Deep Thought's last day in Milwaukee brings tributes about the abandoned boat
Deep Thought provided countless memes, led to a bobblehead design and even inspired original song lyrics à la Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
Whether you'll miss the bizarre, temporary landmark or feel relieved to see a graffitied eyesore gone, there's no denying Deep Thought brought the city together.
Here's a roundup of the best social media reactions to the boat's removal:
More: Over 100 spectators gather to cheer and mourn 'Deep Thought' for what could be its final hours in Milwaukee
Comment
byu/MagMC2555 from discussion
inmilwaukee
Comment
byu/MagMC2555 from discussion
inmilwaukee
Comment
byu/Appropriate-Owl5984 from discussion
inmilwaukee
Comment
byu/Appropriate-Owl5984 from discussion
inmilwaukee
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's abandoned boat, Deep Thought, gets social media tributes
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Yahoo
Who Killed Jessie Blodgett? What to Know About Daniel Bartelt and Where He Is Now
Jessie Blodgett was found dead in bed in July 2013, and Daniel Bartelt mourned with her familyNEED TO KNOW Investigation Discovery's A Killer Among Friends recounts the true story of Jessie Blodgett's murder at the hands of Daniel Bartelt The 19-year-old theater student was found strangled in her bed in July 2013 Bartelt was arrested for Blodgett's death, and he was sentenced in August 2014Jessie Blodgett was an actress and musician whose life was cut short by Daniel Bartelt. A recent episode of Investigation Discovery's true crime series A Killer Among Friends recounted the 2013 murder of the 19-year-old Wisconsin theater student by her friend and former boyfriend, Bartelt. The incident stunned the town of Hartford, Wis., as Blodgett's friends and family tried to solve who killed her and why. "Prior to Jessie Blodgett's murder, we hadn't had a homicide in almost 30 years," Lt. James Zywicki, Hartford police investigator, said on A Killer Among Friends. The authorities were immediately on the case, and following a 16-day investigation, Bartelt was arrested and charged with the murder of his friend. Here's everything to know about Jessie Blodgett's murder, Daniel Bartelt's conviction and where he is now. Who was Jessie Blodgett? Blodgett was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she was studying theater. On July 14, 2013, Blodgett came home later from a cast party after a performance of Fiddler on the Roof, where she was playing the Fiddler. According to a police affidavit obtained by ABC News, Blodgett returned at 1 a.m., and her mom discovered her lifeless body in Blodgett's bed around 12 p.m. the next day. Investigators stated that there were signs of strangulation on her neck, but couldn't find a weapon in her room. Shortly after, the police got a search warrant to look through the teenager's phone records and Facebook account, on which she wrote about her play and posted a photo of herself with the rest of the cast. An autopsy later confirmed that Blodgett's cause of death was strangulation, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Who is Daniel Bartelt? Blodgett and Bartelt knew each other for several years, and according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, they had previously dated early on in high school. The former couple stayed friends and spoke regularly. "Jessie and Dan sit together at school; he was a straight-A student ... they would write songs together and sing together. He was welcome in our home," Jessie's father, Buck Blodgett, said in A Killer Among Friends. In a twist, after Blodgett was found dead in her bed, Bartelt showed his support to his family. "He was just over, the day after Jessie's murder, sharing hugs and memories and tears with us until his phone rang and he was called in for questioning," Buck explained. While there were unanswered questions about the tragedy, police were piecing together clues and instances related to Bartelt's activity outside of Blodgett's home. Days before her murder, he had attacked a woman in a nearby park on July 12. While the victim was out walking with her dog, Bartelt charged at her with a knife. She was able to wrestle the weapon away from Bartelt, and he drove off in his van. WISN 12 News reported that Bartelt was later questioned on July 16, and he admitted to attacking the woman. He was charged with four felonies and a misdemeanor. How did the police catch Daniel Bartelt? Authorities zeroed in on Bartelt as a suspect in Blodgett's killing when he mentioned an element of the crime that had not yet been made public. While being questioned by the police, Bartelt said someone had "raped and murdered" Jessie, but the rape detail was not known to those outside of the investigation, according to A Killer Among Friends. Police were able to obtain video footage of Bartelt walking through Woodlawn Park on the day of Blodgett's murder. They then searched the park's trash cans and found ropes, bloody sanitizing wipes and tape inside a discarded cereal box. Once tested, it was later confirmed that the evidence contained Blodgett and Bartelt's DNA. Per investigators also found "disturbing online search history" on Bartelt's computer, "including multiple queries about serial killers." Why did Daniel Bartelt kill Jessie Blodgett? Bartelt did not give an answer for why he killed Blodgett, and maintains his innocence. "I can't give you the reasons you are looking for. There's no hiding from yourself in a tiny, concrete cell," Bartelt told Blodgett's parents, per Milwaukee's Fox 6. "This jumpsuit that I'm wearing, these shackles don't make me guilty. I know there's evidence that I can't refute that would make you believe that I am guilty." Still, prosecutors