Washington Facts and Trivia

1. The state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States president.
   
2. Seattle is home to the first revolving restaurant, 1961.
   
3. Washington state produces more apples than any other state in the union.
   
4. Washington state has more glaciers than the other 47 contiguous states combined.
   
5. Washington state's capitol building was the last state capitol building to be built with a rotunda.
   
6. Everett is the site of the world's largest building, Boeing's final assembly plant
   
7. Medina is the home of the United States wealthiest man, Microsoft's Bill Gates.
   
8. The Northwestern most point in the contiguous U.S. is Cape Flattery on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.
   
9. King county the largest county in Washington was originally named after William R. King, Vice President under Franklin Pierce; it was renamed in 1986, after civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
   
10. Microsoft Corporation is located in Redmond.
    
11. Before it became a state, the territory was called Columbia (named after the Columbia River). When it was granted statehood, the name was changed to Washington, supposedly so people wouldn't confuse it with The District of Columbia.
    
12. The highest point in Washington is Mount Rainier. It was named after Peter Rainier, a British soldier who fought against the Americans in the Revolutionary War.
    
13. The Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge at Evergreen Point is the longest floating bridge in the world. The bridge connects Seattle and Medina across Lake Washington.
    
14. Washington is the birthplace of both Jimi Hendrix (Seattle) and Bing Crosby (Tacoma).
    
15. The oldest operating gas station in the United States is in Zillah.
    
16. Washington's state insect is the Green Darner Dragonfly.
    
17. The world's first soft-serve ice cream machine was located in an Olympia Dairy Queen.
    
18. Starbucks, the biggest coffee chain in the world was founded in Seattle.
    
19. Spokane was the smallest city in size to host a World's Fair. - 1974
    
20. The state capital is Olympia, and the largest city is Seattle.
    
21. As of the 2000 census, the state population was approximately 5.9 million and the state work force numbered about 3.1 million.
    
22. Residents are called "Washingtonians" (emphasis on the third syllable, pronounced as tone).
    
23. Washington is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west; Oregon to the south (the Columbia River forming most of this border); Idaho to the east and British Columbia, Canada to the north.
    
24. Puget Sound's many islands are served by the largest ferry fleet in the United States.
    
25. The forests of the Olympic Peninsula are among the rainiest places in the world and the only rainforests (such as the Hoh Rain Forest) in the continental United States
    
26. The first European record of a landing on the Washington coast was by Spanish Captain Don Bruno de Heceta in 1775, on board the Santiago, part of a two-ship flotilla with the Sonora.
    
27. The Lewis and Clark expedition entered the state on October 10, 1805.
    
28. The first settlement in Washington was New Market (now known as Tumwater) in 1846.
    
29. In 1853, Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory.
    
30. Washington became the 42nd state in the United States on November 11, 1889.
    
31. Early prominent industries in the state included agriculture, lumber, shipping, fishing, salmon canning and mining.
    
32. By the turn of the 20th century, Aberdeen had the distinction of being "the roughest town west of the Mississippi" because of excessive gambling, violence, extreme drug use and prostitution (the city remained off-limits to military personnel into the early 1980s).
    
33. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during World War I and World War II, and the Boeing company became an established icon in the area.
    
34. During the Great Depression, a series of hydroelectric dams were constructed along the Columbia river as part of a project to increase the production of electricity. This culminated in 1941 with the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest dam in the United States.
    
35. During World War II, Seattle was the point of departure for many soldiers in the Pacific, a number of which were quartered at Golden Gardens Park.
    
36. In eastern Washington the Hanford Works atomic energy plant was opened in 1943 and played a major role in the construction of the nation's atomic bombs.
    
37. In 1980, the northeast face of Mount St. Helens exploded outward, destroying a large part of the top of the volcano.
    
38. As of 2004, Washington's population included 631,500 foreign-born (10.3% of the state population), and an estimated 100,000 illegal aliens (1.6% of state population).
    
39. The six largest reported ancestries in Washington are: German (18.7%), English (12%), Irish (11.4%), Norwegian (6.2%), Mexican (5.6%) and Filipino (3.7%).
    
40. Washington is home to many innovative Internet companies, including Amazon.com, Classmates.com, Whitepages.com, and Marchex.
    
41. The percentage of non-religious people in Washington is the highest of any state, and church membership is among the lowest of all states.
    
42. The state of Washington is one of only seven states that does not levy a personal income tax.
    
43. Property tax was the first tax levied in the state of Washington and its collection accounts for about 30 percent of Washington's total state and local revenue.
    
44. In 2004 Washington ranked first in the nation in production of red raspberries (90.0% of total U.S. production), hops (75.0%), apples (58.1%), sweet cherries (47.3%), pears (42.6%), Concord grapes (39.3%), and Niagara grapes (31.6%).
    
45. There are 140 public airfields in Washington, including 16 state airports.
    
46. Washington is home to four of the five longest floating bridges in the world: the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and Homer M. Hadley Bridge over Lake Washington, and the Hood Canal Bridge connecting the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas.
    
47. Three ships of the United States Navy, including two battleships, have been named USS Washington in honor of the state.
    
