Unknown America Read online

  * The JW Westcott II, is a postal delivery boat which operates out of Detroit. It is the world's only floating post office. It delivers mail to crews on vessels transiting the Detroit River. Mail is delivered by being addressed [Vessel Name], Marine Post Office, Detroit, Michigan, 48222. The Zip code 48222 is exclusive to the floating post office.

  * Detroit residents were the first in the nation to have phone numbers. It seems that by 1879, the city had grown so large that telephone operators were no longer able to route the calls by name alone.

  Minnesota

  Weird MN: In 1920 Sinclair Lewis wrote a satirical novel titled Main Street which criticized the closed mindedness of a fictional town called Gopher Prairie. It was banned by the town of Alexandria because they disagreed with it. More or less proving Lewis' point.

  * Minnesota is the only state to have an official state photograph. You've likely seen it. It's titled, “Grace.” It is the iconic picture taken in 1920 of an elderly man praying over a single loaf of bread. The picture adorns walls in homes across America.

  * On December 26, 1862, 38 of 303 convicted Dakota Indians were hanged in Mankato in the largest mass execution in American history. Frustrated by the US government’s failure to make treaty payments on time and supply their families with food as promised, a group of warriors killed several settlers, igniting a conflict that lasted four months. Although President Abraham Lincoln commuted the death sentences of 264 convicted Dakota, Congress soon would pass a law expelling all Dakota bands from Minnesota.

  * The first successful open heart surgery was performed on a 5-year-old girl on September 2, 1952, by Dr. Floyd John Lewis and Dr. Clarence Walton Lillehei at the University of Minnesota. The surgeons lowered the girl's body temperature 81 degrees Fahrenheit, and she was able to survive for 10 minutes while the doctors repaired a congenital hole in her heart. (This operation was different than the successful one performed in Alabama 50 years earlier since it was for a heart defect and not a wound).

  Mississippi

  Weird MS: In 1970 Mississippi banned the children's TV program Sesame Street because it featured a racially integrated cast of children.

  * The musical genre' “The Blues” originated in the Mississippi Delta region after the Civil War. Inspired by the songs sung by slaves working in the fields as well as African spirituals, the Blues offered an escape from oppression and a means of expression for many African Americans.

  * While hunting with Mississippi Governor Andrew Longino in November of 1902, President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear that had been captured and tied to a tree. Afterward a satirical cartoon of the event was published inspiring a Brooklyn candy shop owner to create a stuffed “Teddy’s” Bear. (Roosevelt was too much of a hunter to kill an already captured prey)

  * Mississippi is the only state in which over two thirds of its residents are classified as either overweight or obese.

  Missouri

  Weird MO: Yellow Margarine is illegal in Mizzou. Under the law contraband dealers could face six months in jail and up to a $500 fine. Obviously this law is no longer enforced and harkens back to the butter wars when the dairy lobby fought against competitive butter imitators that would color their products to make them more appetizing.

  * On Oct. 27, 1838, after Mormons attacked a militia they believed was an anti-Mormon mob, Governor Lilburn Boggs issued an “Extermination Order,” which directed General John Clark to treat all members of the Mormon Church as enemies that must either be exterminated or physically removed from the state. The order was actually still in effect up until 1976 when Governor Christopher Bond finally officially rescinded it.

  * During the Civil War, Missourians were split in their allegiances, supplying both Union and Confederate forces with troops. (Bet this made some post war family holidays a bit more stressful than usual)

  * In 1873 a woman named Susan Blow opened the very first public kindergarten in the United States in St. Louis. While traveling in Germany years earlier Blow discovered the teaching methods of philosopher Friedrich Froebel and decided to bring them to America. She ran that first school for 11 years without any compensation.

  * Missouri is the only state that still has its own schools for severely disabled students.

  Montana

  Weird MT: The Miley Cyrus Character Hannah Montana was almost called Alexis Texas. The idea was scrapped when it was discovered there was a female porn star already using the name.

  * Montana is home to the Triple Divide, the hydrological apex of North America on Triple Divide Peak. From this spot, water flows to three oceans: the Hudson Bay(Arctic), the Gulf of Mexico (Atlantic), and the Pacific Ocean.

  * Montana is the only state in the United States whose constitution recognizes the cultural heritage of the American Indians and is committed to the preservation of Indian culture.

  * Montana is the only state in the United States without a modern naval ship named in its honor.

  * For many years – until 1974 to be exact - Montana was the only state with no daytime speed limit.

  Nebraska

  Weird NE: The state drink of the Cornhusker state is Kool-aid. It's a nod to the drink's inventors Edwin and Kitty Perkins who were from Hastings.

