> 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 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 know a lot of people who live in apartments but have a collection, usually classic computers, stored in their parents house. Hell, I was just talking to a guy few weeks ago who was lamenting how his parents threw out his "junk" pdp11 years ago.
• Sweet Stone Chicago
• No ORDinary Rock
• Chicago Rocks
• O'Rock
• Orchard Rock
• Da Rock
"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.
So deciding between the two, Orchard Rock is my pick! It's subtle, but the plaque can explain it.
In chicagoland, yes. For someone who moved there from California, it was strange that rocks hardly larger than a human warranted school field trips and plaques. Perhaps it is geologically cool, but I was unimpressed as a 6th grader. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53236492797_60069bde90_b...
I thought the same thing. My back yard is full of huge rocks. Nothing quite that large, maybe 1/3 of that size. A few doors down there is a boulder twice as big as the O'Hare one.
I'm speaking in volume. I'm not sure of the mass of these boulders.
In an area that was covered by a glacier in the last 20k years, yes.
Chicago was covered by ice during the most recent glaciation, which means that boulder is probably a glacial erratic covered by till leftover from the movement of the glacier.
It's not just the fact that the area was covered by ice. The local geology is also a factor.
Glacial erratics are everywhere in Scandinavia, which also obviously was covered by the ice. Small ones, like in the article, are scattered all over. Large ones weigh thousands of tons and may often be mistaken for bedrock.
I suspect there are other areas in North America where that's also true.
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 little bigger at about 5k tons.
If you're in the USofA it's the same 2,000 (US) pound ton you've always known.
For those of us elsewhere on the globe it's that non metric weight we call either a short ton or a US ton.
The OG ton, also known as the imperial ton or British ton is some 2,240 avoirdupois pounds that's been "standardised" (plus minus some obscure fuzzing) for some 700 years or so.
With New Hampshire mentioned, I must make mention of one glorious boulder that sits alongside Rumney's Quincy Road[0]. This is worth checking out if you're visiting the Plymouth area. Street View doesn't do it justice.
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).
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.
Years ago, a company that I worked for had a huge boulder in the parking lot area that had simply been built around. At some point, facilities decided they were going to remove the boulder. Employees printed up some tee shirts that said "Save the BFR". Because, you know, it was a big rock.
What means "prehistoric boulder", are not essentially all boulders prehistoric? I just don't know what a historic boulder would even mean. Something in Raiders of the Lost Ark?
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.
Oh sure, I'm definitely familiar with those. The weird ones are in forests, a reminder that an area used to be clear and then was left to grow back.
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 things.
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.
He grew up in Naperville. Wikipedia says he was born in Berwyn, which I assume just means he was born at McNeal, but I don’t think he ever lived there or there’d be a bigger deal made of it by the local gentry. But that voice is hardcore inner suburbs/southwest side. I had no difficulty believing Jimmy McGill grew up in Cicero.
https://news.wttw.com/2026/09/11/rock-star-meet-guy-who-exca...
here’s a picture of the actual rock - and digger! phew!
That is a wonderful article!
> 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 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.”
Man this guy found his life’s calling. Love to see it.
I love the ambiguity as to whether his mom wants the rocks dropped off in her yard or not. ;)
I know a lot of people who live in apartments but have a collection, usually classic computers, stored in their parents house. Hell, I was just talking to a guy few weeks ago who was lamenting how his parents threw out his "junk" pdp11 years ago.
Thank you, great read.
That rock couldn't have been found by a better guy.
Even a rock has a soulmate! Not I.- /s
TFA has a picture as well; just scroll down.
I did but honestly didn’t see it. My connection was struggle to load all the billions of ads.
I don't see it. I do see a blocked twitter embed and when I click the link to that I do see a rock https://x.com/cbschicago/status/2111193918909903146
They should name it after this guy, the Pitelka rock.
Surely it has to be “Boulder McBoulderface”?
[0]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36225652
I was going to suggest just this! I love Boaty McBoatface.
