Fun Fact about your hometown/state

[bhskittykatt]

My town is the furthest north in the contiguous 48 states with a population over 50,000.

My county has the furthest north incorporated area in the contiguous 48 states (due to a surveying error, the local border is ever so slightly north of the 49th parallel).

According to City-data.com (http://www.city-data.com/top2/c475.html), we have the lowest average sunshine amount in the US for a city over 50,000. Which is really kinda depressing.

I think we're ranked fourth in the US for coffee shops per capita.

Nearby Mount Baker holds the world record for most snowfall in one year, set in the '98-'99 season with 95 feet of snow. There are no snow machines up there at the ski resort. They rely on 100% natural powder.

Hillary Swank grew up in a trailer park just south of here. Of course, she doesn't remember us...

Ryan Stiles does, though. He lives just south of here. He founded the Upfront Theatre, an improv comedy club downtown. They do a couple shows a week, and Ryan will randomly participate in the shows if he's in town and feels like it, so you may get lucky and see him perform there on a random night. Just don't bug him outside of the club, though. He likes to be left alone, and the locals leave him alone, and we all get along like that. (He's really rather quiet and reserved in person.)

[Becks]

Supposedly, the first building to be rebuilt was the town pub (saloon). This explains a lot, actually.

How did I hear it put once? You'll have more willing workers if there's someplace to celebrate the end of the word day.

Or something like that.

[sarasquirrel]

my town:
is the oldest in the state. (suck it windsor)
is the setting for The Witch of Blackbird Pond
has "the oldest chartered volunteer fire department in continuous existence in the United States."

my state:
"Connecticut is home to the oldest U.S. newspaper still being published: The Hartford Courant, established in 1764. "
"Connecticut is home to the first hamburger (1895), Polaroid camera (1934), helicopter (1939), and color television (1948). "
"PEZ® Candy is made in the city of Orange. "

[MoonCat]

my town:
is the oldest in the state. (suck it windsor)
is the setting for The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Love that book!

[Jester]

Oh, where to begin? I mean, I live in one state, but am from another, both with rather impressive history.

I guess I'll start with my home state of Arizona, and go from there.

It is the 48th State, and in just a few weeks, will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of its entry into the Union, on February 14, 1912. People often think I'm joking with them when I ignore the other holiday on that date and simply refer to it as "Arizona Day," but if you look it up (as some have done), you will notice that it is, in fact, Arizona Day, for that very reason.

For those keeping score, you'll realize that Arizona was the last of the contiguous States to be brought into the Union. It was SUPPOSED to enter the Union at the same time as New Mexico (the 47th State), but many of the other State Legislatures objected to some of the things included in the proposed Arizona State Constitution--specifically, referendum, initiative, and recall. So there was a delay. Arizonans stuck to their guns (so to speak), and eventually were given Statehood, with all three political processes still included in the Constitution.

It seems to almost always have the hottest point in the country on any given day, but especially during the warm season (which is basically February to November).

Site of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon. What's so grand about a great big hole in the ground? I used to wonder the same thing...until I finally got there. Pictures and words simply can NOT do it justice.

The only State of the 50 that has all 7 of he world's climates within its borders...at least according to my high school State History teacher. I have no idea if this is true....

Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home. His retreat, Taliesin West, located just outside of Scottsdale, is simply astounding. And I'm not into architecture! Speaking of architecture though, I would be remiss as a proud Sun Devil if I did not mention that two of the buildings at Arizona State University were designed by him. (I also happen to share a birthday with him, though that has nothing to do with the State. Last I checked, he was the most famous person with our birthday, June 8.)

One of the four States that border Mexico, and I believe the one with the longest border with Mexico.

Some famous people to come from Arizona include Steven Spielberg, Stevie Nicks, Kerri Strug (the gymnast made famous by the whole ankle thing), and David Spade, though if you ever hear Spade comment on it, it's clear he hates the place. Considering he's from Casa Grande, it's kind of understandable.

Some famous people who have made Arizona their home include Erma Bombeck, the columnist and Rob Halford, the lead singer of Judas Priest. I am sure there are other famous people from or in Arizona, but this is all off the top of my head.

Old Tucson Studios were responsible for the vast majority of Westerns back in the day. As I like to remind all those proud Texans, just about every Western that takes place in Texas was actually filmed in Arizona. Also, large portions of "Bill and Ted's Great Adventure" were filmed in Arizona, along with "Campus Man" and "The Getaway" (the 1994 remake with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger).

