50 Facts That Prove Every State Is Weird In Its Own Way

Travel | Did You Know

50 Facts That Prove Every State Is Wonderfully Weird In Its Own Way

Think you know everything there is to know about your state? Think again.

School taught us the basics about our home states, like the historical landmarks and the well-known facts, but we were never really given the weird tidbits and obscure facts that make our home states even more interesting.

Here are facts about each of the U.S. states, from Alabama to Wyoming, you probably never knew about:

1. Alabama

There's a store in Scottsboro where you can purchase unclaimed baggage. It's called The Unclaimed Baggage Center and it's the only store of its kind in the U.S.

2. Alaska

Alaska has some really strange laws that are largely unknown. It is apparently illegal to view a Moose from a plane, push a live moose out of a moving plane or whisper in someone's ear while hunting a Moose.

3. Arizona

USPS uses mules to deliver mail to a small group of residents living in Supai and Phantom Town.

4. Arkansas

Little Rock is home to the one and only annual World Cheese Dip Championship.

5. California

In Carmel, California you can't wear heels over two inches without a permit.

6. Colorado

Frozen Dead Guy Days is a quirky annual festival which takes place in the mountain town of Nederland that celebrates a frozen dead guy. It's a tradition to pay homage to Bredo Morstol, whose body has been frozen since death and stored in a Tuff Shed.

7. Connecticut

The well-known nursery rhyme Yankee Doodle is Connecticut's official state song.  

8. Delaware

It's illegal to fly over a body of water in Delaware if the aircraft doesn't have enough food and drink for the passengers on board.

9. Florida

Single, divorced and widowed women are legally barred from parachuting on Sundays in Florida.

10. Georgia

There's a tree in Athens, Georgia, that owns itself. The property's original owner gave the deed to the tree when he died. The original tree from the 19th century blew down but it was replaced with a new one using acorns from the original.

11. Hawaii

It's bad luck to give a pregnant woman a lei in Hawaii because it suggests putting an umbilical cord around a baby's neck.

12. Idaho

There's an area in Yellowstone Park where you legally cannot be convicted for a crime. There's a loophole in the law that led to this bizarre ruling.

13. Illinois

The Chicago river is one of the few water bodies in the world that flows backwards.

14. Indiana

There's a town in Indiana named Santa Claus where staff at the Santa Claus Museum reply to children who send in letters for Santa.

15. Iowa

Every year since 1900, a National Hobo Convention takes place in Britt, Iowa. Judges get to nominate a King and Queen during the event.

16. Kansas

In Topeka it is illegal to sing the alphabet on the streets at night.

17. Kentucky

There are more barrels of bourbon than people in Kentucky.

18. Louisiana

The state's maximum security prison, Angola Penitentiary, houses a public golf course. It's called Prison View Golf Course and the prisoners are responsible for its maintenance.

19. Maine

Residents can get fined for leaving their Christmas decorations up after January 14.

20. Maryland

The first ouija board was invented in a Baltimore apartment by Elijah Bond and medium Helen Peters. The apartment is now a 7-Eleven.

21. Massachusetts

Goatees are illegal in Massachusetts and one must obtain a permit to grow one.

22. Michigan

In Michigan, you can get a unicorn hunting license from Lake Superior State University.

23. Minnesota

The Mall of America in Bloomington is so big it can fit 78 football fields within it.

24. Mississippi

The city of Vicksburg is the first place ever to sell shoes in pairs. This took place in 1884 at Phil Gilbert's Shoe Parlor.

25. Missouri

Blue Springs holds the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day parade during which participants just walk across to the other side of the street.

26. Montana

Columbia Falls in Montana is home to the Montana Vortex and House of Mystery which is described as "a genuine quantum or gravitational anomaly that may re-define the laws of physics and nature." If you walk around the shack, people near you will appear like they've changed in size.

27. Nebraska

In 1910, the city of Waterloo, Nebraska passed a law that prohibits barbers from consuming onions between the hours of 7am and noon to protect customers from onion breath.

28. Nevada

You can find an Area-51 themed brothel called Alien Cathouse just a few miles from Las Vegas.

29. New Hampshire

There is no sales tax in the entire state of New Hampshire.

30. New Jersey

In 1977, a urologist named John K. Lattimer bought what is believed to be Napoleon's penis from an auction. He kept the organ in his Englewood home until his death in 2007.

31. New Mexico

Albuquerque is the home to the largest balloon convention in the world. The 9-day Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is held annually in October.

32. New York

The iconic Empire State Building has its own zip code.

33. North Carolina

In 1961, two nuclear bombs were accidentally dropped in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The bombs nearly exploded but the failure of two wires prevented the disaster from taking place.

34. North Dakota

It's illegal to go dancing in the city of Fargo while wearing a hat.

35. Ohio

Although unenforced, there's a law that states that no one can be arrested on a Sunday or on the 4th of July in Ohio.

36. Oklahoma

The shopping cart was invented in 1937 by the owner of Piggy Wiggly in Oklahoma.

37. Oregon

The smallest park in the world, Mill Ends Park, is located in the median of SW Natio Parkway in Portland.

38. Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is home to the nation's oldest gas station, first department store and oldest golf course.

39. Rhode Island

It is a crime to throw pickle juice on a trolley in Rhode Island.

40. South Carolina

Morgan Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina is filled with a colony of over 4,000 monkeys.

41. South Dakota

The city of Clark is home to an annual mashed potato wrestling contest.

42. Tennessee

There's a salt and pepper shaker museum in the city of Gatlinburg. There are over 20,000 different types of shaker on display.

43. Texas

Texans eat about 109 million pounds of catfish per year.

44. Utah

The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry has over 30 complete dinosaur skeletons and some eggs that are still intact.

45. Vermont

Since 1968, billboards are illegal in Vermont and road signs are strictly regulated by the state.

46. Virginia

Between 50 to 70% of the country's internet is hosted in data centers located in Northern Virginia.

47. Washington

In 1909, a baby named Ernest was allegedly raffled off at the Seattle World's Fair.

48. West Virginia

For 30 years, between 1958 and 1992, The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs was home to a top-secret bunker for Congress to use in case of a nuclear war.

49. Wisconsin

There's an upside down replica of the White House called Top Secret.

50. Wyoming

There are only two escalators in the entire state of Wyoming.

Did you discover something surprising about your state?

Blair isn't a bestselling author, but she has a knack for beautiful prose. When she isn't writing for Shared, she enjoys listening to podcasts.