But as a resident of the Chicago area, I’m partial to Da Rock
Can have the best of both worlds.
Da Rocky McRockface
Rocky McRockface is the perfect name and gets my vote.
Came here with that same name in mind. It would be a stone cold crime if that wasn't picked.
Gneiss!
I think this is the only valid name
I wonder if there'll be an episode of Hello Internet on it.
Missed opportunity to call it "Rocky Bouldoa"
That would be a slam dunk winner if it was the airport in Philadelphia.
Here are the name finalists:
"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.
So deciding between the two, Orchard Rock is my pick! It's subtle, but the plaque can explain it.
Wish I saw some of the larger list. This still seems weak.
ORD as an acronym? O Rock D
O’Hare Rock Dolostone O’Hare Runway Dolomite
Rocky.
Da Dolo
O Rock Damn.
Surprised to see `ExtraORDinary Rock` missing => 50-tons, that's got to meet the bar for extraordinary.
Ditka
I like it. Ditka Rock has a certain ring to it.
Sounds like something from the old Bill Swerski's Superfans sketches from SNL.
"Alright sooperfyans, next question. Who would win: Coach Ditka, or a 50-ton boulder flying down da side of a mountain?"
"Oh, dat's easy, Dit..."
"Hold ahhhn, hold ahhhn! Da boulder is also named 'Ditka'."
Digka
Just call it "Dwayne Johnson"?
Then in generations to some, old people can explain that Dwayne Johnson was the King of Wrestling and then became King of Hollywood.
Naming things after living people is bad luck
I like 'Da Rock' because it reminds me of da orks from Warhammer 40K
Or ‘Da Bears’ trope from the SNL Skit
I like "Orchard Rock" because it's not some stupid reddit'ism.
Beanie’s Baby
How is 'BDU' not the top choice?
Shakin my damn head where is "Rock and Roll McDonald"
So they completely ignored the discoverer's suggestion. Humbug.
"Mother's Love"
Because, we so often take it for granite.
Interesting, the construction worker who found is said he never found one that big in all his years working in the field.
I had no idea that would be rare, what makes it relatively rare?
Largest dolomite rock ever found maybe ??
Should name it Dwayne Johnson and never explain further.
Or Rudy Ray Moore.
That boulder must be the size of a large boulder.
This is the answer.
FYI, this refers to "Large boulder the size of a small boulder" in 2020
https://time.com/5772944/large-small-boulder/
The pioneers used to ride those babies for miles!
Boulderdash!
Is a 50-ton boulder rare or super-rare?
Not from the look of it.
Dunno, but I haven't ever come across one on my property.
Medium-rare I would guess
Well-done, I must say.
In chicagoland, yes. For someone who moved there from California, it was strange that rocks hardly larger than a human warranted school field trips and plaques. Perhaps it is geologically cool, but I was unimpressed as a 6th grader. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53236492797_60069bde90_b...
I thought the same thing. My back yard is full of huge rocks. Nothing quite that large, maybe 1/3 of that size. A few doors down there is a boulder twice as big as the O'Hare one.
I'm speaking in volume. I'm not sure of the mass of these boulders.
In an area that was covered by a glacier in the last 20k years, yes.
Chicago was covered by ice during the most recent glaciation, which means that boulder is probably a glacial erratic covered by till leftover from the movement of the glacier.
It's not just the fact that the area was covered by ice. The local geology is also a factor.
Glacial erratics are everywhere in Scandinavia, which also obviously was covered by the ice. Small ones, like in the article, are scattered all over. Large ones weigh thousands of tons and may often be mistaken for bedrock.
I suspect there are other areas in North America where that's also true.
There are no mountains in Ontario or Saskatchewan and that is where the glaciers came from, there’s only the exposed bedrock of the Canadian Shield.
Glacial erratic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_erratic
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 little bigger at about 5k tons.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Boulder
> It weighs upwards of 5,000 short tons (4,500,000 kg).
TIL there's something called a short ton.
If you're in the USofA it's the same 2,000 (US) pound ton you've always known.
