If you're ever in the area of Madison, NH and have absolutely nothing else to do, the Madison Boulder is kinda neat. [0] It's a <i>little</i> bigger at about 5k tons.<p>[0] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Boulder" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Boulder</a>
Surely it has to be “Boulder McBoulderface”?<p>[0]: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36225652" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36225652</a>
<a href="https://news.wttw.com/2026/09/11/rock-star-meet-guy-who-excavated-o-hare-s-50-ton-boulder-and-yes-he-has-thoughts-about" rel="nofollow">https://news.wttw.com/2026/09/11/rock-star-meet-guy-who-exca...</a><p>here’s a picture of the actual rock - and digger! phew!
That is a wonderful article!<p>> <i>Over the years, Pitelka has rescued some of these rocks and deposited them at his mom’s five-acre property, including a large hunk of limestone that, when he dumped it out of his truck, split in half to reveal a perfect trilobite fossil, convex on one side and a matching imprint on the other.</i><p>> <i>“I was so excited to hear that the right people got involved,” he said. “I’m absolutely ecstatic it’s going to be on display. For me, as an (excavator) who loves boulders, it’s the coolest thing that people understand its historical significance and appreciate it.”</i>
Thank you, great read.
Here are the name finalists:<p><pre><code> • Sweet Stone Chicago
• No ORDinary Rock
• Chicago Rocks
• O'Rock
• Orchard Rock
• Da Rock
</code></pre>
"No ORDinary Rock" and "Orchard Rock" are the winners for me. They both pay tribute to how O'Hare got its IATA airport code in the 1940s, when it was called Orchard Field.<p>So deciding between the two, Orchard Rock is my pick! It's subtle, but the plaque can explain it.
Surprised to see `ExtraORDinary Rock` missing => 50-tons, that's got to meet the bar for extraordinary.
Wish I saw some of the larger list. This still seems weak.<p>ORD as an acronym? O Rock D<p>O’Hare Rock Dolostone
O’Hare Runway Dolomite<p>Rocky.<p>Da Dolo
Ditka
"Mother's Love"<p>Because, we so often take it for granite.
How is it possible that NONE of the candidate names refer to Colbert? Especially given his time with Second City.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_The_Colbert_Report" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_The_Colbert...</a>
Colbert is not a Chicago figure. You'd have to remind the median Chicagoan who knows who he is that he ever spent time here. You might just as easily name it after Bob Odenkirk.
I dont get it. Does he have some association with large rocks or something?
Is a 50-ton boulder rare or super-rare?
Bouldery McBoulderface.
Should name it Dwayne Johnson and never explain further.
When Toronto had to name their team, I’m sure that the success of Jurassic Park helped the finalist (Raptors) win. I’m surprised “Rocky” didn’t make a finalist here (via Project Hail Mary).<p>Maybe that’s too Philadelphia.<p>O’Hare “Rocky” Dolomite
O’Hareball!
Pictures or it didn't happen?
Tangent time: I've got a smaller one in my yard, and I've got a set of feathers and wedges to avoid having to dig it all up at once. Here's a video of someone using feathers and wedges to split granite.<p><a href="https://youtu.be/s7_z-SGxUAs?si=vUKYBWYvG7nncszd&t=924" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/s7_z-SGxUAs?si=vUKYBWYvG7nncszd&t=924</a>
Rocky McRockface
Bean
“A large boulder the size of a small boulder"<p><a href="https://time.com/5772944/large-small-boulder/" rel="nofollow">https://time.com/5772944/large-small-boulder/</a>
Peewee Pebblestone
Stonehangar, of course
Big Boy Boulder
There's something about finding huge rocks in the ground while digging that makes you just want to take them out and like, use them for something? The last one I found I had to make myself leave it there (well I moved it over a foot so a pipe didn't have to go around it). Like no, it has sat here for thousands of years just fine, it can keep sitting. Glad to hear it applies to 50 ton ones, as well.
In New England they made stone walls out of them. Of course most where smallish<p><a href="https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/history/history-of-new-englands-stone-walls/" rel="nofollow">https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/history/hist...</a><p>In “original” England they did as well.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_stone" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_stone</a>
Oh sure, I'm definitely familiar with those. The weird ones are in forests, a reminder that an area <i>used to be clear</i> and then was left to grow back.<p>The walls of stones were the result of collecting stones that were near the surface from what I understand (maybe plow depth). I was talking more like bigger stones that were buried several feet under the ground that could just stay where they are (when you fill in the hole), but for a compulsion to treat them as <i>things</i>.
In New England they made stone walls out of them.<p>In “original” England they did as well.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_stone" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_stone</a>
There is another rock sitting alongside a chief artery about 25 miles NW just beyond Schaumburg. Silly to give these things a name.
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