Happy Friday! Happy Independence Day! I hope you get to enjoy the weekend and have the opportunity to reflect what this day stands for. There is something to see and learn from sea to shining sea, so here is just a sampling of some interesting things about the good ‘ole US of A to kick off your Friday.
Enjoy!
The oldest capital city in the U.S. is Santa Fe, New Mexico, founded in 1610.
The tallest point in Florida is only 345 feet – wonder if they have a ski lodge at the site?
More breakfast cereal is made in Battle Creek, Michigan than in any other city worldwide – the place really is G-R-R-R-R-E-A-T!
Montana has three times as many cows as it does people – kind of makes me want to mooooove there.
Calvin Coolidge had 2 pet raccoons – Rebecca and Reuben.
The first two navel orange trees in the U.S. were from Brazil and planted in Riverside, California, about 1875. Virtually all navel oranges grown in the U.S. are offspring from these trees. One of the original trees was replanted by Teddy Roosevelt in in 1903 – now, orange you glad you know that?
In 1919, Boston had a molasses disaster. 2 million gallons of crude molasses burst from a tank and pushed its way through the neighborhood and city. It killed at least 21 people and took weeks to clean up – talk about a sticky situation.
The “largest” city in the United States is Juneau, Alaska. It covers about 3,000 square miles. That’s larger than the state of Delaware. In case you are wondering, Jacksonville, Florida is the largest in the lower 48 at just over 800 square miles – I wonder if you can get pizza delivered anywhere within the city limits?
Venus Fly Traps only live in the wild in the Carolina’s and nowhere else in the world.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are 140 towns and cities in the U.S. that have the word “Christmas” in their names.
Iced tea was first served at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. A British businessman wanted to increase tea sales in America – No, his last name was not Lipton.
The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee, is the world’s only reproduction of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.
Although Ohio is listed as the 17th state in the U.S., it is technically 47th because Congress forgot to vote on a resolution to admit it to the Union until 1953.
Roger Sherman, was the only shoemaker to sign the Declaration of Independence.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826. This was 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Thought for the Week
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. ~Thomas Paine
Leonard's Lines 
First: Thanks.
Second: I didn’t know that about Roger Sherman – thanks. It also reminded me of one of my favorite names on the Declaration: Button Gwinnett of Georgia. He died of wounds suffered in a duel, one of three signers to die in duels.
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