For those of us elsewhere on the globe it's that non metric weight we call either a short ton or a US ton.
The OG ton, also known as the imperial ton or British ton is some 2,240 avoirdupois pounds that's been "standardised" (plus minus some obscure fuzzing) for some 700 years or so.
With New Hampshire mentioned, I must make mention of one glorious boulder that sits alongside Rumney's Quincy Road[0]. This is worth checking out if you're visiting the Plymouth area. Street View doesn't do it justice.
[0] https://maps.app.goo.gl/L4EcqopjLqvX9HQMA
If we're talking roadside boulders, chicken farmer is worth a mention. [0]
[0] https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2017-11-03/you-asked-we-answere...
“I am going to show you where on earth in the future we will find the biggest rock: Space.”
https://youtu.be/aO0TUI9r-So?si=7fNwDvf86GpVFxDR
O’Hareball!
“A large boulder the size of a small boulder"
https://time.com/5772944/large-small-boulder/
I was going to suggest something in that vein, perhaps "a giant boulder the size of a large boulder" to distinguish it from its Coloradan cousin.
I thought a 50 ton boulder would be bigger!
Rocky McRockface
Glad they included a video of moving it. 50 tons is close to the limit of a typical boom crane.
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).
Maybe that’s too Philadelphia.
O’Hare “Rocky” Dolomite
O'Bollard.
Bouldy O’Bouldface.
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.
https://youtu.be/s7_z-SGxUAs?si=vUKYBWYvG7nncszd&t=924
Years ago, a company that I worked for had a huge boulder in the parking lot area that had simply been built around. At some point, facilities decided they were going to remove the boulder. Employees printed up some tee shirts that said "Save the BFR". Because, you know, it was a big rock.
The Boulder. No Avatar references yet?
Rocky McRockFace
CHIrock or CHI (shy) stone
Oooh. “CHI and the Family Stone” is perfect.
Stonehangar, of course
Bean
Bouldery McBoulderface.
“Deep Crust” surely?
Peewee Pebblestone
Biggie.
Big Boy Boulder
What means "prehistoric boulder", are not essentially all boulders prehistoric? I just don't know what a historic boulder would even mean. Something in Raiders of the Lost Ark?
This boulder was broken off and shaped by the ice thousands of years ago. New rocks fall off mountains all the time.
Rocky, obvs.
Crystal
As an Australian aware of Chicago's Irish heritage and the implied weight balancing our antipodean clime, I'd suggest "Tip O'Dea".
PS. If visiting Chicago check out the Lincoln Park Conservatory, an amazing historic plant collection with one of the world's best ferneries, very close to downtown. https://www.lincolnparkconservancy.org/projects/conservatory...
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.
In “original” England they did as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_stone
In New England they made stone walls out of them. Of course most where smallish
https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/history/hist...
In “original” England they did as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_stone
Oh sure, I'm definitely familiar with those. The weird ones are in forests, a reminder that an area used to be clear and then was left to grow back.
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 things.
There is another rock sitting alongside a chief artery about 25 miles NW just beyond Schaumburg. Silly to give these things a name.
There are big rocks everywhere. But surely we can be allowed to have a little fun?
OK, OK. just drag it up to Schaumburg. Put it next to the other rock. Then call it 'micro-henge'.
That works for me! Can you help me drag this 50-ton rock?
I nominate "Boaty McBoatface".
How is it possible that NONE of the candidate names refer to Colbert? Especially given his time with Second City.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_The_Colbert...
I dont get it. Does he have some association with large rocks or something?
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.
And at least Odenkirk sounds like he’s from Chicago (because he is). Colbert’s time in Chicago was a short part of his life.
Berwyn, technically! Our neck of the woods. :)
He grew up in Naperville. Wikipedia says he was born in Berwyn, which I assume just means he was born at McNeal, but I don’t think he ever lived there or there’d be a bigger deal made of it by the local gentry. But that voice is hardcore inner suburbs/southwest side. I had no difficulty believing Jimmy McGill grew up in Cicero.