Uh-Oh! Diesels! Written February 2023   While watching the Daytona 500, I noticed something for the first time, although it's apparently been part of the racetrack for at least the last six years. On the asphalt next to the pit road exit, they've painted a giant UH-OH! Is it a warning about the merging traffic?   No, upon closer examination it turns out to be UNOH.  It's an advertisement for the University of Northwestern Ohio. For the what, now?  I was born in Ohio.  I grew up in the northwestern part of central Ohio, an hour from Columbus.  But I had never heard of this institution of higher learning.  Research was required! I have now learned that Ohio's UNOH is located in the city of Lima, which I already knew is pronounced with a long i like the lima bean.  The Ice Age glaciers receded about 12,000 years ago, leaving the Great Lakes behind.  Southwest of Lake Erie, the future site of Lima remained wet and covered with thick dark mud and dense forest.  In the 19th century it was known as the Great Black Swamp. White settlers arrived to farm the rich soil, but the Swamp was infested with mosquitoes.  The farmers soon discovered that they required the anti-malaria drug quinine.  That's an ancient Incan secret imported from Lima, Peru.  The Ohio city's name is a mispronounced tribute to Peru's capital. As the Swamp was drained, Lima became a center of industry, manufacturing heavy transportation equipment.  The Lima Locomotive Works was there, and the Lima Army Tank Plant built the M1 Abrams. Also, the Ford Motor Company opened a factory in 1957 on the outskirts of the city to make V8 engines for its Edsel.  That marque is long gone, but the plant has built 36 million engines since. In 1920, UNOH was founded downtown as the Northwestern School of Commerce.  It became Northwestern Business College in 1970, moved to a new campus on Cable Road, and earned university status as the University of Northwestern Ohio in 2000. However, according to stateuniversity.com, “programs skew heavily to practical degree offerings.  You won't find any philosophy or comparative literature majors here.” The school claims to be “known worldwide as a leader in the Automotive, Diesel, and High Performance industries.”  It offers Associate, Bachelor's, and Master's degrees to 4,500 students (82% male). The school owns its own racetrack and has four motorsports teams, the “UNOH Racers,” competing in intercollegiate events.  The mascot is called Torque. Student organizations include the auto-cross club, drag club, and diesel club. Hmm.  The liberal arts college which I ultimately selected, Oberlin, is two hours from my old hometown of Richwood and lacks a coed drag racing team.  Lima, on the other hand, is only one hour from Richwood. Had I chosen UNOH to save some driving time, I could have become a diesel mechanic!  I could have obtained a Bachelor's degree in Automotive Technology Supervision. Bearing my diploma, I could have returned to my father's newly-rebuilt dealership to become the new Service Manager!  Oh, had I only known.