States' Fun Facts

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

New Mexico

Fun: "Smokey Bear," a cub orphaned by fire in 1950, buried in Smokey Bear Historical State Park in 1976

New Hampshire

Fun: Artificial rain, first used near Concord in 1947 to fight a forest fire

Mississippi

Fun: Coca-Cola, first bottled in 1894 in Vicksburg

Tennessee

Fun: Graceland, the estate and gravesite of Elvis Presley

Montana

Fun: Grasshopper Glacier, named for the grasshoppers that can still be seen frozen in ice

Kansas

Fun: Helium discovered in 1905 at the University of Kansas

Washington

Fun: Lunar Rover, the vehicle used by astronauts on the moon; Boeing, in Seattle, makes aircraft and spacecraft

West Virginia

Fun: Marbles; most of the country's glass marbles made around Parkersburg

Wisconsin

Fun: Marbles; most of the country's glass marbles made around Parkersburg

Missouri

Fun: Mark Twain and some of his characters, such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

Texas

Fun: NASA, in Houston, headquarters for all piloted U.S. space projects

Utah

Fun: Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural stone bridge in the world, 290 feet high, 275 feet across

Nevada

Fun: Rare fish such as the Devils Hole pup, found only in Devils Hole, and other rare fish from prehistoric lakes; also the driest state

Rhode Island

Fun: Rhode Island Red chickens, first bred in 1854; the start of poultry as a major American industry

Wyoming

Fun: The "Register of the Desert," a huge granite boulder covering 27 acres with 5,000 early pioneer names carved on it

Michigan

Fun: The Cereal Bowl of America, Battle Creek, produces most cereal in the U.S.

Georgia

Fun: The Girl Scouts, founded in Savannah by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912

Indiana

Fun: The famous car race: the Indy 500

Massachusetts

Fun: 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)

Ohio

Fun: The first electric traffic lights, invented and installed in Cleveland in 1914

Delaware

Fun: The first log cabins in North America, built in 1683 by Swedish immigrants

Pennsylvania

Fun: The first magazine in America: the American Magazine, published in Philadelphia for 3 months in 1741

Oklahoma

Fun: The first parking meter, installed in Oklahoma City in 1935

New York

Fun: The first presidential inauguration: George Washington took the oath of office in New York City on April 30, 1789.

South Carolina

Fun: The first tea farm in the U.S., created in 1890 near Summerville

North Dakota

Fun: The geographic center of North America, in Pierce County, near Balta

Vermont

Fun: The largest production of maple syrup in the U.S.

Kentucky

Fun: The largest underground cave in the world: 300 miles long, the Mammoth-Flint Cave system

Idaho

Fun: The longest main street in America, 33 miles, in Island Park

Louisiana

Fun: The most crayfish: 98% of the world's crayfish

Maine

Fun: The most easterly point in the U.S., West Quoddy Head

Minnesota

Fun: The oldest rock in the world, 3.8 billion years old, found in Minnesota River valley

Virginia

Fun: The only full-length statue of George Washington, placed in capitol in 1796

Nebraska

Fun: The only roller skating museum in the world, in Lincoln

Hawaii

Fun: The only royal palace in the U.S. (Iolani)

Illinois

Fun: The second tallest building in the U.S., Sears Tower, in Chicago

Iowa

Fun: The shortest and steepest railroad in the U.S., Dubuque: 60° incline, 296 feet

New Jersey

Fun: The world's first drive-in movie theater, built in 1933 near Camden

South Dakota

Fun: The world's largest natural, indoor warmwater pool, Evans' Plunge in Hot Springs

Colorado

Fun: The world's largest silver nugget (1,840 pounds) found in 1894 near Aspen

Oregon

Fun: The world's smallest park, totaling 452 inches, created in Portland on St. Patrick's Day for leprechauns and snail races

Florida

Fun: U.S. spacecraft launchings from Cape Canaveral, formerly Cape Kennedy

North Carolina

Fun: Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America, on Roanoake Island in 1587

Arkansas

The only active diamond mine in the U.S.

Connecticut

The first American cookbook, published in Hartford in 1796: American Cookery by Amelia Simmons

Maryland

The first umbrella factory in the U.S., 1928, Baltimore

Largest state by land area

Alaska, then Texas, then California

Largest state by Population

California, then Texas, then New York

Alaska

The longest coastline in the U.S., 6,640 miles, greater than that of all other states combined

Arizona

The most telescopes in the world, in Tucson

Smallest state by land area

Rhode Island, then Delaware, Then Connecticut

Smallest State by population

Wyoming, then Vermont, then North Dakota