Archive for george r stewart
Day Four Trivia Question Winner!!!
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Map of Louisiana
Early this morning, I asked, “Where is the United States’ tallest state Capitol building located?” The answer, Louisiana, at a height of 450 feet/34 floors. Congrats to anthonydurham, who won the drawing for a copy of Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States by George R. Stewart. Due to time constraints, today’s trivia question will be postponed until tomorrow, and the Grand Finale will be pushed back to Sunday. There’s still 2 more prizes available, so subscribe to the RSS feed or follow EiH on Twitter for your chance at winning both!
50 Years of 50 States: Day Four Trivia Question – Answer and Win!!!
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Today's Prize: Names on the Land
It’s that time again. Time for you to answer a trivia question and win a prize! You know the rules. Answer in the comments, and the winner is selected at random out of those who answer correctly. Since I’m just posting this at 11:30 PM, the normal deadline of 11:59 PM will not apply (you’re welcome). Instead, you have until 11:59 AM tomorrow morning to submit your answer. Today’s prize is a copy of Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States by George R. Stewart. Now for the question:
Where is the United States’ tallest state Capitol building located?
Submit your answer and win. Also, subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter for your chance to win again tomorrow. P.S. If you’ve won before, you can’t win again until the Grand Finale, so why don’t you go read about how the King Family doesn’t think James Earl Ray killed MLK while you wait?
50 Years of 50 States: Florida
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The Sunshine State
Date Ratified: March 3, 1845 (27th)
Capital: Tallahassee
Map of Florida
- Greater Miami is the only metropolitan area in the United States whose borders encompass two national parks.
- St. Augustine, established in 1565, is the oldest European settlement in North America.
- There are more lightning strikes per capita in Clearwater than anywhere else in the United States.
- The world’s first scheduled passenger service airline flight was from St. Petersburg to Tampa.
- Key West has the highest average temperature of any U.S. city.
- Ybor City was once known as the Cigar Capital of the World with nearly 12,000 tabaqueros employed in 200 factories. At the industry’s peak, Ybor City produced an estimated 700 million cigars a year.
- One of the only two naturally round lakes in the world is in DeFuniak Springs.
- Florida is the only state with two rivers with the same name. There is a Withlacoochee River in north central Florida and a Withlacoochee River in central Florida, and they have nothing in common but the name.
- The state flag of Florida was approved by referendum in 1900.
Flag of Florida
- Although I was born in New Jersey, I was raised in Florida and consider the town of Deltona to be my hometown (which also happens to be the hometown of Twiggy the Water Skiing Squirrel.
Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter or you could miss out on your chance to win Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States by George R. Stewart
50 Years of 50 States: Minnesota
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The North Star State
Date Ratified: May 11, 1858 (32nd)
Capital: St. Paul
Map of Minnesota
- Southdale Center, in Edina, was the first shopping mall in the United States. Today, the largest shopping mall in the U.S. is the Mall of America, in Bloomington.
- Minnesota has the highest percentage of residents who exercise regularly.
- Minneapolis is home to the Old Log Theater, the oldest continuously running theater in the U.S. The largest dinner theater in the country, Chanhassan Dinner Theater, is also located in Minneapolis.
- The Hormel company made the first canned ham in Austin, MN in 1926. They also introduced Spam in 1937.
- The Metrodome is the only facility to host a Super Bowl, a World Series and a NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship.
- Tonka Trucks are manufactured in Minnetonka.
- The state flag of Minnesota was adopted in 1957.
Flag of Minnesota
Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter or you could miss out on your chance to win Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States by George R. Stewart
50 Years of 50 States: Massachusetts
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: Bay State
Date Ratified: February 6, 1788 (6th)
Capital: Boston
Map of Massachusetts
- Massachusetts was the first state to abolish slavery.
- The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was the first all-Black regiment, though the officers were white.
- Massachusetts was the first state to require municipalities to appoint a teacher or establish a grammar school with the passage of the Massachusetts Education Law of 1647. This mandate was later integrated into the state constitution in 1789.
- Massachusetts is home to America’s oldest high school, Boston Latin School (founded 1635), America’s first publicly funded high school, Dedham, (founded 1643), oldest college, now called Harvard University (founded 1636), oldest incorporated preparatory school, Phillips Academy (founded 1778), first racially integrated high school (Lowell), and the oldest municipally supported free library, Boston Public Library (founded 1848).
- Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897.
- Lowell was America’s first planned industrial city, and as such is considered the birthplace of the U.S. Industrial Revolution.
- In keeping with its progressive heritage, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Massachusetts was also the first state to mandate health insurance for all residents.
Flag of Massachusetts
Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter or you could miss out on your chance to win Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States by George R. Stewart
50 Years of 50 States: New Jersey
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: Garden State
Date Joined: December 18th, 1787 (3rd)
Capital: Trenton
Map of New Jersey
- In 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
- Christie Street, in Menlo Park, was the first electrically lighted thoroughfare.
- The first Miss America Pageant was held in Atlantic City in 1921.
- The first drive-in movie was shown in Camden in 1933.
- The Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal was the world’s first container port. Today, it is one of the world’s largest.
- The first officially recorded baseball game in history was played in 1846 at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the New York Knickerbockers 23-1.
- The first intercollegiate football game in history was played in New Brunswick, New Jersey on November 6, 1869, between Rutgers and Princeton. Rutgers won 6-4.
- The Atlantic City Boardwalk was the world’s first, and to this day is the world’s longest (4 mi.).
- The state flag of New Jersey has the emblem of the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey on it, and was adopted in 1896.
- Oh Yeah, and I was born in New Jersey in 1981!
Flag of New Jersey
Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter or you could miss out on your chance to win Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States by George R. Stewart
50 Years of 50 States: Alabama
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: No Official Nickname!
Date Ratified: December 14, 1819 (22nd)
Capital: Montgomery
Map of Alabama
- Alabama workers built the first rocket that sent humans to the moon, and Huntsville is known as the rocket capital of the world.
- The world’s first electric trolley went into service in Montgomery in 1886.
- Alabama is the only state with all of the natural resources to create iron and steel. As such, it is the largest producer of cast-iron and steel pipe products.
- The Alabama Department of Archives is the oldest state-funded archival agency in the nation.
- Alabama is actually the state that introduced Mardi Gras to the U.S, with the holiday Shrove Tuesday.
- In 1902 Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill performed the first open heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere by suturing a stab wound in a young boy’s heart.
- The state flag of Alabama depicts the Cross of St. Andrew and was adopted in 1895. It was not designed to commemorate the Confederate battle flag.
Flag of Alabama
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