48. United Airlines was originally owned by the Boeing Airplane Company.
    
49. Popular games Pictionary, Pickle-ball, and Cranium were all invented in Washington.
    
50. The town of Artic was to be named 'Arta' after the wife of the town founder. The application was misread and resulted in the unusual spelling of the word Artic.
    

California Facts and Trivia

California's Mount Whitney measures as the highest peak in the lower 48 states. Its most famous climb is Mount Whitney Trail to the 14,495 feet summit. Wilderness permits are required.
In 1925 a giant sequoia located in California's Kings Canyon National Park was named the nation's national Christmas tree. The tree is over 300 feet in height.
More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States.
Pacific Park, on the venerable Santa Monica Pier, re-creates the amusement parks once dotting the ocean areas along the Pacific Coast. Featured are 11 amusement rides including the 1910-vintage hand-carved merry-go-round appearing in the movie "The Sting."
Alpine County is the eighth smallest of California's 58 counties. It has no high school, ATMs, dentists, banks, or traffic lights.
Fallbrook is known as the Avocado Capital of the World and hosts an annual Avocado Festival. More avocados are grown in the region than any other county in the nation.
In the late 1850s, Kennedy Mine, located in Jackson, served as one of the richest gold mines in the world and the deepest mine in North America.
An animal called the riparian brush rabbit calls Caswell Memorial State Park (near Manteca) its home. Endemic only to the state's park system, the critter lives in approximately 255 acres stretching along the area's once-vast hardwood forest.
In Pacific Grove there is a law on the books establishing a $500 fine for molesting butterflies.
The largest three-day rodeo in the United States is held on the Tehama County Fairgrounds in Red Bluff.
Demonstrations on making toothpaste from orange by-products were popular attractions at the Los Angeles County fair in 1922. The fair is held in Pomona.
Located in Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum is the largest museum of its kind in North America.
Several celebrities are buried at Hillside Cemetery in Culver City. Included gravesites are those of Al Jolson, George Jessel, Eddie Canter, Jack Benny, and Percy Faith.
California Caverns claims the distinction of being the most extensive system of caverns and passageways in the Mother Lode region of the state.
Totaling nearly three million acres, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the country.
On Catalina Island in 1926, American author Zane Grey built a pueblo-style home on the hillside overlooking Avalon Bay. He spent much of his later life in Avalon. The home is now a hotel.
Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge contains the largest winter population of bald eagles in the continental United States.
Author Richard Dana (1851-1882) wrote the novel "Two Years Before the Mast." He inspired the name for the beach community of Dana Point.
In Atwater the Castle Air Museum has the largest display of military aircraft in the state.
The Country Store in Baker has sold more winning California State Lottery tickets than any outlet in the state.
Reputed to be the most corrupt politician in Fresno County history, Vice-leader Joseph Spinney was mayor for only ten minutes.
The Iron Door Saloon in Groveland claims to be the oldest drinking establishment in the state. It was constructed in 1852.
The Hollywood Bowl is the world's largest outdoor amphitheater.
The first person to personally receive a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood was actress Joanne Woodward. She received it in 1960.
Death Valley is recognized as the hottest, driest place in the United States. It isn't uncommon for the summer temperatures to reach more than 115 degrees.
The first motion picture theater opened in Los Angeles on April 2, 1902.
Inyo National Forest is home to the bristle cone pine, the oldest living species. Some of the gnarled trees are thought to be over 4,600 years old.
San Francisco Bay is considered the world's largest landlocked harbor.
Sequoia National Park contains the largest living tree. Its trunk is 102 feet in circumference.
Yorba Linda is home to the Richard Nixon Library.
The Coachella Valley is nicknamed The Date Capital of the world and The Playground of Presidents.
One out of every eight United States residents lives in California.
California is the first state to ever reach a trillion dollar economy in gross state product.
California has the largest economy in the states of the union.
If California's economic size were measured by itself to other countries, it would rank the 7th largest economy in the world.
Los Angeles is ranked the fourth largest economy in the United States compared to other states.
Simi Valley is the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
It is estimated there are approximately 500,000 detectable seismic tremors in California annually.
During his engagement at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Otis Redding stayed on a houseboat in Sausalito. While there he wrote his last song and greatest hit: "The Dock of the Bay."
The state motto is Eureka!, a Greek word translated "I have found it!" The motto was adopted in 1849 and alludes to the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada.
California is known variously as The Land of Milk and Honey, The El Dorado State, The Golden State, and The Grape State.
There are more than 300,000 tons of grapes grown in California annually.
California produces more than 17 million gallons of wine each year.
The redwood is the official state tree. Some of the giant redwoods in Sequoia National Park are more than 2,000 years old.
The California poppy is the official state flower. The California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus) is the official state animal.
California holds two of the top ten most populous cities: Los Angeles and San Diego.
Fresno proclaims itself the Raisin Capital of the World.
The highest and lowest points in the continental United States are within 100 miles of one another. Mount Whitney measures 14,495 feet and Bad Water in Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level.
Castroville is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World. In 1947 a young woman named Norma Jean was crowned Castroville's first Artichoke Queen. She went on to become actress Marilyn Monroe.
California's Proposition 215 (1996) was the first statewide medical marijuana initiative to pass in the USA - keeping attorneys busy for years