Skip to main content

Stephanie Camello Lists State Fun Facts

Every state has something interesting to discover, so let's take a look at some fun facts about each U.S. state!

1) Alabama - world's 1st electric trolley system was introduced in Montgomery in 1886. 
2) Alaska - Joe Juneau's 1880 gold discovery brought the gold rush to Alaska! Alaska also accounts for 25% of U.S. oil production.
3) Arizona - leads the nation in copper production and is home to the Grand Canyon.
4) Arkansas - home of the World Championship Duck Calling Contest. Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock.
5) California - more turkeys are raised here than in any other state. California also has the 7th largest economy in the world.
6) Colorado - has the world's largest flat-top mountain in Grand Mesa. Dove Creek is the pinto bean capital of the world.
7) Connecticut - first state to issue permanent license plates for cars. Also had the first operational steel mill in 1728. It's also the birthplace of Seth MacFarlane!
8) Delaware - the only state without any national park system.
9) Florida - St. Augustine is the oldest European settlement in North America.
10) Georgia - contains the largest exposed granite mass in the world. They're also the nation's #1 producer of the 3 P's - peaches, peanuts and pecans.
11) Hawaii - the only state that grows coffee. It's also the widest state from east to west.
12) Idaho - their economy developed around gold mining in the 1860's.
13) Illinois - the first aquarium in the nation was in Chicago in 1893. Also built the world's first skyscraper in 1885.
14) Indiana - the Raggedy Ann doll was created here in 1914.
15) Iowa - John Wayne was born here. Francis Drake was Iowa's oldest governor.
16) Kansas - Dodge City is the windiest city in the U.S.
17) Kentucky - Corvettes are manufactured in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Happy Birthday song was also invented here in 1887 by two sisters from Louisville.
18) Louisiana - the only state that doesn't have any counties. Their subdivisions are called parishes.
19) Maine - its earliest inhabitants were descendants of Ice Age hunters.
20) Maryland - the U.S. Naval Academy was founded in 1845 in Annapolis.
21) Massachusetts - Boston built the first subway system in the U.S. in 1897.
22) Michigan - Detroit is the car capital of the world. Rogers City has the world's largest limestone quarry.
23) Minnesota - Minneapolis has more golfers per capita than any other city in the country.
24) Mississippi - has the largest cactus plantation in the nation. It was also the first state to plan the junior college system.
25) Missouri - Kansas City has more fountains than any other city except Rome.
26) Montana - has the largest elk herd in the nation. No state has as many different species of mammal as does Montana.
27) Nebraska - Kool-Aid was invented here in 1927 by Edwin Perkins.
28) Nevada - in 1899, Charles Fey invented the slot machine that became the model for all to follow.
29) New Hampshire - first of the 13 colonies to declare independence from England. They also planted the first potato in the U.S. in 1719.
30) New Jersey - has the most dense system of highways and railroads in the U.S.
31) New Mexico - the Navajo, the nation's largest Native American group, has a reservation covering 14 million acres.
32) New York - 1st state to require license plates on cars. They also have over 70,000 miles of rivers and streams.
33) North Carolina - has the oldest state university in the U.S. High Point is the furniture capital of the world. It's also where the Wright brothers made the 1st successful flight.
34) North Dakota - milk is the official state beverage. They also grow the most sunflowers than any other state.
35) Ohio - the Cincinnati Reds was the first professional baseball team. Ohio also used the first traffic light in America in 1914.
36) Oklahoma - has the Cowboy Hall of Fame and invented the shopping cart.
37) Oregon - has more ghost towns than any other state.
38) Pennsylvania - home to the nation's first computer in 1946. And in 1909 the first baseball stadium was built in Pittsburgh.
39) Rhode Island - last of the original 13 colonies to become a state. Hosted the first ever circus in 1774 in Newport.
40) South Carolina - 1st Civil War battle took place here at Fort Sumter. Has the oldest minor league stadium in the nation.
41) South Dakota - has Mount Rushmore, the world's greatest mountain carving. Also contains the world's only known Corn Palace.
42) Tennessee - has more than 3,800 documented caves and is the turtle capital of the world.
43) Texas - their King Ranch is bigger than the entire state of Rhode Island. And from 1836-1845 it was an independent nation.
44) Utah - the federal government owns 65% of this state's land. They also have the highest literacy rate in the nation.
45) Vermont - largest employer in the state is IBM. Montpelier is the largest producer of maple syrup.
46) Virginia - grew the first peanuts in the country. Also, 7 presidents are buried here.
47) Washington - home to Microsoft headquarters and Boeing's largest assembly plant. They also produce more apples than any other state.
48) West Virginia - first state to have sales tax implemented in 1921. 75% of the state is covered by forests.
49) Wisconsin - Wausau is the ginseng capital of the world. Also home of the Harley Davidson motorcycles company.
50) Wyoming - Yellowstone was the 1st official national park in 1872. Also the first state to give women the right to vote.

Maybe the next awesome person or invention could come from your state. Maybe it could even be you!!


 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Evolution of Recorded Music

Let's Take a Look at the Evolution of Recorded Music! Before electricity was invented and used, all music created by composers had to be written down on paper using a quill and ink. They had to document every single note that was to be played (on instruments like piano, violin, harp, etc.) with great detail about the time signature, the speed and tone in which it needed to be played! Often times there was only one or two copies of sheet music, so it's a wonder how all those amazing composition from Mozart and Vivaldi and the like all made it to us today! Good record keeping I guess! 1877: Phonograph on wax cylinders 1890's: Gramophone on large discs 1920's: AM/FM radio frequency 1930's: Magneto phone electronic recording (magnetic tape recording) 1948: Vinyl records created 1960's: 4-track and 8-track cartridge tapes created, while vinyl was heavily purchased until the 1980's 1970's: Cassettes/Walkman created, used until the 1990's 1980's:

Stephanie Camello Compiles the Origins of U.S. State Names

Alabama - Native American Choctaw name meaning “vegetation gatherer.” Alaska - Aleut language translates “Alaska” to “the object toward which the action of the sea is directed.” Arizona - Spanish word “Arizonac” which has origins from the Native American O’odham tribe’s word meaning “small spring.” Arkansas - The French pronunciation of the Quapawa Indians word for which the Algonquin tribe referred to as “akansa.” The French pronunciation was “Arcansas.” The reason we don’t say the “S” is because on an 1881 act passed by the state to solve a dispute between two senators who disputed over the pronunciation. We now pronounce it the French way with the silent “S.” California - The name of an island in a Spanish 16th Century novel for which the Spanish explorers named the land they thought was an island. Turns out it was what we think of today as the state of California! Colorado - Named after the C

Stephanie Camello's Top 10 Must-See European Destinations

Since there are too many amazing destinations to visit just in Europe, here are Stephanie Camello 's top 10!! __________________________________________________ 1) Jerusalem, Israel - the Holy City for Jewish, Christian and Muslim peoples alike. 2) Rome, Italy - home to the Vatican, historic sites like the Trevi Fountain and Colosseum and birthplace of the Roman Empire. 3) Munich, Germany - home to Oktoberfest, traditional Christmas markets, Baroque and Renaissance style cathedrals and not far from the famous Neuschwanstein castle. 4) Vienna, Austria - located on the beautiful Danube River, its culture was shaped by Mozart, Beethoven and Freud and is known for its Imperial palaces, plentiful beer gardens, monasteries, the Vienna Boys Choir and several historic and elegant Catholic Cathedrals. 5) Warsaw, Poland - "It is a phoenix that has risen repeatedly from the ashes of war" (Britannica). Known in our time for being captured by German troops at the start of WW2, it was