Before 1969, the
city of Zap was best known as the punch line of a joke about three towns in North Dakota that sounded like Rice Krispies—
Zap,
Gackle, and
Mott. But when student body president
Charles "Chuck" Stroup at
North Dakota State University needed an alternative to Fort Lauderdale while stuck in North Dakota for spring break, he enlisted the help of some
student journalists at the
Spectrum newspaper to promote the
"Zip to Zap," an event that became the
only "official" riot in the history of North Dakota. The tiny coal mining town originally looked forward to the impromptu "Zip" festival, which had so much advance buzz that the
Wham-O toy company created a toy called
Zip Zap in honor of the imminent event. Unfortunately, after throngs of students descended on Zap, the only two bars in town quickly ran out of beer, and the
North Dakota National Guard was called into extinguish the bonfire, beer brawls, and riot that ensued. For more info about about how the "Zip to Zap" fit in context with the 1960s zeitgeist, look
here,
here, and
here.
posted by jonp72
on Nov 20, 2007 -
10 comments
