- You probably learned most basic facts about your home state in school, but there are also many more peculiar facts that you don’t know.
- For example, there are more barrels of bourbon in Kentucky than people.
- New York was the first state in the US to require cars to use license plates.
You probably know the official bird or motto of your home state. But there are many more (often strange) facts about each of the 50 states that may surprise you.
From Kentucky having more barrels of bourbon than humans to Alabama being home to a store that sells your lost luggage to strangers, keep reading for one weird thing you probably didn’t know about every state.
ALABAMA: There’s a store in Alabama that sells unclaimed baggage.
You can learn more about it here.
ALASKA: Alaska has more coastline than any other state.
Source: Infoplease
ARIZONA: The bolo tie is the official state neckwear of Arizona.
Source: NPR
ARKANSAS: The most valuable diamond ever discovered in the US was found in Arkansas.
Source: Mining.com, CNN
CALIFORNIA: California is the only state that has hosted both the summer and winter Olympics.
Source: Olympic Games
COLORADO: There has never been a US president or vice president born in Colorado.
Source: The Washington Post
CONNECTICUT: The first phone book in the US was printed in New Haven in 1878.
Source: The Smithsonian
DELAWARE: Chickens outnumber people 200-to-1 in Delaware.
Source: NewsWorks
FLORIDA: It is illegal to spread a loved one's ashes at Disney World (although many people try).
Source: ABC News
GEORGIA: There were four other state capitals before Atlanta.
Savannah, Augusta, Louisville, and Milledgeville are the state's previous capitals.
Source: Georgia Encyclopedia
HAWAII: Hawaii has the highest life expectancy out of any state, with 81.3 years of age.
Source: SeniorLiving.org
IDAHO: At 7,993 feet deep, the Snake River in Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
ILLINOIS: The state is home to the world's largest bottle of "catsup."
Source: Time
INDIANA: Wabash, Indiana, was the first US city to use electric street lights.
Source: Indiana Public Media
IOWA: Pigs outnumber the human population in Iowa about 7-to-1.
Source: NPR
KANSAS: Helium was discovered in Kansas.
Source: American Chemical Society
KENTUCKY: There are more barrels of bourbon than people in Kentucky.
There are approximately 6.7 million barrels of bourbon in the state compared to a population of around 4.4 million people.
Source: Cincinnati
LOUISIANA: Milk is the official state drink of Louisiana.
Source: Louisiana House of Representatives
MAINE: Portland, Oregon, is actually named after Portland, Maine.
Source: Boston Magazine
MARYLAND: The first Ouija board was invented in Maryland.
Source: The Baltimore Sun
MASSACHUSETTS: Both volleyball and basketball were invented in the state.
Source: Springfield College, Boston Magazine
MICHIGAN: No matter where you are in the state, you'll never be more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes.
Source: The Smithsonian
MINNESOTA: Minnesota has more golfers per capita than any other state.
Source: Golf.com
MISSISSIPPI: Barq's Root Beer was invented in Biloxi.
Source: Barq's
MISSOURI: The first successful parachute jump from a moving plane (what we now call skydiving) was completed in Missouri.
Source: St. Louis Magazine
MONTANA: The coldest recorded temperature in the lower 48 states occurred in Montana. It was a freezing -70°F at Rogers Pass.
Source: Utah State University
NEBRASKA: Kool-Aid is the official state soft drink of Nebraska.
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society
NEVADA: Nearly half of all the wild horses in the US are in Nevada.
Source: The Smithsonian
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The state fruit of New Hampshire is the pumpkin.
Source: New Hampshire Government
NEW JERSEY: During the Revolutionary War, more battles were fought in New Jersey than in any other colony.
Source: The State of New Jersey
NEW MEXICO: The city of Santa Fe is 7,000 feet above sea level, making it the state capital with the highest elevation in the country.
Source: Santa Fe Tourism
NEW YORK: New York was the first state to require license plates on cars.
Source: Time
NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina produces the most sweet potatoes out of all the 50 states.
Source: North Carolina Sweet Potatoes
NORTH DAKOTA: Rugby, North Dakota, is home to the geographical center of North America.
Source: City of Rugby
OHIO: Ohio has the only state flag in the US that isn't rectangular.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
OKLAHOMA: There are more man-made lakes in Oklahoma than in any other state.
Source: NPR
OREGON: Portland, Oregon, is home to more breweries than any other city in the world.
Source: Forbes
PENNSYLVANIA: The first gas station in the US opened in 1913 in Pittsburgh.
Source: The Post Gazette
RHODE ISLAND: The first polo match held in the US was played in Rhode Island in 1886.
Source: Newport Polo
SOUTH CAROLINA: Georgia may be well known for its peaches, but more peaches are actually produced in South Carolina.
Source: Post and Courier
SOUTH DAKOTA: Up until its closure in 2002, the Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, was the largest and deepest gold mine in all of North America.
Source: Science Magazine
TENNESSEE: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited National Park in the US.
Source: National Geographic
TEXAS: Dr Pepper was invented in Texas in 1885.
Source: Dr Pepper Museum
UTAH: Utah is the only state in the US where every county includes a part of a national forest.
Source: State of Utah
VERMONT: Vermont produces an average of 1.2 million gallons of maple syrup every year.
Source: New York Post
VIRGINIA: The first college fraternity was founded in the College of William & Mary in 1776.
Source: The College of William & Mary, New World Encyclopedia
WASHINGTON: Washington produces six out of every 10 apples consumed in the US.
Source: Washington Apple Commission
WEST VIRGINIA: West Virginia's name was almost "Kanawha."
Source: West Virginia Archives and History
WISCONSIN: The QWERTY keyboard was invented in Wisconsin.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
WYOMING: Wyoming was the first state in the country to have a female governor.
Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected in 1925 after her husband died before finishing his term as governor.
Source: The University of Wyoming