5 Things People Don't Know About Your State (ski resort, home)

[Jeromeville]

This is a thread for people to list surprising (or not?) things that others might not know about your state. Think of it as a way to dispel stereotypes...

I'll start with mine... New York...


1. One-fifth of New York's land area is protected wild land, bigger than Yellowstone and Yosemite combined.

2. New York is among the top 10 U.S. states with the most Native American population.

3. New York occasionally experiences moderate earthquakes causing road warping and structural damage. The last damage-causing quakes were in 1983 and 2002.

4. New York is the birthplace of the Mormon religion.

5. New York has more waterfalls than almost any other state (Michigan is No. 1).

[city_data91]

1. Not everyone is liberal
2. There's more to Massachusetts than Boston
3. Not all of us are preppy.
4. We're not bad drivers, we just have more traffic to deal with.
5. We have farms.

[lrfox]

Massachusetts:

1) Nantucket, Massachusetts did not have squirrels until 1989

2) Industry used to be a big thing in Massachusetts... many of our cities have similarities to the "rust belt" cities of the mid-west (Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill Fitchburgh, Holyoke, Fall River, etc) in that they were once bustling cities but are now struggling to find a new identity.

3) Not only was Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" based out of Massachusetts, but it's based on his experience on a New Bedford MA whaling ship and many of the buildings he describes in the book really exist and are preserved and open to the public in the Whaling District National Historic Park in downtown New Bedford, Massachusetts. New Bedford is NOW (and has been for the past 9 years) the wealthiest fishing port in the U.S. in terms of value of catch.

4) Plymouth MA is NOT the first place in the U.S. that the Pilgrims landed. The Pilgrims landed and settled briefly in Provincetown MA before finally moving to Plymouth. Provincetown has a 200 foot granite tower memorializing their presence in P-town.

5) Quincy, MA is home to the nation's FIRST railroad... it was built to haul granite from Quincy to Charlstown in Boston for the construction of the Bunker Hill Monument.

[chilaili]

1. It does not snow here all the time.
   
2. Only the Western half of the state is mountainous. The Eastern half is as flat as Kansas.
   
3. Winter Park, Colorado, is the highest incorporated town in the nation at 10,361ft. (However, Alma, Colorado (10,353ft) disputes this as Winter Park’s claim is based on the annexation of a ski resort that does not include any residences. Leadville also apparently has a claim to this title.)
   
4. The most snow accumulation in a one-day period was 75.8 inches at Silver Lake, Colorado, in April 1921.
   
5. Women received the right to vote in Colorado in 1893.

For more fun facts about the Centennial State go to The Colorado Directory-Fun Facts & Trivia

[Julian/SWE]

I knew part of that ^^

1. The part In Sweden I live in is called Västra Götaland. Or did you know that already?
2. We have the best Universities in Sweden.
3. New York City is actually colder than this part of Sweden (Hahahahahaha!)
4. Västra Götaland is the fattest part of Sweden.
5. We have one of the worlds most historic site.

[tahiti]

NJ:

1) Highest Household Median Income in the US, 2nd per capita (these 2 vacillate with CT and MD year by year).

2) NJ is 50th in Fed. Government assistance. In other words, we receive far less than we pay. You're welcome.

3) 3rd or 4th most educated population in the nation.

4) I would think people would know this, but maybe not. The *NY* Giants and *NY* Jets play in.......NJ.

5) The negative image of NJ (smelly, ugly, etc) is actually because of an area of the state which takes up maybe 1/50 of its land mass. Unfortunately, this area is right near the airport and NYC which is why the image is perpetrated.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by Julian/SWE

I knew part of that ^^

1. The part In Sweden I live in is called Västra Götaland. Or did you know that already?
2. We have the best Universities in Sweden.
3. New York City is actually colder than this part of Sweden (Hahahahahaha!)
4. Västra Götaland is the fattest part of Sweden.
5. We have one of the worlds most historic site.

6) apparently Sweden has become a US state.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by tahiti

6) apparently Sweden has become a US state.

Hahaha. I was thinking the same thing. I don't care though, I enjoy reading about where everyone is from.

[pw72]

I'll go with my home state of Washington:

1. Washington has two distinct personalities: the western half is mild & wet and liberal. The eastern half is cold and dry and conservative.

2. Washington has some of the wettest (Olympic National Park) and driest weather (Columbia Basin), in the nation.

3. Washington has more glaciers than the other lower 47 states combined, and contains 80% of all glacial ice in the lower 48.

4. The Washington State Ferry System is the largest in the U.S.

5. Seattle, Washington was the first city to use Muzak in businesses. A Seattle radio station was the first to play a Beatles record in the U.S.

[LINative]

Originally Posted by tahiti

6) apparently Sweden has become a US state.

At 173,000 sq miles Sweden is now our third largest state and would bumb California, Montana and everyone else down a notch all the way to #51.

1. Alaska
2. Texas
3. Sweden
4. California
5. Montana
6. New Mexico
............
............
............
51. Rhode Island & Providence Plantations