Think you're a United States trivia pro? Check to see if you've ever fallen for these U.S. state blunders!
All of Alaska is divided into boroughs, not counties
BILD LLC/SHUTTERSTOCKAlaska and Louisiana are the only two states that don’t divide themselves into counties, they separate their territory into boroughs and parishes, respectively. But at least 323,400 square miles of Alaskan land falls under the
Unorganized Boroughcategory. In other words, it belongs to no county, parish, or borough. This bigger-than-Texas nonentity has no central government which means they don’t have to pay for local or property taxes. Despite this big perk, there are a few pitfalls to living in the rural Alaskan lands of the Unorganized Borough such as poverty, crime, and addiction. Periodically, there have been movements to turn the nonentity into actual boroughs, but residents many not be ready for that step just yet. Check out these
51 false facts you've always believed to be true.
No one in Arizona observes Daylight Saving Time
PAUL B. MOORE/SHUTTERSTOCKArizona has not observed Daylight Saving Time since 1967, but there is one portion of Arizona that continues to observe it—Navajo Nation. The Native American territory, which traverses the California-Arizona state line, elected to adopt Daylight Saving Time because they didn’t want to put the communities on two different clocks.
The largest earthquake in American history occurred in California
EVERETT HISTORICAL/SHUTTERSTOCKEven though California is extremely susceptible to earthquakes because it lies on top of the San Andreas Fault system, Alaska wins the record for largest recorded earthquake in the U.S., according to the
National Centers for Environmental Information. On March 28, 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunamis struck Alaska’s Prince William Sound and caused about $2.3 billion of damage in today’s money. Check out these
50 facts about the 50 states.
Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana
BOB PEARSON/SHUTTERSTOCKActually, Washington and Colorado
both defied federal law and passed the legalization of recreational marijuana use on November 6, 2012. Today Alaska, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington D.C., Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts (which goes into effect in July 2018) have given the “OK” for recreational marijuana use. Now, a few other states are following suit and filing their own initiatives.
Connecticut is called the “Constitution State” because the constitution was signed there
PAUL BRADY PHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCKThe U.S. Constitution was written and signed on September 17, 1787 in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. But in the early 19
th century, John Fiske, a popular historian from Connecticut, claimed the Fundamental Orders of 1638/1639 were the first written constitution in history. And a former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court backed up Fiske’s claim by citing a book authored by a journalist, who wrote that a group of men had never met up to prescribe a set of rules and modes of government until a few men in Connecticut came together to write up the Fundamental Orders. But the dispute amongst historians about the real “first written constitution” still continues. Don't miss these
16 other history facts people always get wrong.
The Florida Everglades is the largest swamp in the United States
LAGUNATICPHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCKPeople may think the Florida Everglades is a swamp filled with alligators and crocodiles lurking beneath the dark water’s surface, but the everglades are actually a wetland. The largest swamp wilderness in America is the 1.4 million-acre Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana, which is at least two and a half times more productive than the Florida Everglades. Here are the
science trivia questions that always stump everyone.
The “Peach State” of Georgia is the country’s leading producer of peaches
KAREL STIPEK/SHUTTERSTOCKPeaches may be a valuable part of Georgia’s agriculture and economy, but California ranked first in 2016 as the country’s leading peach producer. Besides, Georgia blueberries are the state’s real moneymaker. Blueberries generated an estimated $94 million for Georgia growers while peaches only made $30 million in 2012. In fact, blueberries—not peaches—ranked as one of Georgia’s top ten agricultural commodities in 2016.
Pineapples are the native fruits ofHawaii
ALEXANDRE ROTENBERG/SHUTTERSTOCKThe sweet, juicy fruit may be a Hawaiian symbol, but the tropical plant is native to Paraguay and southern Brazil. It is suspected that the Spaniards may have taken the pineapples to Hawaii and Guam in the early 16
th century after introducing the fruit to the Philippines. Here are some of the
strangest food laws in each state.
Chicago, Illinois is called the “Windy City” because of its wild breezes
MARIA SBYTOVA/SHUTTERSTOCKChicago’s moniker doesn’t describe the city’s daily forecast like most people think, it actually became a more accurate description for public officials. The city can thank nineteenth-century journalists for criticizing Chicago’s elites for being “full of hot air” and thus giving the city its nickname. An
1858 article from the Chicago Daily Tribune read, “[a] hundred militia officers, from corporal to commander...air their vanity… in this windy city.” Numerous newspapers used
the “Windy City” reference for the egotistical politicians of Chicago who gave long-winded speeches (known as “windbags”), but only wanted to con people to turn a profit. Learn about
how every state got its name.
Bourbon whiskey was named after Bourbon County in Kentucky
4KCLIPS/SHUTTERSTOCKThe jury is still out on this one! Michael Veach, a bourbon historian, believes the name came from New Orleans. The Tarascon brothers, two transplants from Cognac, France came to Louisville, Kentucky and started shipping local whiskey aged in charred barrels down to Louisiana. Veach says that the brothers marketed their whiskey as resembling cognac or French brandy, a beloved favorite for French residents in New Orleans. By the 19
thcentury, the New Orleans entertainment district became known as Bourbon Street. “People start asking for ‘that whiskey they sell on Bourbon Street,’ which eventually became that ‘bourbon whiskey,’” Veach
told smithsonianmag.com. Still, historians are stumped as to who gets the credit for the bourbon name.
