Fun Fact about your hometown/state

[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. "

[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.

[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.)

[KabeRinnaul]

Oh, and we can't forget we're the state that coined the term "rednecks".

We actually didn't, but is was popularized by the striking miners who wore red bandannas during the West Virginia coal wars (particularly the Battle of Blair Mountain), which was when the aforementioned use of the armed forces against civilians took place. Not that the US Army or Air Force ever fired upon the miners - those were primarily local law enforcement, strikebreakers, and Baldwin-Felts private detectives in the employ of the mine owners. However, President Harding did threaten the miners with the US Army, and several Air Force bombers were used for surveillance - though private planes did drop homemade bombs on the strikers.

Anyway, on to other topics...

Charleston was home to the nation's first natural gas well, and at one point we were the world's largest salt producer. There's still a large chemical manufacturing industry there due to the salt brine's chemical uses in World War I.

It also had the largest urban mall east of the Mississippi for a while in the 80s.

[powerboy]

My City (Stockton, Cali). Was once had the official name of Crap Town.

[EricKei]

My hometown...

Is the birthplace of both the po-boy and the muffalletta

Is *almost* 100% under sea level

Refers to 50/50 Cafe au Lait with beginets as "coffee and doughnuts"

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

Has an average relative humidity of 85% or higher, year in and year out

Has a plethora of corrupt politicians, but we don't really care

Still has a reasonable amount of "good ol' down South charm" (in a good way) - People in the neighborhood wave and say Hi; doors are held; the tea is ice cold and the gumbo is bubbling hot

Is populated by people who think that a ten-minute drive constitutes "clear across town"

Is plenty weird, we're just to lazy too vote on a slogan saying so

[Maria]

My state is, last time I checked, the only state in the union with two interstates that do not leave its borders.

People who think our desert area is hot and dry year-round, get very confused that my childhood scrapbooks contain photos of snowball fights in our front yard, and racing little boats fashioned out of aluminum foil, in the flooded streets in our neighborhood.

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.

[MoonCat]

-My city was the first US city to use electric street lights.
-It was the western end of the Erie Canal and brought thousands of people to the area.
-The city was burned to the ground by the British in the War of 1812. Supposedly, the first building to be rebuilt was the town pub (saloon). This explains a lot, actually.
-The city was an important destination of the Underground Railroad, the secret route along which many southern slaves fled to Canada. There are still buildings here that were used as hiding places.
-In the late 1800's Mark Twain lived and worked in the city.
-Pres. Wm. McKinley was shot and mortally wounded here during the Pan American Exposition in 1901. Teddy Roosevelt was sworn in as his successor at the Wilcox Mansion 8 days later.
-We have numerous Historical Landmarks here, including five buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and buildings by other famous architects.
-We have the largest garden show in the nation during the last weekend of July every year. It's a self-guided tour, free of charge, and at last count includes over 350 gardens.
-The Goo Goo Dolls are from here (Robbie Takac founded Music is Art, a cultural organization that sponsors a Battle of the Bands and an instrument drive to obtain musical instruments for kids who can't afford them, among other functions)
-And of course we invented BUFFALO WINGS!!!!

[Victory Sabre]

St. Cloud, MN

St. Cloud State University - Richard Dean Anderson went to SCSU. Also, legendary hockey coach - Herb Brooks - brought the Huskies into D1 college hockey.

City - Known as the Granite City. Numerous granite mines are in the area, including a former one that is now a park - Quarry Park.

The Mississippi River runs through it.

It is located in 3 counties - Benton, Shurburne, and Stearns.

It used to be 3 separate towns - Upper Town, Middle Town, and Lower Town.

Tom Petters, infamous for his ponzi schemes, is from here.

Jim Eisenreich - famous Baseball player was born here.

It's extremely difficult to get over the air TV here (unless you have a big frickin' antenna) because we're at the extreme outer edges of the twin cities, and Alexandria media markets.

State - Minnesota.

Second oldest family owned brewery is located in New Ulm - the Schell Brewery (lots of nummy beer is produced there).

Angle Inlet - If you want to get there by land, you have to cross through Canada. It is due to an error as to where the Mississippi headwaters were.

The Mississippi River starts here. You wouldn't believe how small it is in northern Minnesota.

St. Paul - the State Capitol - used to be called Pigs Eye.

The State has the longest history for not voting for a Republican for President, since 1972.

[BookstoreEscapee]

The Bruce Springsteen song "My Hometown" is about my hometown. One of his greatest hits albums has a picture of Main Street in the liner notes (sad how much it's changed).

[unholypet]

My state is known as one of the least intelligent states in the U.S.A. since 1985. The home schooled population are always finalists in the national spelling bees, mathematics activities, and general knowledge tests.

My home town was part of Kentucky, but to make the state line smooth, the government split it in two.

My home area is one of the highest ranking healthy farming soil areas in the state.

There are more cows, dogs, cats, deer, sheep, goats, cats, and raccoons than there are humans every year, 2 to 1 minimum.

My work is one of the highest ranking in it's district, and when I worked at night, my backroom was acknowledged as BR of the month twice in a row during my 6 month stint as the BR employee.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

In my fair city, a piece of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik fell on one of the main streets.

This has since become the cause of a major-ish celebration here involving baking and alien-costume contests.

I wish I was making this up.

[FormerCallingCardRep]

We're in the Kanawha Valley. Actually live right off Corridor G..

We lived in Pocatallico for 4 years when I worked for AT&T. Little Bits was born at Women and Childrens

[Chanlin]

My hometown is home to the first ever building to be covered completely in glass.

Toledo is home to the largest telescope and observatory in Ohio.

The Toledo Zoo designed and implemented the first ever hippoquarium (underwater hippo exhibit)

The Collingwood Arts Center in Toledo is fairly famous for being haunted.

[houdini]

My birthplace is Salisbury, which has the tallet spire in the UK, and is pretty much the only Cathedral that is built in one style of architecture - it was completed in 38 years, so is all Early English. It is also absolutely beautiful, but that's only my opinion

Ralph Fiennes went to Bishops Wordsworth School, and William Golding (Lord of the Flies) worked there as a teacher.

One of the pubs has a mummified severed hand, and there's a mummified cat in the museum (don't ask). Salisbury also has the highest ratio of pubs per square mile to the number of people, or something along those lines.