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PaperclipPerfector  8d ago (text post)   2194 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 13, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Another case of nominative determinism?

Thomas L. "Tom" Golden was a miner from Georgia, United States, who was one of the earliest prospectors in present-day Jefferson County, Colorado. Golden arrived in the then-Kansas Territory in 1858 around the beginning of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. He later partnered with George A. Jackson, a native of Glasgow, Missouri who discovered gold at the confluence of Chicago Creek and Clear Creek on January 7, 1859

But it also seems entirely possible to me that he changed his name upon assuming his occupation.

entirely possible to me that he changed his name upon assuming his occupation.

That would be my guess. The ancestors of all those people named Smith didn't just take up the profession due to nominative determinism.

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