Another great tidbit I learned in high school is that Arizona is the "other" citrus state, producing more citrus than any other State not named Florida or California.

I have, in fact, stood on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, just like in the Eagles song. If you ever get to Winslow you will understand that that is pretty much the most exciting thing you can do there.

Home of the oldest trophy for a college football rivalry game in the U.S., the Territorial Cup, which goes to the winner of the annual Arizona State-University of Arizona game. The cup was made for the very first game between these two, back in 1899. Sadly, this year, the Territorial Cup has been claimed by that....other school. Grrrr....

While there is much to say about Florida, where I live now, most of what I know that is interesting about where I live is about Key West. Don't really know that much interesting trivia about the State as a whole.

So, Key West. Interesting place. Also called Key Weird, The Conch Republic, the Southernmost City, Bone Island, and Cayo Hueso. It's original name was Cayo Hueso, which literally means "Island of Bones." It was called that by the pirates that first got here because, while there were no living residents, there were tons of skeletons. While there are many theories as to who those skeletons were, no one really knows for sure. In any case, as they often do, English speakers came along along and butchered the name, making "Cayo Hueso" (pronounced KI-o WAY-so) into "Key West." Which is, of course, how the rest of the Keys in Florida got their names.

Also, as I mentioned, it is the Southernmost City, being the southernmost point of the contiguous U.S. (Hawaii is further south.) Which means, when people ask if you're from up north, the answer is usually "duh." Since everything is north of here.

At various points in its history, Key West has been the cigar-producing capital of the U.S., the sponge-producing capital of the U.S., and the richest city per capita in the U.S. (If you watch the movie "Tombstone," at the point where the Earps meet Holliday in the streets for the first time in Tombstone, behind the Earps you can see a storefront sign that reads "Key West Cigars," which would have been perfectly accurate for that time period.)

Key West is the place where Key Lime Pie was invented. If you get Key Lime Pie and it's green, it ain't the real deal. Key Lime pie should be almost white, with a yellowish greenish tinge to it. Never great. And it is not called Key Lime Pie merely because of where it was invented. It is made using Key Limes, which are different than the regular limes most people are used to. They are far smaller, being about the size of ping pong balls, and somewhat tarter.

David Robinson, the basketball legend, was born in Key West. Famous residents have included Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Harry S Truman, and Jimmy Buffett.

The Green Parrot Bar, one of the oldest bars in Florida, was declared by Playboy Magazine to be one of the 20 coolest bars in the entire country. It also happens to be where we had our Christmas party this year.

Highest speed limit in Key West: 35 mph. Considering it's a tiny 2 by four mile island, with the nearest freeway over 100 miles away, this is not all that surprising.

Monroe County, where the Florida Keys are, is the longest and narrowest county in the U.S. Check a map to understand why.

Closest major city to Key West: Havana, Cuba, only 90 miles away, whereas Miami, the closest major American city, is 150 miles away.

Bars can be open till 4 am, and can open as early as 7 am. It also has the most liquor licenses per capita of anywhere in the U.S. In other words, a great place to be a drunk.

The Florida Keys, as the Conch Republic, in a dispute with the federal government, seceded from the Union in 1983, then declared war on the U.S., and then immediately surrendered and asked for foreign aid. It's a rather amusing story that you can all look up online. (Or read in the book "The Conch That Roared.) While many people refer to Key West as the Conch Republic, in reality the KEYS are the Conch Republic, with Key West as its capital city.

Many movies have been shot in or took place in Key West or the Keys. Most recently, the movie "Fool's Gold" was set in Key West, but clearly was not shot here. I know this to be true even though I have never seen the movie. How? Well, in the movie, the island of "Key West" has a huge mountain in the middle of it. Not only are there no mountains in FLORIDA, there aren't even all that many hills, and the highest natural point in Key West is a whopping 17 feet above sea level.

What IS at the center of Key West is quite different: its cemetery. With some lovely graves and a few humorous ones, including the very famous "I told you I was sick," and the not as famous but still amusing "I'm just resting my eyes."

Rumor has it that one of the duties of the janitor at the original Sloppy Joe's (located where Captain Tony's is now) was to, if Hemingway got too drunk, put him in a wheelbarrow and wheel him down Whitehead Street to his home. Considering the size of Hemingway (not a small man) and the distance of the trip (about a half mile, I think), that was no mean feat.

