Editing Ralph Perk (section)

===Gaffes===
As mayor, Perk was also known for his many [[political gaffe]]s.<ref name="perk-PD"/> On October 16, 1972, he accidentally set his hair on fire when he attempted to use a welder's torch for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the American Society for Metals at the [[Cleveland Convention Center (demolished)|Cleveland Convention Center]].<ref name="perk-fire">"Cleveland Mayor Gets Hot-Headed", AP report in ''Amarillo Globe-Times'', October 17, 1972, p.1.  Mayor Perk was at opening ceremonies for the 1972 "Metal Show and Materials Engineering Congress", and the ribbon-cutting was with an acetylene torch and a metal strip. Sparks from the cutting landed in Perk's hair, and the flames were quickly extinguished.</ref> A spark from the torch had "hit his head and his hair caught fire thanks to a product that a barber put in it earlier in the day."<ref name="perk-PD"/> The mayor later jested, "There are more hazards to this job than I expected."<ref name="perk-fire"/> For this, the media proclaimed Perk to be the "hottest mayor in the country" and even Cleveland native [[Bob Hope]] joked about the incident.<ref name="perk-PD"/>

In another incident, Perk's wife, Lucille, famously rejected an invitation from [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Pat Nixon]] to an event at the [[White House]] in order to attend her regular bowling night. Later, Perk explained his wife's comment to mean that she was unable to attend because the invitation had come too late and she was unable to prepare for travel. Perk was rumored to say, "tell them it's your bowling night." Though the remark brought howls of laughter throughout the city, it endeared the Perks to their ethnic Eastern European voter base.<ref name="perk-PD"/> In yet another gaffe, Perk suggested that a study on [[pornography]] ought to be conducted by municipal sanitation workers.<ref name="perk-PD"/>