  * Nebraska is the only state with a non-partisan, unicameral legislature. Thought to be more efficient, cost-effective and able to eliminate secretive conference committee meetings common in bicameral legislatures. Nebraska has been governing with a single-house legislature since 1937.

  * The only roller skating museum in the world is located in Lincoln. The museum houses the largest skate collection in the world with some dating back to 1819.

  Nevada

  Weird NV: While filming the 1955 movie “The Conqueror,” John Wayne and 90 other people are believed to have contracted Cancer from “A” bomb tests that were occurring upwind of them.

  * In 1864, to help speed up its admission to the union, the state's entire constitution was sent to Washington DC by telegram.

  * On March 1st 1869 Nevada became the first state to ratify the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution, which gave African-American men the right to vote.

  * Roughly 85% of Nevada is actually owned by the Federal Government.

  New Hampshire

  Weird NH: The slogan on New Hampshire license plates is “Live free or Die”... Ironically enough the plates are made by incarcerated convicts.

  * One of the original 13 colonies, New Hampshire was the first state to have it's own constitution.

  * New Hampshire is the only state to have hosted the formal conclusion of a foreign war. In 1905 the treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War was signed in Portsmouth.

  * New Hampshire adopted the first legal lottery in the US in 1963. It took ten years of trying and five attempts before the lottery was passed into law.

  New Jersey

  Weird NJ: New Jersey once tried to use Eminent Domain on an elderly woman's home and transfer it to real estate investor Donald Trump so that he could build a parking lot for limousines on the property.

  * One of the original 13 colonies, New Jersey was named for the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

  * New Jersey was the site of more than 100 battles during the fight for American independence, earning it the nickname; “The Crossroads of the Revolution.”

  * New Jersey is the only state in the Union that has a code of humane standards for farm animals. And they ain't playing. The code is 24 pages long and very detailed.

  New Mexico

  Weird NM: New Mexico State University's first graduating class had only 1 student and he was murdered before graduating. 17 year old Sam Steel, who began NMSU at the age of 13, was shot and killed while he was delivering milk.

  * Santa Fe was founded by the Spanish 10 years before the Pilgrims landed at Massachusetts Plymouth rock. Santa Fe is not only the oldest European city west of the Mississippi River; it’s the oldest capital city in North America, dating to 1610.

  * T
he New Mexico Constitution officially bans “idiots” from voting. Originally the term idiot referred to people suffering from some sort of mental illness. Since the common meaning of the word has changed over the years it is merely an outdated law. But a rather amusing one.

  New York

  Weird NY: In 1922 New Yorkers rioted over whether or not it was OK to wear a straw hat past the socially acceptable date of September 15th. It was not unusual for mischievous youngsters to knock the hats off and stomp on them if worn after the 15th. However on one occasion it was a group of dock workers hats that were targeted. The workers fought back and the riots, which lasted eight days, began.

  * The Dutch first settled along the Hudson River in 1624. Two years later they established the colony of New Amsterdam (The first name of New York City) located on Manhattan Island. The English took control of the area in 1664 and renamed it New York.

  * New York City was the first capital of the United States after the US Constitution was ratified in 1788. On April 30, 1789 George Washington was inaugurated as the nation’s first president at Federal Hall located on Wall Street.

  * The popular and often provocative tabloid the New York Post was founded by Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury, in 1801 as a Federalist newspaper called the New York Evening Post. Hamilton was one of the authors of the Federalist papers (Which was called simply the Federalist at that time. These 85 newspaper essays were to “sell” the colonies on ratification of the Constitution. These essays originally appeared in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 and were signed “Publius.”)

  North Carolina

  Weird NC: In 1961 the US Air Force accidentally dropped two nuclear bombs on North Carolina. Both with 250 times the destructive power than the one dropped on Hiroshima. Neither detonated but it was a close call none the less.

  (Learn more about this event in UNKNOWN MILITARY HISTORY)

  * One of the original 13 colonies, North Carolina was the first state to instruct its delegates to vote for independence from the British crown during the Continental Congress.

  * The first child born in America of English descent was named Virginia Dare. Dare was born on August 18, 1587. Virginia was one of the members of the “Lost Colony,” which was a late 16th-century attempt by Queen Elizabeth I to establish a permanent English settlement in the region.

  North Dakota

  Weird ND: Because of an error in the states 1889 Constitution, North Dakota was not legally a state until 2011. Until that time the state's constitution did not require the governor and other top officials to take an oath of office. Because of this oversight North Dakota’s constitution was at odds with federal requirements contained in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which made North Dakota illegitimate.

  * The geographical center of North America is marked by a 21-foot monument constructed out of stones in the town of Rugby.

