Verdigris Phlogiston

Peter Steele worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation up until the summer of 1994, when he began touring with Type O Negative. He was based at Brooklyn Heights Promenade, where his job involved park maintenance, driving vehicles including garbage trucks and steamrollers, and eventual promotion to the role of park supervisor. Steele considered his days working for the parks department to be among his happiest. During Steele's time with the parks department, young children called him the "Green Man" due to the green uniform he wore on the job. Anatomy of the name: Verdigris is the common name for a green pigment obtained through the application of acetic acid to copper plates, or the natural patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over time. The phlogiston theory is a superseded scientific theory that postulated that a fire-like element called phlogiston is contained within combustible bodies and released during combustion. The theory attempted to explain processes such as combustion and rusting, which are now collectively known as oxidation.