Fun facts about states

Saw this and thought it was pretty neat. I remember when I was in 5th grade I bought a book that listed fun facts about states and it created in me a desire to travel to every state and see what they had to offer. Thus far I still haven't achieved it but only God knows what the future holds.

A Fun Fact for Each State:

Alabama....was the first place to have 9-1-1, started in 1968
Alaska....one out of every 64 people has a pilot's license.
Arizona...if the only state in the continental US that doesn't follow Daylight savings time.
Arkansas....has the only active diamond mine in the US

California....its economy is so large that if it were a country, it would rank seventh in the entire world.
Colorado....in 1976 it became the only state to turn down the Olympics
Connecticut....the Frisbee was invented here at Yale University

Delaware....has more scientists and engineers than any other state.

Georgia....it was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the first vat of Coca-Cola. I think this man should have gotten a medal of honor for this.

Hawaii....Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than residents in any other state.

Idaho....TV was invented in Rigby, Idaho, in 1922
Illinois....the Chicago River is dyed green every St. Patricks Day. Wouldn't it be neat to see this in person.
Indiana....Home to Santa Clause, Indiana which get a half million letters to Santa every year.
Iowa....Winnebago's get their name from Winnebago County. Also, it is the only state that begins with two vowels.

Kansas....Liberal, Kansas, has an exact replica of the house in the Wizard of Oz. I love that movie and would so love to see this house.
Kentucky....has more than $6billion in gold underneath Fort Knox

Louisiana....has parishes instead of counties because they were originally Spanish church units.

Maine....Its so big, it covers as many square miles as the other five New England states combined.
Maryland....The Ouija board was created in Baltimore in 1892. I can't say I would consider this a fun fact.
Massachusetts....the Fig Newton is named after Newton, Massachusetts.
Michigan....Fremont, home to Gerber,is the baby food capital of the world.
Minnesota....Bloomington's Mall of America is so big, if you spent 10 minutes in each store, you'd be there nearly four days.
Missouri....is the birthplace of the ice cream cone. Now this is a fact to be proud of.
Montana....a sapphire from Montana is in the Crown Jewels of England. Thats pretty cool

Nebraska....more triplets are born here than in any other state. I should have moved there when I was having kids. I always wanted triplets.
New Hampshire....birthplace of Tupperware, invented in 1938 by Earl Tupper
New Jersey....has the most shopping malls in one area in the world
New Mexico...Smokey the Bear was rescued from a 1950 forest fire here. I loved watching the Smokey the Bear videos and see the forest rangers in school growing up. I don't think they do this nearly as much anymore.
New York....is home to the nation's oldest cattle ranch, started in 1747 in Montauk
North Carolina....home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut. Now you have to love this state. I love the donuts filled with custard.
North Dakota....Rigby, ND, is the exact geographic center of North America

Ohio....the hot dog was invented here in 1900. OH!!! As American as apple pie
Oklahoma....the grounds of the state capital are covered by operating oil wells.
Oregon....has the most ghost towns in the country

Pennsylvania....the smiley, :) was first used in 1980 by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University

Rhode Island....the nations oldest bar, the White Horse Tavern, opened here in 1673

South Carolina....Sumter county is home to the world's largest ginkgo farm
South Dakota....is the only state that's never had an earthquake

Tennessee....Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest running live radio show in the world
Texas....Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco Back in 1885

Utah....the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened here in 1952

Vermont....Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's. Ronald must not like maple syrup.
Virginia....Home of the worlds largest office building...the Pentagon.

Washington....Seattle has twice as many college graduates as any other state.
Washington DC....was the first planned capital in the world
West Virginia....had the world's first brick paved street, Summers Street, laid in Charleston in 1870 It would have been so cool if they had been yellow :) BTW I have seen this. Of course the neighborhood has went downhill and is now known as a place of ill repute.
Wisconsin....the ice cream sundae was invented here in 1881 to get around Blue Laws prohibiting ice cream from being served on Sundays. What kind of idiot would prohibit serving ice cream?
Wyoming....was the first state to allow women to vote.