  * There was an intense rivalry between North and South Dakota prior to both becoming states over which one would be admitted to the union first. When the time came for their formal admission President Benjamin Harrison randomly selected which bill to sign first. He purposely did not record the order in which the bills were signed presumably to ease some of the friction between the two rival states. (Which is pretty darn ironic when you consider that North Dakota Constitution thing.)

  Ohio

  Weird OH: The Cuyahoga River that runs through Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie, used to be so polluted with manufacturing litter and oil soaked debris that is has caught fire at least 15 times. The worst event occurred in 1912 when five people were reported to have died. The multiple pollution fires caused the Federal Government to eventually intervene. Those actions in the 1970's helped establish the EPA.

  * First colonized by French fur traders, Ohio became a British possession following the French and Indian War in 1754. At the end of the American Revolution, Britain ceded control of the territory to the newly formed United States and it became part of the Northwest Territory.

  * The “Mother of Modern Presidents,” Ohio was the birthplace of seven US Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft and Warren G. Harding.

  Oklahoma

  Weird OK: Oklahoma's state vegetable is the Watermelon. Which is a fruit.

  * In 1907 Oklahoma became the very last state to make Christmas legal again after a 200 year ban that originated in England. Despite the US having made it a federal holiday in 1870.

  * In 1905, representatives from the Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Choctaw and Chickasaw nations—known as the Five Civilized Tribes—submitted a constitution for a separate Indian state to be called Sequoyah. The US Congress refused to consider the request for statehood and on November 16, 1907 Indian and Oklahoma territories were combined to form present day Oklahoma.

  Oregon

  Weird OR: The smallest urban park in the world is a 2 foot circle in Portland. Measuring 452 square inches, Mill Ends Park is just big enough for a single plant.

  * Following exploration by the Spanish and French in the 17th and 18th centuries, Oregon was mapped by the Lewis and Clark expedition in their search for the Northwest Passage.

  * Oregon’s Crater Lake, formed in the remnant of an ancient volcano, is the deepest lake in the United States. It has a maximum depth of 1,946 feet.

  * Until about 1884, the Oregon Trail was the most heavily traveled and the most used of all routes in the westward expansion of the United States.

  Pennsylvania

  Weird PA: In Pennsylvania it is illegal to use milk crates for anything but milk. Unauthorized use can result in a $300.00 fine and up to 90 days in jail.

  * Pennsylvania's capital, Philadelphia, was the site of the first and second Continental Congresses in 1774 and 1775. The latter produced the Declaration of Independence which sparked the American Revolution.

  * Philadelphia was the nation’s capital from 1790 until a permanent capital was established in Washington, DC in 1800.

  * In 1903, the Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates played each other in the first official World Series. The Americans won the series 5 games to 3.

  Rhode Island

  Weird RI: The mascot of the Rhode Island School of Design is named Scrotie. The Basketball team, the Balls, and the Hockey team is the Nads... Now that's really weird!

  * Rhode Island which happens to be the smallest US State happens to have the longest name. Officially “The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.”

  * Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams in 1636, who was banished from the Massachusetts colony for advocating for religious tolerance and the separation of church and state.

  South Carolina

  Weird SC: It's against the law in this Southern state for anyone under the age of 18 to play pinball. While officially still on the books and therefore enforceable, the law has essentially been nullified by the court of common sense.

  * South Carolina was the first state to have a golf course. On September 29, 1786 the South Carolina Golf Club was formed and the nations first course was built after having imported balls and clubs from Scotland years before.

  * On November 2, 1954 Strom Thurmond, a former Governor, became the first person to be elected to the US Senate as a write-in candidate, winning 63 percent of the vote.

  South Dakota

  Weird SD: The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has one of the lowest standards of living anywhere in the world. Life expectancy is only 48 years. It's only lower in Haiti.

  * The original design for Mount Rushmore included Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt from head to waist. But unfortunately Sculptor Gutzon Borglum died before the work was completed and Congress cut off funding as the nation became faced with World War I.

  Tennessee

  Weird TN: The electric chair in the Volunteer state is constructed from the Gallows it replaced in 1916.

  * Memphi
s was founded in May of 1819 by John Overton, James Winchester, and future President of the United States Andrew Jackson.

  * The architect of the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville, William Strickland, died during the building’s construction. At his request he was entombed within the structure’s walls.

  * Although Tennessee stretches 432 miles from east to west, its north and south boundaries are only 112 miles apart.

  Texas

  Weird TX: Coal Plants in Texas produce as much pollution as the entire Country of Egypt. Which is home to 86 million people.

  * According to the 1845 state constitution, Texas has the right if it so desires, to subdivide into five smaller states.

  * At one time or another, Texas has flown the flag of six separate nations: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America and the United States. This is where the original Six Flags amusement park, which opened in Arlington in 1961, derives it's name.