My wife grew up in Fergus Falls, MN.

Her family lives there still, and over the past few years I've gotten to know the community and history of the area.

There's a cute specialty gift shop downtown Fergus Falls my wife likes to visit called The Market. The Market features a great array of locally made and sourced gifts and products of all sorts -- from kitchen utensils to tablecloths and placemats, lotions to soaps, dresses and footwear to kids games, toys and apparel. The Market also carries one of my favorite local brands of coffee -- Stumbeanos Coffee Roasters. During one visit to The Market, I happened to read a neat story printed on the back of one bag of beans that I'd never heard before -- that of the "World's Coffee Drinking Champion."

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Apparently, the "World's Coffee Drinking Champion" (at least at one time) is a Minnesota man and Fergus Falls native named Gus Comstock. On January 11, 1927 he set a world record for most coffee consumed; over the course of six hours Gus drank 85 cups of coffee. According to a doctor on hand, he was "normal except for a slight increase in temperature." According to the story as re-told by the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Gus also went on to attempt world records for milk and beer drinking as well.

I asked my wife later if she'd ever heard of Gus Comstock; she admitted she hadn't, though she was familiar with the Kaddatz Hotel downtown Fergus Falls where Comstock accomplished his feat.

I love hearing the local claims to fame in small towns like Fergus Falls. What's your current town or hometown's claim to fame?

(Source: Stumbeanos.com)

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