The easternmost part of the United States is Maine
GALYNA ANDRUSHKO/SHUTTERSTOCKYou’ll be surprised (and totally confused) to find that the
Semisopochnoi Island in Alaska is the easternmost part of the United States and North America, not Maine. If you use the Prime Meridian and 180
th meridian to define the boundaries between the eastern and western hemispheres, Semisopochnoi Island stretches across the 180-degree line of longitude into the Eastern Hemisphere, making it the easternmost part of the United States. If this geography fact threw you for a loop, make sure you know these
30 other geography facts that everyone gets wrong.
Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy was the youngest U.S. President to ever serve
EVERETT HISTORICAL/SHUTTERSTOCKYou may think the dashing JFK was the youngest U.S. president ever, but it was actually former New York governor Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was 42 years old when he stepped in as president in 1901 after William McKinley’s assassination. John F. Kennedy was 43 years old when he was elected.
Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” has the most lakes in the entire nation
MONTAWAN/SHUTTERSTOCKDon’t let the moniker deceive you! Minnesota’s lake total tallies in at close to 12,000! But the state with the most lakes goes to Alaska with three million lakes greater than 5 acres. In fact, Alaska holds more than 40 percent of the nation’s surface water resources, according to the
Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States
Nevada has the country’s hottest temperature ever recorded
BYELIKOVA OKSANA/SHUTTERSTOCKActually, that record goes to California with Death Valley reaching a scorching 134 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer of 1913, according to the
World Meteorological Organization. Not only is it the hottest temperature in the United States—it’s the highest in the world!
New York City served as the nation’s first capital
JON BILOUS/SHUTTERSTOCKYes, New York City was the first capital of the United States under the ratification of the Constitution. But did you know that there were
seven other capitals before that? In 1774, representatives from the 13 colonies first convened as the First Continental Congress at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia. Here are other
history lessons your teacher might have lied to you about.
The deadliest day in American military history took place during the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania
MICHAEL REYNOLDS/SHUTTERSTOCKThe
Battle of Gettysburg is the site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it gets the record for deadliest day in American military history. In fact, that title goes to a different Civil War battle—the
Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, which killed more than an estimated 3,500 Union and Confederate soldiers in just one day. Check out these
famous moments in history that didn't actually happen.
Rhode Island is the least populated state
KEN SCHULZE/SHUTTERSTOCKDon’t judge a state by its small size—even if it’s the smallest state of Rhode Island, home to 1.06 million residents! Wyoming, the tenth largest state, is the least populated stated with only 579,000 residents.
The largest mountain carving is Mount Rushmore in South Dakota
STEVE CUKROV/SHUTTERSTOCKBut not for long, hopefully! The
Crazy Horse Memorial, also in South Dakota, is the largest mountain carving in-progress. Once it’s completed, the proposed measurements will come in at 641 feet long and 563 feet high compared to Mount Rushmore, which only measures in at 60 feet high and 185 feet long. An Oglala Lakota Chief invited sculptor Korczack Ziolkowski to carve a memorial of Lakota leader Crazy Horse to honor all North American Indians. The construction has been ongoing since 1948. Issues with the rock face and reliance on private funding are to blame for the sculpture’s painstakingly slow construction.
Tennessee is the only state with most bordering U.S. states
CHRISTOPHER P/SHUTTERSTOCKMissouri and Tennessee both tie in this category with eight states each that border them. Colorado and Kentucky come in second with seven neighboring states.
Vermont has the most ski areas in the nation
DONLAND/SHUTTERSTOCKWhen you think of snow and skiing, you probably think of Vermont. But the
National Ski Areas Association reports that New York has the most ski resorts in the country with a whopping 52 ski areas compared to the 26 ski areas operating in Vermont.
The oldest city in America is Jamestown, Virginia
Washington holds the record for most consecutive rainy days
CHIMI03/SHUTTERSTOCKFrom 1939 to 1940, Maunawili Ranch on the Hawaiian island of Oahu saw 331 straight days of measurable rain, Brian Brettschneider, a climatologist with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC)
told weather.com. Meteorological records define measurable precipitation as 0.01 inches or more of rain and/or melted snow in a given day.
The first Cheesehead hat was worn at a Green Bay Packers game in Wisconsin
AP/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKIf you’ve ever gone to a Green Bay Packers football game, you’ve probably seen fans don a giant foam wedge of cheese on their heads, famously known as
the Cheesehead. It’s no wonder Wisconsinites are called cheeseheads, formerly a derogatory term reportedly coined by their neighboring state, Illinois. Ralph Bruno, Milwaukee native and creator of the Cheesehead, crafted the popular headpiece with a turkey slicer in 1987 and wore it proudly for the first time at County Stadium in Milwaukee for a Brewers-White Sox game. The hat gained instant popularity and now people can pay about $25 for a large Cheesehead hat that weighs nearly one pound and measures 14 inches on each side. Next, don't miss more
U.S. trivia your teacher never taught you.
MAREKULIASZ/SHUTTERSTOCKAccording to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Missouri River trumps the Mississippi River for longest river at 2,540 miles, an entire 200 miles longer. Find out the 10 place names you never knew you were saying wrong.
BOB POOL/SHUTTERSTOCKThe distinction for the first U.S. settlement belongs to St. Augustine, Florida founded and established by the Spanish in 1565. Jamestown wasn’t settled until 1607. In 2015, St. Augustine celebrated its 450th birthday! Learn more about the oldest city in America.
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