Fully half of the island didn't exist a few decades ago. Back when they did the dredging to create the harbor (or "Bight" as they call it here), they used the land removed from under the water to increase the size of the island, thus creating "New Town," where a lot of residents live. The downtown, original area is generally referred to as "Old Town."

While I have a lot of trivia in my pointy little head from having lived here for 12 years, my friend Photo Dude is virtually an encyclopedia of Key West trivia. He knows far more than I do, some of it even interesting (though much of it quite dull).

Coldest recorded temperature in Key West: 41F. Highest: 98F. I've seen temps close to both in my 12 years here. But no, the only snow you'll find here comes in cones. Which makes the question my friend once got even stupider than most: "The roads here are pretty narrow...how do they get the snowplows down them?"

STATE: motto - Keep (city) Wierd!

While I loved my short time in your city, I have to tell you, they are hardly the only ones with that slogan. We have it here in Key West, and I have seen similar ones from Aspen, Colorado. Not that there's anything wrong with that....we need MORE weird places, if you ask me.

We're also the only state where the Armed Forces have been used against the citizens.

Not true, though of course the government won't admit it. Armed forces have been used in many instances in operations against its own instances in the War on Drugs, among other things. I won't go into detail on that, as that is the kind of thing that should be in fratching.

Although I have been informed that my future hometown is the lightning capital of the world or something, so I guess I won't be racing foil boats in the streets during rainstorms.

Then you must be moving to Tampa, Florida. One of the few bits of trivia I know about the REST of Florida is that Tampa is, indeed, the Lightning Capital of the World. Hey, they even named their hockey team the Tampa Lightning!

Has a local "city" accent that has more than once been described as "Brooklynese on qualuudes"

The month I spent there, I was truck by how similar the accent was to New Yawk....though with a decidedly different twist to it.

HOLY CRAP! I know way too much trivia about Key West and Arizona!

[protege]

Quite a few movies have been shot in and around Pittsburgh--Dogma, Wonder Boys, Sudden Death, and Gung Ho (some scenes were done at the county airport...less than 2 miles from me), to name a few.

1. We have the first museum of modern art--the Carnegie, which opened in 1895.
2. The first smiley :-) was at Carnegie Mellon University, in 1982.
3. First polio vaccine, 1953.
4. First US commercial radio station (KDKA), 1920
5. First baseball stadium (Forbes Field), 1909
6. First simultaneous heart, liver, and kidney transplant, 1989.
7. First public TV station (WQED), 1954

Other local inventions include the Ferris wheel (1892/93), alternating current (1885), the air brake for trains (1860s), the Klondike ice cream bar (1929), bingo (1920),

Let's not forget the celebrities either...a few include Gene Kelly, Henry Mancini, George Benson, Perry Como, Rachel Carson, Michael Keaton, The Vogues, Rusted Root, Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly...all had roots here.

[Jester]

Protege, wasn't "Striking Distance" with Bruce Willis shot there as well?

And thanks for reminding me about bands....The Tubes and The Refreshments were from Arizona, and the Gin Blossoms were the house band at an awesome bar in my home town of Tempe. If you've ever heard their song "Mrs. Rita," it's about a fortune teller's on University Drive. I used to pass it almost daily when I was in college.

And since we are talking music, let's not forget some of the great musicians that came from Florida, including Tom Petty, .38 Special, The Outlaws, and the band that made "Sweet Home Alabama" famous, Lynyrd Skynyrd, along with many other "Southern Rock" bands that I forget at the moment. And yeah, Miami Sound Machine, which made Gloria Estefan famous.

And while the only famous musician from Key West actually grew up in Mississippi (Jimmy Buffett), we can rightfully claim that the very first Margaritaville Cafe opened up here in 1985. I still go there from time to time, though never during Parrothead week. *shudder*

[firecat88]

The Refreshments were from Arizona, and the Gin Blossoms were the house band at an awesome bar in my home town of Tempe.

I love both of these bands. My sister introduced me to their music (and she's met Roger Clyne)

[Eisa]

Idaho is the Gem State...even though everyone knows us only for potatoes, it seems. You can get huckleberries here. And huckleberry-flavored things. -drools- I love all things huckleberry, if you couldn't tell.

Um....there's a law in Idaho that says you can't fish for trout from the back of a giraffe. And here, it was illegal not to smile, so in 1987, we were declared the "U.S. Smile Capital."

I think Napoleon Dynamite was filmed in/near Shelley?

For some reason, people tend to find it hard to pronounce our capital. Or...well, a lot of cities in Idaho.

