Hey there! I’m John Green, and welcome to Mental Floss! Today, I’m excited to share with you some fascinating facts about each of the 50 states in America. I promise you’ll find something interesting about every state, even New Jersey!
Did you know that Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city, was founded in 1871? It was meant to be a model of industrial growth after the Civil War. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding visited Birmingham and encouraged the city to extend voting rights to African Americans, which was a bold move at the time.
In Alaska, 99% of the land is owned by the government or Alaska Native corporations, leaving just 1% for private citizens.
Arizona gave women the right to vote in 1912, eight years before it became a national law. However, the state has since faced challenges regarding voting rights for different groups.
In 1881, Arkansas passed a law to standardize the pronunciation of its name due to a disagreement between its two U.S. senators.
The famous California Gold Rush began in January 1848, inspiring the name of the San Francisco 49ers football team.
Denver, Colorado, was chosen to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, but the city declined due to costs, and the games were eventually held in Innsbruck, Austria.
Connecticut didn’t have a state constitution until 1818, operating under the Royal Charter of 1662, which didn’t separate church and state.
Delaware was part of a border dispute with Pennsylvania and Maryland that led to the creation of the Mason-Dixon line, an important historical boundary.
Despite being called the Sunshine State, Florida experiences more lightning strikes than any other state.
In 2010, Georgia attempted to claim land from Tennessee, citing an old border error, but Tennessee didn’t agree.
Idaho is famous for its potatoes, but they are actually an invasive species to the state.
Joseph Smith Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was killed in Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1839.
No one knows the true meaning of the term “Hoosier,” which is used to describe people from Indiana.
Iowa hosts the annual National Hobo Convention, celebrating migrant workers known as hobos.
Kansas is the only state with a successful music career, thanks to the band Kansas, known for hits like “Carry On Wayward Son.”
Kentucky is home to the world’s largest cave system, Mammoth Cave National Park, and the world’s largest baseball bat.
Louisiana ranks high in roadside littering, but much of it ends up in the state’s vast waterways.
Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name.
Maryland’s official state sport is jousting, a medieval competition.
Massachusetts is home to the New England Candy Company, famous for Necco wafers.
In 1846, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty.
Minnesota, known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, actually has over 11,000 lakes larger than 10 acres.
Mississippi leads the nation in producing farm-raised catfish.
Before becoming a state, Missouri was involved in a border dispute with Iowa called the Honey War.
Montana’s Roe River is one of the shortest rivers in the world, measuring just 201 feet.
Nebraska has a unique state government with a unicameral, nonpartisan legislature.
Reno, Nevada, is located west of Los Angeles, California.
New Hampshire’s famous Old Man of the Mountain was featured on the state’s quarter but fell off the mountain in 2003.
New Jersey is the birthplace of the phonograph, movie projector, drive-in theater, and baseball.
Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the highest state capital in the U.S., sitting at 7,260 feet above sea level.
The New York Post, founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1801, was once a serious newspaper.
North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the U.S.
North Dakota attempted to drop “North” from its name twice, but the legislature rejected the idea.
Akron, Ohio, introduced the first police car in 1899.
The Oklahoma State Capitol building has a working oil derrick on its grounds.
In Oregon, it’s illegal to pump your own gas, just like in New Jersey.
State College, Pennsylvania, was the first high school to offer driver’s education to teenagers.
Rhode Island rejected the 18th Amendment, which established Prohibition, in 1919.
South Carolina was once known as the Iodine State.
South Dakota is famous for Mount Rushmore and the ongoing Crazy Horse monument project.
Tennessee has a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Nashville.
Six different flags have flown over Texas, including those of Spain, France, and Mexico.
Levan, Utah, got its name because it’s “navel” spelled backward.
Vermont has the smallest state capital, Montpelier, with a population of just 7,855.
Virginia has produced eight U.S. presidents, including Washington and Jefferson.
King County in Washington was renamed in 1986 to honor Martin Luther King Jr.
The first federal women’s prison opened in West Virginia in 1926.
Monroe, Wisconsin, claims to be the Swiss cheese capital of the world.
Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote and is the least populous state.
There you have it—50 fun facts about the 50 states! Thanks for joining me on this journey. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. See you next time!
