Is there something that only occurs in your state?
Asked by
reijinni (
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July 21st, 2011
For example: Only Nebraska has a unicameral legislature.
Only Hawai’i has no city governments
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59 Answers
California has the biggest differential between the lowest elevation and the highest elevation of any state except Alaska. It has the lowest elevation in the United States.
It also routinely has 40 degree temperature differentials within 30 miles. It was close to 100 today in Walnut Creek, and 60 less than 30 miles away at the beach.
In 1994 we became the only state to allow physician assisted suicide. Montana and Washington followed in 2008. w00t Oregon.
@johnpowell Wow, I didn’t know that. If I’m ever diagnosed with a terminal illness, I’m going to Oregon, Montana or Washington to have myself snuffed.
Admitted drug addicts who publicly state they can’t be trusted in a role of governance get re-elected.
In one of the smaller cities in RI, it is considered proper to say you park your car (or ‘cah’) ‘side by each’.
@incendiary_dan you might hear “side by each” in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan too. I’m not sure where it comes from.
Is there any other state that consists of two peninsulas? Or has 3,288 miles of freshwater shoreline? Michigan does.
Well, I have a house in Nevada and I grew up there, so I can claim it, right?
Nevada is the only state to allow some legal prostitution. Nevada is the only state to allow gambling in the entire state.
Prostitution is legal in 12 out of the 17 counties. Gambling is legal in all. Nevada also has a lower age of consent than all the states that border it. It’s a crazy place :P
@zenvelo It has the lowest elevation in the United States and the highest in the contiguous 48 states. Not only that, the highest and lowest elevation points are in the same county (Inyo) and are only about 80 miles from each other!
I’m a Californian too and @zenvelo just shared one of our uniqueties. Is that a word? Well, I think it should be :-)
I’d add as well, only California has the fame of the California Goldrush in 1848 that brought scads of prospectors and miners from all over the world. There’s still lots o’ gold in them thar hills and river! I live 5 minutes from Marshall Gold discovery site where it all began.
Other than that, on a personal note, also, in the Sierra Nevada Foothills dwells the the rare mountain goose, who can only be viewed in Coloma’s hot tub or when running down it’s favorite local prey, Jehovahs witnesses that infiltrate it’s exclusive territory.
I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head, so I stole some online facts I found.
The first capital of the United States was New York City. In 1789 George Washington took his oath as president on the balcony at Federal Hall.
The first railroad in America ran a distance of 11 miles between Albany and Schenectady.
Gennaro Lombardi opened the first United States pizzeria in 1895 in New York City.
The oldest cattle ranch in the US was started in 1747 at Montauk on Long Island.
@wilma It’s from certain French speaking populations. I guess it makes sense that it would be in that area, as well.
An absence of a provincial sales tax.
Florida is (well, was) the only state that can launch rockets!
Another RI political thing:
The mayor of a major city can go to jail on a bunch of charges, then get out and have a radio show.
Ohio is the only state with enough diversity of natural resources to be able to secede from the union and still supply what its citizens need (according to my fourth grade Ohio history teacher).
@YARNLADY I think recently South Carolina has been edging California on flat out goofiness.
California thinks Hollywood Stars make great politicians! Arnold, Reagan, George Murphy, Sonny Bono… at least we didn’t vote Fred Grandy in
Ontario has:
the longest street in the world! Younge Street is 1178 miles / 1896 kilometres long.
the world’s tallest tower. The CN Tower is 1815’ and 5” tall.
Tennessee is the only state I can think of that is so neatly divided into three distinct cultural zones/terrain styles.
The West is flat and Memphis is the main cultural center. Middle Tennessee is rolling and Nashville is where the action happens. East Tennessee, where I live, is very mountainous and Knoxville is the main cultural center. The three sections of TN are very distinct and represented as the three stars on our flag.
Missouri is #1 in Puppy Mills and Meth Labs. #2 in Marijuana crop, after Hawaii, but we’re working on it. It’s nice to be known for something.
South Dakota hosts the largest sanctioned soft tip dart tournament in the USA.
Missouri goes bonkers over the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Yes, several things, but unique to Delaware is Return Day, even though it’s not really necessary anymore, it’s part of our history and everyone has fun.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard You’re wrong on that one. North Carolina is divided up into three regions just like that, except it’s backwards.