stated during the trial that Bartelt likely targeted Blodgett because it was "convenient," according to ABC News reported that Blodgett's friends said Bartelt had tried to get back together with her, but she didn't feel the same way. What was Daniel Bartelt charged with? Bartelt was charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide for Blodgett's death, per Milwaukee's Fox 6. He also faced a second count of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of false imprisonment for the alleged attack against the woman with her dog. Where is Daniel Bartelt now? Bartelt was found guilty on Oct. 14, 2014, and was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He's currently imprisoned in the Wisconsin Waupun Correctional Institution and maintains he is innocent. "I find that the gravity of this offense, the premeditation, the brutality, is so overwhelming I think the Blodgetts are entitled to know that even after they're gone, there's no chance the defendant will ever walk the streets again and endanger someone else," judge Todd Martens said at the sentencing, per WISN 12 News. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Buck also told Bartelt he forgave him. "I not only forgive you, I love you," he said. "I didn't mean it like I like him, like I want to hang out and watch Packer games," Buck later explained. "But like a willful act of what I want to bring to this world, which is the opposite of what he brought in and took out of this world." Blodgett's legacy has lived on in the years since her death. In 2016, her father founded the Love Is Greater Than Hate Project in her honor. Buck said his daughter's "last big cause in life was male violence against women. She was just fiercely outspoken about that for a year or two before her death." Read the original article on People


Hamilton Spectator
28-07-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Ridgetown swimmer participates in Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial
Jane Baldwin-Marvell was just a young girl in Toronto when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a fierce storm on Lake Superior that fateful night of November 10, 1975. Fifty years later, Baldwin-Marvell is taking part in a historic memorial swim to honour the former Queen of the Lakes and its 29-man crew who perished. The Ridgetown resident is one of 68 swimmers participating in the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim, a 411-mile journey that began Saturday in the eastern edge of Lake Superior and is scheduled to end on August 27 at the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle. The swimmers are symbolically completing the route the Fitzgerald took on its last journey, as the 729-foot ship was carrying 26,000 tons of taconite ore pellets from Superior, Wisc., to the steel mills on Zug Island in Detroit. 'I vaguely remember it as a child, hearing about it on the news,' Baldwin-Marvell said of her memory of the Fitzgerald's sinking. She remembers seeing freighters unloading cargo in silos and terminals along the Toronto waterfront. 'Back in those days, Toronto was a working port, not like today, where you have Queen's Quay and all of the nice shops and restaurants,' she said. 'I remember seeing those massive ships and I've seen storms on the lake ... I can visualize what it must have been like and how terrifying it was.' Baldwin-Marvell also recalls one year later, when Gordon Lightfoot released his hit song 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,' which further magnified the legacy of the ship and its sinking. 'The song really solidified how everybody felt,' she said. 'I think Gordon Lightfoot absolutely touched the whole heart, the haunting words and the instrumental pieces, the guitar that sounded like the whining of the wind.' Baldwin-Marvell, a Grade 6-7 French Immersion teacher at McNaughton Ave. School in Chatham, first heard about the memorial swim when Jim Dreyer, the event organizer, was interviewed on Windsor Morning CBC Radio in May. When registration opened in June, Baldwin-Marvell was one of the first to sign up. She quickly raised the minimum $2,500 – thanks to family and friends – as the swim is also a fundraiser for the preservation of Whitefish Point Lighthouse, located near Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The memorial swim consists of 17 stages, each approximately 30 miles in length. The stages will be held on alternating days, in case of any weather-related delays. There will be four swimmers per stage, who will take turns spending approximately 30 minutes in the water until they reach their destination. Baldwin-Marvell is taking part in the 15th stage, which starts at Lexington, Mich. and ends at the Bluewater Bridge. The Lexington to Port Huron stage is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, August 23, starting at 7 a.m., but the date is subject to change pending any delays. The 411-mile odyssey began Saturday at the site of the Fitzgerald's sinking, about 17 miles from Whitefish Bay, with the permission of families of the 29 crew members. The swimmers will be accompanied by a support boat, which will have a licensed captain and first mate, a paramedic, a doctor, a rescue swimmer, and a film crew, as the event will be featured in 'The Legend Lives On,' a documentary commemorating the Fitzgerald's 50th anniversary. Swimmers will ride on the support boat until it's their turn to return to the water. When she applied, Baldwin-Marvell had to answer a questionnaire about her swimming experience, including how far she could swim in 30 minutes and whether she was comfortable swimming in the dark, as the days would be shorter toward the end of August. Baldwin-Marvell said she was a competitive swimmer in clubs in Etobicoke and high school, as she qualified for provincial championship meets. Since moving to Ridgetown 20 years ago, she has swum regularly at the Chatham-Kent YMCA. She has also swum long distances with local triathletes in training, including a 2.5-kilometre swim in Lake Erie on Canada Day. Baldwin-Marvell has recently been preparing for her journey by swimming a minimum of one kilometre daily at the Gable Rees Rotary Pool in Blenheim while the YMCA pool was undergoing maintenance. 