MacGyver: Minnesota’s Greatest Natural Resource
Posted by Jeremy on March 22nd, 2008
My home state of Minnesota is known for many many things. Our progressive politics and social policies. Our love of Norway. Our 10,000 lakes1. Our health. Our highly educated and literate population. Paper mills. First iron ore, now taconite. Hockey. We get around.
We’ve also had our share of stars: Prince, Husker Du, The Replacements, Soul Asylum, Eddie Albert, Judy Garland, Jessica Lange, Winona Ryder, Vince Vaughn, Josh Hartnett, Jessica Biel, Melissa Peterman, Jonny Lang, Joel and Ethan Coen, Terry Gilliam and Mike Todd.
Our GDP is $234 billion (In 2005). Our state drink is milk. We’re the first state to mandate the use of ethanol fuel and we’re US’ largest producer of sugar beets, sweet corn, and green peas for processing, and farm-raised turkeys.
That’s all great, but none of them matter.
Our greatest natural resource is Angus “Mac” MacGyver.
It’s true.
Ok, so Mac is really Richard Dean Anderson - also a Minnesota native, but I won’t focus on that, even though he decided to become an actor when he took a cross-country bike ride from Minnesota to ALASKA after college. Friggin’ Alaska. On a bike. From here. Yes, it’s safe to say that Richard Dean Anderson and MacGyver are one in the same.
Mac is the reason I’ve carried a Swiss Army knife with me every day for over a decade. He’s the real reason I was in the boy scouts, and the reason I decided to learn dozens of knots and lashing wood together instead of hanging out with the other scouts at our Jamborees. He’s how I want Minnesota to be thought of: Quiet, Smart, Inventive. Someone you want on your side when the going gets tough.
Today is MacGyver’s 57th birthday. Born March 23rd, 1951 in Mission City, MN, he grew up to study physics at Western Tech, and then signed on to the Phoenix Foundation, where he learned to solve problems not with brawn, but with his brains.
Let’s all celebrate Minnesota’s greatest natural resource: MacGyver.
Mac is so epic that recently CBS decided to give him away to the masses, and as such you can now logon and watch every single episode!
And as great as it is to watch it online, it’s nothing compared to seeing it on a modern big screen, so go out and buy yourself the first season of MacGyver:
Then go out and buy yourself a MacGyver action figure:
Or, even better, the MacGyver multi-tool:
Add to that the appropriately titles “MacGyver” watch, with it’s combo watch/mp3 to round out the look:
And even more MacGyver links!
Read about him on Wikipedia, hit up MacGyver online to see every single MacGyverism he’s made. And be sure to check out TV.Com to catch those reruns!
It’s safe to say that Minnesota, and even the entire world, is a better place with him around - so happy birthday, Mac!
Footnotes listed in the above post:- Actually, Minnesota has 11,842 lakes that are 10 acres in size or larger. Now you know. [↩]
March 24th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
That Mac has inspired us all at some point or another.
November 12th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
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