A rancid canal runs through it

Indeed it does.

But never mind that. The Gowanus Canal is the latest, hottest, coolest spot in a city that won't sleep until it's completely gentrified.

Never mind that the federal government designated the Gowanus a Superfund site last year and "one of the most contaminated bodies of water in the nation." Never mind that the waterway is so rank the feds had difficulty catching enough fish to determine if they're safe to eat. (They're not.)

The sediment, once described as looking like black mayonnaise, is thick with metals, coal tar and PCBs, and there's the 300 million gallons of storm water tainted with sewage that flows into the canal every year, changing the water color from gray to greenish from the algae feeding on human waste.

But in this part of the city, the Gowanus is what passes for the great outdoors.

Which explains why aspiring professionals, poor artists and eager real estate agents - who once flocked to cozy Carroll Gardens and tree-lined Park Slope - are now drawn to the fetid canal that runs between those neighborhoods. It also explains why Foote, an architect, volunteers on a day off to show hesitant day campers the secrets of a hidden urban waterway with weedy, earthen - not concrete - banks and little oil slicks that shimmer here and there.

Though the canal is mostly lined with industrial and commercial sites and a smattering of housing, people dance, paint and perform operas on its banks; they hike, bike and get engaged there.

A few summers ago an enterprising neighbor pumped fresh water into a giant Dumpster parked adjacent to the canal and invited swimmers for a dip. Though not even New Yorkers are eccentric enough to jump in the canal, it's hard to imagine another Superfund site so lived in.

On a recent morning, before Foote takes out the campers, he gives a private tour like a breathless guide plying the Colorado River.

"Many people think we shouldn't be out here," he explains. "They think a drop of this water will eat through your hand." Then he shows a tanned hand. "Still there."

Foote is a founding member of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, started about a decade ago to inspire the neighborhood to dream of cleaning the canal. The club offers free canoe rides twice a week from a small launch at the end of Second Street. Tall and athletic, the 43-year-old Foote looks better suited for tony Greenwich than toxic Gowanus.

"Good stuff," he says, breathing deeply as he passes through a white mist from one of three cement facilities along the Gowanus. "If you don't like the smell of grinding asphalt, it's probably better to come in the evenings.

Color Changing Pipes | Knox Area Pipe Smokers

What is the board game from the 60s with black circles and white?

I'm trying to track down a board game for children. I played it frequently in 1964. You dropped a ball in one of three openings for pipes on top. Whenever it reaches a intersection, marked by a black or white circle, the ball would travel to the left or right (depending on color. The circle and then change color. The arrangement circle looks like: * * * * * * * * * * * * Thanks for any help.

Think vaguely seem as-a-point.

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