronic device to collect information which was eventually going to be used in print.
There is an unfortunate misconception going around that “print is dead” and that we will all soon be plugged into electronic devices for our information. Recent events in North Korea, though, where that country temporarily lost most of its internet and cellphone access – likely due to hackers – have convinced me even more of the value of print media. You can’t hack a printing press. The fact is, this magazine has increased its print subscriptions by nearly 5 percent in the past thirty days, the largest increase we’ve seen since acquiring it back in 2009, and that keeps us optimistic about the future.
Folks of all ages often mention how important it is to have a tangible product – one where they can turn the pages, take a break and come back to an article later on (and not worry about dropping it in the commode!). That doesn’t happen with electronic media. It is designed to deliver as much information in as short a period of time as possible. How often do we bookmark a webpage and return to finish a news article? Me? Not so much. My friend Clark likes to have a “screen-free” day once a week, and I agree. There is also concern about the attention span of children growing up with only electronic communication. Studies also show that multitasking, i.e. texting, driving and drinking coffee at the same time, creates situations where tasks are in fact getting done, just not very well.
I am confident that print will still be around long after the current wave of “experts” predicting the premature death of the medium recede again with the tide.
See you again in March!
