This week's snowstorm along the East Coast has apparently triggered the adoption of what's become as much a symbol of Chicago as deep-dish pizza and "The Bean:" the time-honored winter practice of "dibs."
The Federal Hill section of Baltimore looked like Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood after nearly a foot of snow fell this week. CBS affiliate WJZ-TV captured video of folding chairs, boxes and cones saving street parking spaces dug out by hard-working neighbors.
"You shovel it, you put something there, that's your spot," said one man.
And while the identity of the first "dibber" has been lost to time, AXIOS Chicago reporter Justin Kaufman calls "dibs" a grand Chicago tradition.
"This is something that's been part of Chicago lore ... passed down from generation to generation," Kaufman said Thursday while surveying the snow along the parkway in the city's West Loop. "This has been passed down from grandpa to grandma, to aunts to uncles, this is the way we've done things in Chicago forever."
It's also been quietly condoned by generations of city leaders, including former Mayor Richard M. Daley, who famously told reporters during a 2001 press conference "if someone spends all that time digging out a spot, do not drive into that spot."
However, "it's absolutely illegal," said Kaufman. "The state of Illinois and the city will look the other way, especially a day or two after," but that grace period isn't indefinite: "If you're holding a space three days after a snowstorm, that's on you."
And for any out-of-towners looking for ideas on what objects make for the best "dibs," Kaufman offers this: "Two paint cans and a two-by-four is a perfect example. It takes a little time for that driver to get out of the car ... maybe something a little heavier."
What are some bad examples? "The new generation are putting out little orange cones. That's a terrible idea. They'll run right over it. People put out lawn furniture, those white little chairs, things like that. I don't recommend it. They're flimsy, they can move, they're easy to get kicked out of the way."
Kaufman laughed when asked to recall the weirdest thing he'd ever seen marking a spot.
"An old water heater. I wish I'd gotten a picture of it back in the day."