Fifty States and Fifty Fun Facts

Fifty States and Fifty Fun Facts

1. Alabam            George Washington Carver, who discovered more than 300 uses for peanuts
2. Alaska             The longest coastline in the U.S., 6,640 miles, greater than that of all other states combined
3. Arizona            The most telescopes in the world, in Tucson
4. Arkansas         The only active diamond mine in the U.S.
5. California       “General Sherman,” a 3,500-year-old tree, and a stand of bristlecone pines 4,000 years old are the world's oldest living things
6. Colorado         The world's largest silver nugget (1,840 pounds) found in 1894 near Aspen
7. Connecticut     The first American cookbook, published in Hartford in 1796: American Cookery by Amelia Simmons
8. Delaware        The first log cabins in North America, built in 1683 by Swedish immigrants
9. Florida            U.S. spacecraft launchings from Cape Canaveral, formerly Cape Kennedy
10. Georgia          The Girl Scouts, founded in Savannah by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912
11. Hawaii            The only royal palace in the U.S. (Iolani)
12. Idaho              The longest main street in America, 33 miles, in Island Park
13. Illinois            The tallest building in the U.S., Sears Tower, in Chicago
14. Indiana           The famous car race: the Indy 500
15. Iowa               The shortest and steepest railroad in the U.S., Dubuque: 60° incline, 296 feet
16. Kansas           Helium discovered in 1905 at the University of Kansas
17. Kentucky       The largest underground cave in the world: 300 miles long, the Mammoth-Flint Cave system
18. Louisiana       The most crayfish: 98% of the world's crayfish
19. Maine            The most easterly point in the U.S., West Quoddy Head1
20. Maryland     The first umbrella factory in the U.S., 1928, Baltimore
21. Massachusetts     The first World Series, 1903: the Boston “Americans” (became the Red Sox in 1908) vs. the Pittsburg Pirates (Pittsburgh had no “h” between 1890–1911)
22. Michigan       The Cereal Bowl of America, Battle Creek, produces most cereal in the U.S.
23. Minnesota     The oldest rock in the world, 3.8 billion years old, found in Minnesota River valley
24. Mississippi     Coca-Cola, first bottled in 1894 in Vicksburg
25. Missouri         Mark Twain and some of his characters, such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
26. Montana     Grasshopper Glacier, named for the grasshoppers that can still be seen frozen in ice
27. Nebraska       The only roller skating museum in the world, in Lincoln
28. Nevada           Rare fish such as the Devils Hole pup, found only in Devils Hole, and other rare fish from prehistoric lakes; also the driest state
29. New Hampshire     Artificial rain, first used near Concord in 1947 to fight a forest fire
30. New Jersey      The world's first drive-in movie theater, built in 1933 near Camden
31. New Mexico     “Smokey Bear,” a cub orphaned by fire in 1950, buried in Smokey Bear Historical State Park in 1976
32. New York     The first presidential inauguration: George Washington took the oath of office in New York City on April 30, 1789.
33. North Carolina     Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America, on Roanoake Island in 1587
34. North Dakota     The geographic center of North America, in Pierce County, near Balta
35. Ohio     The first electric traffic lights, invented and installed in Cleveland in 1914
36. Oklahoma     The first parking meter, installed in Oklahoma City in 1935
37. Oregon     The world's smallest park, totaling 452 inches, created in Portland on St. Patrick's Day for leprechauns and snail races
38. Pennsylvania     The first magazine in America: the American Magazine, published in Philadelphia for 3 months in 1741
39. Rhode Island     Rhode Island Red chickens, first bred in 1854; the start of poultry as a major American industry
40. South Carolina     The first tea farm in the U.S., created in 1890 near Summerville
41. South Dakota     The world's largest natural, indoor warmwater pool, Evans' Plunge in Hot Springs
42. Tennessee     Graceland, the estate and gravesite of Elvis Presley
43. Texas     NASA, in Houston, headquarters for all piloted U.S. space projects
44. Utah     Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural stone bridge in the world, 290 feet high, 275 feet across
45. Vermont     The largest production of maple syrup in the U.S.
46. Virginia     The only full-length statue of George Washington, placed in capitol in 1796
47. Washington     Lunar Rover, the vehicle used by astronauts on the moon; Boeing, in Seattle, makes aircraft and spacecraft
48. West Virginia     Marbles; most of the country's glass marbles made around Parkersburg
49. Wisconsin     The typewriter, invented in Milwaukee in 1867
50. Wyoming     The “Register of the Desert,” a huge granite boulder covering 27 acres with 5,000 early pioneer names carved on it