Facts About US States That Make Out-Of-Towners Say 'What?!'

After the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, the state banned Mormons for 138 years.Extermination OrderGovernor Lilburn Boggs set the Extermination Order, stating Mormons must be "exterminated or driven from the state." John Lawson, who directs the Springfield Institute of Religion for the Mormon Church, said many members believed killing a Mormon was legal.Mormons believed killing a Mormon was legal under the Extermination Order.Killing a Mormon under the Extermination Order was not legal.

In 1838, the word "exterminate" meant to "force to leave an area."Exterminate primarily meant to "force to leave an area."In 1976, Missouri Governor Kit Bond apologized to Mormons for all Missourians and canceled Boggs's infamous order.

In 2007, two lawmakers—Democratic State Rep. Joe Dorman and Republican State Sen. Don Barrington—sponsored House Bill 1669, which proposed adding a new section to the Oklahoma Statutes.declared that“The watermelon is hereby designated and adopted as the official vegetable of the State of Oklahoma.”

In March 2021, the House passed the bill.The House passed the bill 78-19.78-19, and the Senate did so in a44-2 voteOklahoma Governor Brad Harry signed the bill into law in April 2021.As of May 2021, Sec. 25-98.15 of the Oklahoma Statutes adopted the wording Dorman and Barrington hoped for.Sec. 25-98.15 of the Oklahoma Statutes adopted the wording Dorman and Barrington had hoped for. Policymakers seemed okay with labeling something so clearly a fruit as a vegetable.so clearly a fruitas a vegetable.)

After Virginia seceded,a convention of delegates from western Virginia met in Wheeling in 1861 to discuss forming the "State of Kanawha," which would include 39 counties.Delegates from western Virginia met in Wheeling in 1861. They discussed forming the "State of Kanawha," which would include 39 counties. The name honored a Native American tribe and a major river sharing that name.

When the constitution for the proposed state was finalized in 1862, the name changed to West Virginia.

Point Roberts, WA, is atiny exclavePoint Roberts, WA, is a tiny exclave officially part of Whatcom County. The town has about 900 residents and sits just below the 49th parallel on the Tsawwassen Peninsula. Access requires land travel through Canada.land through Canada.

The unincorporated community is south of Vancouver and not physically connected to the continental US. Access requires a rugged vehicle, a small plane flight, or a private boat.

More than 100 million years ago,the landthat is now Murfreesboro, AR, was covered by sea. Magma ripped rock from the Earth's mantle and brought it to the surface, creating diamonds.yielded diamondsThese diamonds are still mined in Arkansas.

The locale was a commercial diamond mine in the early 1900s but closed because it became unprofitable. It is now part of Crater of Diamonds State Park.Crater of Diamonds State Park, where visitors can hike, camp, fish, and hunt for diamonds to take home for a small fee.

Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu on the Island of Oahu is the onlyroyal palaceHawaii served as the official residence and capitol for the last ruling monarchs of the Kingdom of Hawaii: King Kalakaua and his sister Queen Lili'uokalani. After the Kingdom of Hawaii fell in 1893, the building housed various Hawaiian governments.

The first and second floors are fully restored. The first floor holds reception rooms, the State Dining Room, Throne Room, and Grand Hall. The second floor has the King's and Queen's Suites, the Music Room, and the room where Queen Lili'uokalani stayed under house arrest. The Grand Hall has a large koa wood staircase and portraits of the 10 Hawaiian kings and queens.

No matter how youmeasure itAlaska has the longest coastline in the US. Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline across more than 2,600 islands, and 33,904 miles of shoreline including its islands. The estimated tidal shoreline, which includes islands, inlets, andshoreline to head of tidewateris 47,300 miles. This coastline length exceeds all other 49 states combined.

Alaska borders two different oceans. Its coastline faces the northern Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Arctic Ocean.

Thefirst American gas stationOpened in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1913. This was also the world's first drive-in gas station. It sat at Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in East Liberty. Initially, the station received little attention. After renaming to "Gulf Oil," it sold 30 gallons of fuel its first day for 27 cents per gallon. The station gave away free water, air, and road maps. Employees worked 24 hours a day.

Seven gas stations existed in Pennsylvania by 1917. By 1920, 15,000 gas stations pumped fuel nationwide. By the end of the 1920s, there were about 200,000 stations, more than the 156,000 that exist today.

The world famousOuija boardHelen Peters created the Ouija board in Baltimore, MD, in 1890. Peters, known to her family as a spiritual medium and an art devotee, coined the name. The original name was "Ouija, the Egyptian Luck Board." She named it at the southeast corner of Charles and Centre streets in a 19th-century home now condos. Peters, Elijah Bond, and Charles Kennard built the game using a board and planchette.

Talking board games were popular then. The three had been making them for a few months. In 1890, Peters' planchette picked out the letters O-U-I-J-A, starting a new game.

Dionaea muscipula, commonly known as the Venus flytrap,is native to Wilmington, NC. The plant grows naturally within 70 miles of Wilmington.70 miles of Wilmington, is a protected species in North Carolina, and the federal government considers listing it under the Endangered Species Act.

Flytraps are perennial, carnivorous plants with lifespans ofup to 20 yearsPlants get energy from photosynthesis. Insects they trap and eat hold nutrients soil lacks. The Venus flytrap uses hairs on its folded leaves to catch prey. Insect or spider touch these hairs. Leaf halves snap shut. The trap digests the victim with enzymes. Then, the leaf resets to trap again.

Alfred Guggisberg moved to the US in 1947 from Switzerland. He sought to make cheese. He settled in Holmes County, Ohio, where he made "Baby Swiss" cheese.Ohio is Baby Swiss.Baby Swiss cheese comes from Ohio's Amish Country.

Guggisberg used green pastures and Amish farms. These provided quality grazing for cows. The cows produced sweet, fresh milk. This milk gives Baby Swiss its creamy flavor. In the 1960s, he made the first Baby Swiss batch at the Doughty Valley cheese house. Cheese lovers still favor Baby Swiss.

Oklahoma holds the world's first parking meter, the Park-O-Meter No. 1.The world's first parking meter sits on the southeast corner of First Street and Robinson Avenue in Oklahoma City. Carl C. Magee installed it on July 16, 1935. Magee moved to Oklahoma from New Mexico in 1927.

Magee saw too many cars clogging streets in his new state. He solved this problem by inventing the Park-o-Meter in 1935. Magee's invention gained quick popularity. By the 1940s, there were over 140,000 parking meters in the US. Today,autoevolution reports this fact.Estimates suggest four to five million meters exist in the US.