Collage of Ohio map and digital art, of pictures from Ohio, created using Photos via goodfreephotos.com, All free photos on this site are public domain.
This post is part of the #StateChallenge Meetups from Team USA, run by @Denise_Barlock and @jayasimha78 Ohio #StateChallenge is co-hosted by @Erna_LaBeau
Please check out Erna’s comprehensive post on Ohio here
She has really raised the bar on amount information for this state challenge.
I have visited Ohio state only once so far, that too on a business trip, almost 10 years back. I flew to Cleveland from San Francisco and drove to Mansfield, Ohio to meet one of our dealers. So I didn’t have much time to explore Ohio. Only thing I remember other than business is visit to Lake Erie in Cleveland on my way back to the Airport.
After Erna’s post I had to do a deeper research to find facts about Ohio to find information not covered by her. Which was a challenge by itself:). So kudos to Erna!
Quick Facts
Nick Names: The Buckeye State, Birthplace of Aviation, The Heart of It All
Capital: Columbus
Population: 11.5 million
Key Cities: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, Akron
Postal Abbreviation: OH
Major Industries: Automotive, steel, agriculture, small appliances, aerospace
Where is Ohio State on US Map?
Geography
Size: 44,825 sq. miles
Lowest point: Ohio River at 455 ft.
Highest point: Campbell Hill at 1,549 ft.
Counties: 88
Famous locations: Cedar Point, Hocking Hills State Park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Amish Country, National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Ohio Fun Facts
As stated in coolkidfacts.com, here are some fun facts about the state:
- “Harry M. Stevens from Ohio gave America the first hotdog in 1900”
- “Ohio also had the first stoplight (Cleveland, 1914) and first ambulance”
- “Akron, Ohio was the first city to use police cars.”
- “Ohio has the record for the world’s largest basket. It’s the Longaberger Company headquarters in in Newark, New Jersey and is seven stories high and 180,000 square feet.”
- “50% of the U.S. population lives within a 500 mile radius of Columbus, Ohio.” Well this one I need to do a fact check, what about folks living in California and Texas :). However very interesting statistics, which I was not aware of.
- “Ohio legend has it that a serpent-type monster nicknamed Bessie lives in Lake Erie. She’s also called the Erie Lake Monster and has supposedly been sighted a lot over the last 100 years. The New York Times even wrote a story on Bessie in 1931!”
- “Seven U.S. presidents were born in Ohio: James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft, and Warren G. Harding.”
- “The first airplane was invented by Orville and Wilbur Wright, commonly known as the Wright Brothers. The Wright Brothers were born in Dayton, Ohio.”
As per www.movoto.com/guide/oh/ohio-facts here are some more interesting facts about Ohio
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“It is illegal to fish for whales on a Sunday in Ohio… not that there’s any place to do that. Well, at least you can fish for them every other day of the week.”
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“Ohio has the largest Amish population of any state in the nation”
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“The first full-time automobile service station opened in 1899 in Ohio”
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“Oberlin College, founded in 1833, was the first interracial and coeducational college in the United States”
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“There is an alley dedicated to drummer Dave Grohl in his hometown of Warren, Ohio”
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“The largest drum sticks in the world are in David Grohl Alley, each measuring 23 feet long and weighing a half-ton”
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“The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton”
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“Women are prohibited from wearing patent leather shoes in public in Ohio. The reasoning? So that men can’t see reflections of the women’s underwear in their shoes”
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“Life Savers candy was invented by Clarence Crane of Garrettsville, Ohio in 1912. They were touted as a “summer candy” since they didn’t melt like chocolate”
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“It is illegal for more than five women to live in one house in Ohio”
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“The world’s largest horseshoe crab is more than 55 feet long, and lives in Blanchester”
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“Ohio’s state flag is not a rectangle like other flags—it’s a pennant design, and it’s the only state flag in the United States with that design”
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“By state law, no one may be arrested on a Sunday or on the Fourth of July in Ohio, which is totally awesome and definitely not enforced”
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“Roy J. Plunkett of New Carlisle, Ohio invented Teflon in 1938”
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“The Great Serpent Mound, the largest serpent effigy in the world at a half mile long, is on a plateau overlooking Brush Creek Valley in Adams County”
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“The largest, most comprehensive collection of historical contraceptives in the world is at the Dittrick Museum of Medical History in Cleveland”
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“The very first mechanical cash register was invented in Dayton”
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“The first concrete street in America, which is still in use today, was poured in 1891 near the Logan County Courthouse in Bellefontaine”
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“If a restaurant wants to serve horse meat in Ohio, they must display a sign that says, “Horse Meat Served Here.” Thank goodness for that”
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“There is a double Futuro House, aka UFO House, in Carlisle”
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“The first capital city of Ohio wasn’t Columbus—it was Chillicothe, which is now part of the Greater Columbus Metropolitan Area”
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“There is a permanent ‘Things Swallowed’ display at the Allen County Museum in Lima that featured things that have been swallowed and retrieved by doctors, including buttons, thumbtacks, bones, coins, dentures and other things swallowed”
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“In 1879, Cleveland became the first city to be lighted by electricity”
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“Akron is the rubber capital of the world”
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“It is unlawful to leave chewing gum in public places in Cleveland”
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““Hang On Sloopy” is the official state rock song”
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“You can take tours of a house made entirely of trash, affectionately referred to as ‘House of Trash’ in Philo”
Collage of Ohio map and digital art, of pictures from Ohio, created using Photos via goodfreephotos.com, All free photos on this site are public domain.
References:
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