Rock The Runway: Help The Chicago Department Of Aviation Name This Massive Boulder

September 9, 2026

CHICAGO - The Chicago Department of Aviation today announced a contest asking the public to help name a stone-cold stunner of a boulder found under O'Hare International Airport's airfield during enabling work for the ORDNext terminal development project.

"The world already knows that O'Hare rocks - it's why we've been named Best Airport in North America for 22 years straight, and why we've reclaimed the title of the world's busiest airfield," CDA Commissioner Mike McMurray said. "But a rock of this magnitude deserves a name of its own. Internally, we've been calling it the O'Hare bean, but now it's time to make it official - and who better to help us name it than the people of our great city?"

The 50-ton boulder, found about 30 feet below the surface of the airfield during the excavation of the South Detention Basin, is approximately 11.5 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 7.5 feet tall. Analysis by a professional geologist working for the ORDNext program determined that it is a dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock composed primarily of the mineral dolomite, also known as calcium magnesium carbonate. It is closely related to limestone and can form as magnesium-rich groundwater moves through preexisting limestone or lime mud to replace the calcium ions in the limestone with magnesium.

Members of the public are invited to submit their proposed name for this gargantuan slab of stone via this online form. After three weeks, the CDA will review all eligible entries and select five finalist names, which will be put to a public vote. While the winning name won't literally be etched in stone, it will be announced across O'Hare's social media channels and displayed prominently on O'Hare's campus as part of an exhibit celebrating the boulder.