Test your memory by matching each state with its unique fact. Create flashcards with the state name on one side and the fact on the other. Shuffle them and see how many you can match correctly. Challenge your classmates to see who can match the most!
Choose your favorite state fact and create a short presentation about it. Include additional research, images, and why you found it interesting. Present your findings to the class and learn from others as they share their favorite facts.
Create a large map of the United States and place a sticky note with a fact on each state. Work in groups to add more facts to each state, turning the map into a colorful and informative display. Use this map to quiz each other on state facts!
Organize a Jeopardy-style game using the state facts. Divide into teams and create categories based on different themes, such as “Historical Events” or “Unique Laws.” Compete to see which team knows the most about the 50 states!
Pick a state fact and write a short story or a creative piece inspired by it. Imagine living in that state during the time of the event or create a fictional character who experiences it. Share your story with the class and explore the diverse history of the United States through creative writing.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi there, I’m John Green. Welcome to Mental Floss! Today, I’m going to share with you 50 facts about the 50 American states, and I promise you there is at least one interesting fact about every state in the Union, even New Jersey.
A professor of New Jersey geography recently emailed me to criticize my long-standing bias against New Jersey, and I have a message for her: I’m sorry, and I was wrong. I mean, I went to high school in a place that’s often maligned.
Let’s start with Alabama. Alabama’s largest city, Birmingham, wasn’t founded until 1871. It was intended to be a model of industrialization for the post-Civil War South. Fortunately for Alabama, that steel mill roller coaster only goes up. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding visited Birmingham for the city’s fiftieth anniversary and advised the people of Birmingham to extend voting equality to African American citizens. This was not a popular sentiment in 1921, but it was arguably one of the most heroic moments of Harding’s presidency.
99% of Alaska belongs to the federal government, state government, or Alaska Native corporations; only 1% is held by private citizens. Arizona extended the vote to women in 1912, eight years before the national arrival of women’s suffrage. The state would then go on to spend the next 100 years attempting to restrict the voting rights of various groups.
In 1881, the Arkansas State Legislature passed an act to standardize the pronunciation of the state’s name. This law was needed to settle a dispute between the state’s two U.S. senators—one wanted to be known as the senator from Arkansas, and the other as the senator from Arkansas.
The California Gold Rush that gave the San Francisco 49ers their name began in January of 1848. In 1970, Denver, Colorado, won its bid to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, but in 1972, the city’s residents decided they didn’t want to pay to host the games, so they rejected the offer. Salt Lake City then offered to take up the now homeless Winter Olympics, but they ended up in Innsbruck, Austria.
Connecticut didn’t write a state constitution until 1818, so until then, they operated under the Royal Charter of 1662, which did not provide for the separation of church and state. This meant that Connecticut retained the Church of England as its official religious body for 19 years after the U.S. Constitution went into effect.
Delaware was involved in a border dispute with Pennsylvania and Maryland that began in 1681. In a 1753 attempt to resolve the dispute over about one square mile of land, the colonies involved hired Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to survey the area. The border they drew was called the Mason-Dixon line. It failed to resolve the dispute but became important in U.S. history.
Although Florida is called the Sunshine State, it actually has more lightning strikes than any other state. In 2010, Georgia tried to seize territory from Tennessee, claiming the border had been indirectly drawn in 1818, but Tennessee replied, “Georgia, it’s 2010; is that really your biggest problem?”
Idaho potatoes are not native to Idaho; they are an invasive species. In 1839, Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was murdered by an angry mob in Nauvoo, Illinois. As for my adopted home state of Indiana, no one actually knows what “Hoosier” means—stop asking!
Iowa is home to the annual National Hobo Convention. Don’t call these hobos “tramps,” though; hobos think of themselves as migrant workers, while tramps are transient beggars who don’t work, and bums are sedentary non-workers who are too lazy even to travel.
Kansas is the only state with a successful recording career; in the 1970s, the state had several hit singles, including “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind.” The 2005 movie adaptation of “In Cold Blood” was mainly shot in Manitoba, Canada, presumably because Kansas was too boring to carry a movie.
Kentucky is home to the world’s largest cave system in Mammoth Cave National Park and also the world’s largest baseball bat. Louisiana ranks 49th in the American state litter scorecard; only Kentucky has more roadside littering, but most of it just washes into that cave, so nobody really minds much.
Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name. Maryland’s official state sport is jousting. Massachusetts is home to the New England Candy Company, maker of the uniquely flavored Necco wafer. In 1846, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty.
Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but in fact, the state has 11,482 lakes larger than 10 acres. Mississippi produces more farm-raised catfish than any other state in the nation. Before Missouri was even a state, it got into a border dispute with Iowa called the Honey War, where both territories called their militias to the border.
Montana’s Roe River is known as the shortest river in the world at just 201 feet, but this has been disputed by the people of Oregon, who also claim to have the world’s shortest river. Nebraska’s state government is unique; it’s the only state with a unicameral legislature, and it is nonpartisan.
Reno, Nevada, is west of Los Angeles, California. New Hampshire immortalized the famous cliff known as the Old Man of the Mountain by submitting it as the state’s design for the 50 states quarters issued by the U.S. Mint. The Old Man of the Mountain fell off the mountain in 2003.
The phonograph, the movie projector, the drive-in theater, and baseball were all invented in New Jersey. Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the highest state capital in the U.S. with an elevation of 7,260 feet. The New York Post was founded in 1801 by Alexander Hamilton and was a serious newspaper for much of its history.
North Carolina is the nation’s largest producer of sweet potatoes. North Dakota tried to drop “North” from its name twice, in 1947 and 1989, but the legislature rejected bids to change the state’s name to Dakota. Akron, Ohio, introduced the first police car in 1899.
The Oklahoma State Capitol building has a working oil derrick on its grounds. You cannot pump your own gas in Oregon or New Jersey. State College, Pennsylvania, high school was the first to offer driver’s education to teenagers. Rhode Island rejected the 18th Amendment in 1919.
South Carolina was once called the Iodine State. South Dakota has a fascination with massive sculptures; it’s home to Mount Rushmore and the still-uncompleted Crazy Horse monument, which began in 1948. Tennessee has a full-scale replica of the Parthenon.
The flags of six nations have flown over Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. Levan, Utah, got its name because it’s “navel” spelled backward. Vermont has the smallest state capital, Montpelier, with a population of 7,855.
Virginia has produced eight presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, William Henry Harrison, Tyler, Taylor, and Wilson. Washington’s King County, home to Seattle, was originally named for William R. King, vice president under Franklin Pierce, but was renamed in 1986 for Martin Luther King Jr.
The first federal women’s prison opened in West Virginia in 1926, which gave rise to the women-in-prison genre of entertainment. Monroe, Wisconsin, claims to be the Swiss cheese capital of the world, despite the fact that Swiss cheese is from Switzerland.
Lastly, we return to Wyoming, which was the first state to grant women the right to vote, the first state to mine coal, and the least populous state.
So there you go—50 facts about 50 states! Thanks for watching. If you have a mind-blowing question, please ask it in the comments, and we’ll do our best to answer as many as we can. Thank you for watching!
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This version removes any inappropriate language and maintains a respectful tone throughout.
States – Political units within a country that have their own governments and boundaries. – The United States is made up of 50 states, each with its own unique laws and regulations.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – In history class, we learned about the American Revolution and its impact on the world.
Voting – The act of making a choice or decision in an election or meeting. – Voting is an important way for citizens to express their opinions and choose their leaders.
Rights – Legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement. – The Bill of Rights outlines the fundamental rights and freedoms of American citizens.
Capital – A city where a region’s government is located. – Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States, where the President and Congress work.
Government – The system or group of people governing an organized community, often a state. – The government is responsible for creating and enforcing laws to maintain order in society.
Boundary – A line that marks the limits of an area; a dividing line. – The boundary between the two countries was marked by a river that ran through the valley.
Population – The number of people living in a particular area, city, or country. – The population of the city has grown rapidly over the past decade, leading to more housing developments.
Culture – The beliefs, customs, arts, and institutions of a particular society, group, or place. – The culture of ancient Egypt is known for its impressive pyramids and rich mythology.
Geography – The study of the Earth’s physical features and the human activity that affects and is affected by these features. – In geography class, we explored how mountains and rivers shape the way people live and interact with their environment.