Where I live is mentioned in a song sung by Judy Garland...and later, in a song sung by John Fogerty.

Billie Bird was born here.

[ShadowBall]

Man, there is nothing interesting about either my hometown or even the county! I guess the only thing that comes to mind is the host of a paranormal investigation show on A&E is a local (and since it's not Ghost Hunters, I don't care).

And we're also known for the extremely large human skeletons found at a local landmark (not specifically my town, but a little ways away).We used to be known for our massive production of meth too, but I guess that stopped being cool after about two years.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I'll start with my hometown in New Jersey. It's also the hometown of Jon Bon Jovi and teenage/young adult home of Greg Evigan. Some early silent films were shot there, before the movie industry made its big move to Hollywood. One of the duPont Company's largest plants is located there.

The city where I live now is the birthplace of Jim Morrison of The Doors, though his family didn't live here long (his dad was military). Darrell Hammond of SNL fame is also from my city. Harris Corporation has its headquarters here, and yes, our city was named after the much larger one in Australia.

I think Jester already covered Florida pretty well!!

[protege]

Protege, wasn't "Striking Distance" with Bruce Willis shot there as well?

I think so, but it's been awhile since I've seen that one. Quite a few movies get shot in and around Pittsburgh, because many of the neighborhoods haven't changed much. They can easily represent other areas--for example, the Temptations miniseries (which was set in Detroit)...was filmed in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.

[fireheart]

A new fun fact I discovered this morning while on chat:

This is arguably more website-related, but the local paper's website has a "frizz factor" in its weather

ETA: Another film I discovered that was filmed in Adelaide (about 1/2 of it was), which may not have been released overseas, is Hey Hey It's Esther Blueberger. Three high schools were used to shoot the film: an all-girls private school (which has since become a co-ed primary school), an all-boys private school and a public high school. The whole film is centred around a girl stuck at a private school who has a tough life at home, she meets a girl from a public school and goes there under the pretense of being a Swedish exchange student.

[Maria]

I have, in fact, stood on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, just like in the Eagles song. If you ever get to Winslow you will understand that that is pretty much the most exciting thing you can do there.

There's also a festival every summer! The Standing on a Corner festival... which is about the same level of excitement as standing on the corner the rest of the time, except that they play that song on an endless loop for the entire three or four days. But you can stand on the corner with my aunt's killer-awesome pizza in your hand, so that almost makes up for it. I do feel slightly humbled, though, that after living in AZ for 20 years, I didn't know half of the stuff you mentioned!

I do know, however, that the westernmost conflict of the Civil War occurred at Picacho Peak, between Phoenix and Tucson. And if you have a thing for reenactments, or cannons with entirely too much powder put into them, you can go watch the battle sometime in March each year.

Then you must be moving to Tampa, Florida. One of the few bits of trivia I know about the REST of Florida is that Tampa is, indeed, the Lightning Capital of the World. Hey, they even named their hockey team the Tampa Lightning!

Fort Lauderdale, actually, although in the past two days, I've heard the same thing said about Orlando and Pensacola, too. I'm hoping they're just exaggerating the lightning situation, but somehow I think I can find ways to entertain myself without getting struck, anyhow. And after reading about Key West, I'm hoping to have time to get over that way, when the spouse and I go on our house-hunting excursion next September. Meant to make it there in Sept, when I was back east but... er... well there was this guy teaching alligator wrestling, and I'd never even seen a gator before, and it really went downhill from there.

Oh, and since I just thought of it, the city where I grew up, Fresno, CA, has the only university campus in the U.S. that has a licensed commercial winery. It's pretty good stuff, too.

And I've never been able to independently verify this story, but my family tells this one every couple of holidays or so. Back in about 85 or so, one of the ice cream companies had this habit of rolling out one new flavor a year, and that year, they had selected from some choices, including one that was vanilla ice cream with crushed-up Oreo cookies in it. But they thought it was too simple and childish, and wouldn't appeal to their adult buyers, so they selected a peach ice cream recipe. And then Fresno had a massive storm (which is the only part of the story I'm 100% on, because to this day, I remember THAT storm!) that wiped out the peach crops. So they fell back on cookies n' cream, which became one of their most popular flavors.

[Mytical]

Not exactly a fun fact, but my home town was only put on the map of ohio after an easter riot at our maximum security prison. Which (random bit of trivia here) is within a foot ball field length from our Elementary and High School.