'I know in a pool, I can do a mile in 35 minutes,' she said. 'In a lake, if it's calm and clear conditions, I can probably do close to that. But some other factors could come into play, like waves, currents and wind.' The 16th stage runs the length of the St. Clair River to Algonac, with the final 30-mile leg crossing Lake St. Clair to the Detroit Yacht Club, tentatively set for Wednesday, August 27. A memorial service will be held at the Mariners' Church of Detroit (corner of Jefferson Ave. at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel) on Thursday, August 28, at 12:10 p.m. The names of the sailors who perished will be read, followed by the church bell ringing 29 times 'for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald,' as depicted in Lightfoot's song. The Edmund Fitzgerald was only in service for 17 years when it sank. At 729-feet, it was the largest ship on the Great Lakes when it was launched on June 7, 1958, at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, just south of Detroit, next to Zug Island, the Fitzgerald's destination on its final voyage. The Fitzgerald made 784 round-trips from Wisconsin to steel mills in Detroit, Cleveland and Toledo during its 17 years on the lakes. The Fitzgerald left Superior, Wis., on the afternoon of November 9, 1975, and it ran into a fierce winter storm on November 10 with hurricane-force winds and 35-foot waves. The ship, being followed by the Arthur A. Anderson, disappeared from radar just after 7 p.m. and was only 17 miles from Whitefish Bay. Three days later, searchers found the Fitzgerald, broken into three pieces, 530 feet down on the Canadian side of Lake Superior. The ages of the 29-man crew ranged from 22 to 63 years. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .


USA Today
20-07-2025
- USA Today
Coldplay gives fans warning in first concert since viral 'Kiss Cam' video
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin demonstrated that he had learned what those who practice prose for the masses have long known: you have to make things undeniably clear. In the band's first concert since the now-infamous 'Kiss Cam' video incident, Martin nodded to the viral video in somewhat of a warning to fans. "We'd like to say hello to some of you in the crowd," Martin said during the so-called "Jumbotron Song" portion of the July 19 show in Madison, Wisconsin. "How we're going to do that is use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen." Despite this subtle nod, Coldplay has not outright mentioned the viral incident since it happened. The band did, however, post a recap of the show, minus the incident, on their Instagram page which now has thousands of comments and over 1 million likes. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – a part of the USA TODAY Network – reported that no displays of affection were shown during the "Jumbotron Song." But there was one noteworthy moment. The cameras did find the tour's Pro Tools director, Madison native Bill Rahko, a co-producer and engineer who's worked with the band and was spotted with a "Wisconsin" shirt in a control room. "He knows everything about us," Martin said as part of the praise he heaped on a misty-eyed Rahko, lauding him for filling in for a sick Guy Berryman on bass for a show, helping them in the recording studio with little notice, and providing Martin with the beginning of the music for their blockbuster BTS collaboration "My Universe." "I can't tell you how much we love this man; we all do." What happened during the viral 'Kiss Cam' incident? The video from July 16 that went viral shows a man and a woman quickly letting go of each other when a "Kiss Cam" shows them on the giant screen at the concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts. 'Uh oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy,' Coldplay frontman Chris Martin joked. The incident has led to Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigning from the company, according to his now-former employer. USA TODAY has not confirmed the identities of the man and woman in the video and has reached out to the company for comment multiple times. 'Coldplayed' warnings hit other concerts Other artists have warned concertgoers that their secrets would remain within the walls of the venue in the wake of so-called "Coldplayed" phenomenon. "If there's anybody here with their side chick or whatever, I think, I think you're safe here," pop-country artist Morgan Wallen told the crowd at his June 18 concert in Glendale, Arizona – just outside of Phoenix. "I don't condone cheating anymore," he added. Country artist Luke Bryan joked about the incident during his June 17 concert in Greenville, South Carolina saying, "We're gonna shine our cameras on anybody. Who's here with their secretary tonight?" Bryan vamped part of his song "Strip it Down" before adding, "do not get caught tonight." Coldplay's remaining tour dates According to Coldplay's website, their next concert will be held on Tuesday, July 22 in Nashville, Tennessee. They are then set to play two shows at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27 before going to London for a slate of shows in August and September. Contributing: Piet Levy – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY