50 States

Share

The 50 States. Their facts, statistics, historical information, newspapers, and home pages.


AL
#Alabama - The only state whose official drink is an alcoholic beverage (Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey



AK - Alaska - The state is known for fishing, mining, and oil, but its latest industry is peonies



AZ - Arizona - The state that produces enough cotton each year to make two T-shirts for every American



AR - Arkansas - Famous for its diamond trade, Arkansas is the only state where tourists can search for diamonds in their original volcanic source



CA - California - If it were a country, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world, beating out Italy, Russia, and India



CO - Colorado - Although Congress intended the state to be a perfect rectangle, its surveyors wandered a bit off course



CT - Connecticut - The first phone book was published in New Haven in February 1878, containing just 50 names



DE - Delaware - The state with the most generous laws regarding company ownership has been the model for Cayman Islands and other offshore tax havens



FL - Florida - The remains of an 8,000-year-old human civilization were found buried in a peat bog here



GA - Georgia - The picturesque community of Serenbe requires each of its 200-plus homes to include a porch



HI - Hawaii - The only state covered entirely by its own time zone



ID - Idaho - Boise celebrates the New Year by dropping a 16-foot-tall steel-and-foam potato in the state capital



IL - Illinois - In 1887, engzneers began to reverse the flow of the Chicago River to stop pollution from contaminating the city’s water supply



IN - Indiana - Wabash became the first city in the world to be lit by electricity



IA - Iowa - The world’s largest painted ball resides in Alexandria



KS - Kansas - It’s the state that was proved to be—quite literally—flatter than a pancake



KY - Kentucky - Underground vaults at Fort Knox hold one of the largest stockpiles of gold in the country



LA - Louisiana - In 1988 registered as an earthquake on a local seismograph



ME - Maine - Maine is the loneliest number: the single state whose name is just one syllable



MD - Maryland - It’s the wealthiest state in the country



MA - Massachusetts - Sixteen of the top 25 windiest U.S. cities are located here



MI - Michigan - The Great Lake State offers the highest recycling refund in the country—10 cents per bottle or can



MN - Minnesota - This Land of 10,000 Lakes technically has more than 11,000



MS - Mississippi - Dashing hatmaker John B. Stetson made his western creation at Dunn’s Falls after the Civil War



MO - Missouri - Thanks to St. Louis and snacks popularized at the 1904 World’s Fair



MT - Montana - The temperature in Loma once climbed from -54 degrees F to 49 degrees within 24 hours



NE - Nebraska - About 80 percent of the world’s sandhill crane population alights on Nebraska’s Platte River



NV - Nevada - From 1951 to 1992, a swath of land about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas was used for hundreds of nuclear weapons tests.



NH - New Hampshire - This state’s license plates—bearing the slogan “Live Free or Die”—are made by prison inmates



NJ - New Jersey - When it comes to the Garden State, remember two things: horses and divorces



NM - New Mexico - According to New Mexico state law, “idiots” are not allowed to vote



NY - New York - Twice a year, the setting sun aligns perfectly with the Manhattan street grid



NC - North Carolina - The Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, is the largest privately-owned home in the country



ND - North Dakota - In 2007, North Dakota has the Guinness World Record for Most People Making Snow Angels Simultaneously



OH - Ohio - Half of the presidents who died in office were from Ohio



OK - Oklahoma - It appears to serve up the only official state meal



OR - Oregon - It boasts the nation’s fastest talkers



PA - Pennsylvania - This state’s name is spelled Pensylvania on the Liberty Bell



RI - Rhode Island - The smallest state in the country shares a state water border with New York



SC - South Carolina - The Angel Oak Tree, located near Charleston, is estimated to be one of the oldest living things in the country



SD - South Dakota - It's the least sleep-deprived state in the country. Do you know what the 51st and 52nd states could be?



TN - Tennessee -On a clear day, seven states are visible from Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga



TX - Texas - The phrase “Don’t mess with Texas” originated in 1985 as the slogan for a campaign meant to combat littering



UT - Utah - The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry holds the highest concentration of Jurassic-era remains ever found



VT - Vermont - Don’t visit the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line unless you’re prepped for travel



VA - Virginia - Virginia ranks number one in patriotism among the 50 states



WA - Washington - The world’s largest building by volume—Boeing’s final assembly factory in Everett—spans 98.3 acres and 472 million cubic feet



WV - West Virginia - In 1776, a group of residents asked the Continental Congress to create a 14th colony called Westylvania



WI - Wisconsin - The state dance is the polka



WY - Wyoming - There are only two sets of escalators in the entire state