I think South Carolina is still the only place where it’s legal to beat your wife on the steps of the courthouse on Sundays. With a cane, of course.
There’s only one Jersey Shore!
@KatetheGreat but are the three regions as culturally distinct as the regions of TN?
It doesn’t exist any more, not since 1921, but I really like the history of the Delaware Wedge. And it’s an interesting bit of history for you Mason-Dixon Line fans. I’m not sure if it’s true, but apparently that little square mile of disputed territory was a haven for outlaws and lawlessness because no one had definitive jurisdiction over that piece of land so the outlaws would head for The Wedge. Even if it isn’t true, I will continue to want to believe it.
Yup. Eastern North Carolina is the beachy part and it’s really relaxed and not much happens (very diverse too), the middle is more urbanized and it’s very diverse and cultural, while the west is very scenic and mountainous and that’s where you find your mountain-folk.
@KatetheGreat oh yeah? Well does your flag have THREE STARS REPRESENTING THE ThREE DISTINCT REGIONS?
Whatcha gonna do about dat?
THE DETROIT RED WINGS only happen in my state!
WOOHOO!
Me….I am quite the terror.
Alaska is the biggest state, bar none. We have Mt. McKinley, known as Denali here. Alaska has only one representative in Congress, currently Don Young, due to our small population. Alaska is home to the Iditarod Sled Dog Race and depending on what year it is, the end or beginning of the Yukon Quest. And, oh, yeah, we have Sarah Palin, even if we have been trying to give her to Arizona.
Minnesota has the northernmost town in the contiguous 48 states: Angle Inlet, Minnesota at 49.22° North latitude.
Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline, more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.
Minnesota’s waters flow outward in three directions: north to Hudson Bay in Canada, east to the Atlantic Ocean, and south to the Gulf of Mexico.
Minnesota has 11,824 lakes and is the birthplace of Spam and the Tilt-a-Whirl.
Louisiana has Parishes not Counties.
Massachusetts:
Charles Flaherty, Thomas Finneran, Salvatore DiMasi~three consecutive state Speakers of the House convicted of federal crimes
Flaherty: felony tax evasion
Finneran: obstruction of justice charge for giving false testimony in a 2003 lawsuit over a legislative redistricting
DiMasi: conspiracy, extortion and theft of honest services by fraud
Portland, Tn., around the 2nd week in July, has their Strawberry Festival with the best strawberries homegrown, on the planet.
They are sold really fast.
In Boulder, CO, you can’t develop land with prairie dogs without safely relocating them first. To relocate them a truck with a large padded vacuum tank shoves a hose in the prairie dog holes and sucks them out. Then they are dropped off somewhere else. Imagine how much that whole process surprises the prairie dogs.
The Olympic Games, twice.
We have such a high percentage of people addicted to exercise that it creates a deceptive statistic and makes it look like everyone is thinner and more healthy than the rest of the nation. This is a prime example of how statistics lie.
@cockswain Wow, Boulder will let you relocate Prairie Dogs? I’d have thought they would have instead insisted on blocking off the area indefinitely with crime scene tape so as to never disturb the wildlife. That’s rather shockingly conservative for the People’s Republic of Boulder.
New York will classify you as a rapist if you are over 21 and your willing partner is younger than 17. It is called third degree Rape 3, Code 130.25, a Class E felony so you can enjoy imprisonment and sex offender registration for life.
I’m so proud my tax dollars pay for enforcing this law.
Ugh.
I’m not looking for first, highest, lowest, last, best or worst. I’m only looking for stuff that your state is the only one that does it. Mainly like laws and events that only occur in one state.
I grew up in Utah, and still claim it as my home state. Mormons consider anyone who isn’t Mormon a gentile, and they call it “The Land of Zion”. It’s the only state in the nation where a Jew is considered a gentile! o.O
@YARNLADY
Oops, well, okay, Ca. is ONE of the big gold rush/discovery sites and…
I proudly claim my California nut status. :-)
We have Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument. both carved out of mountains.
I used to live in Wisconsin. They have The Green Bay Packers. Good luck topping that.
RI houses the smallest and most densely populated city…Central Falls (1.5 sq mi).... Don’t go there haha
@reijinni I feel like many people knew what you were asking, didn’t have anything to post, but still wanted to post something (like me) and show a little pride for their state.
I think that may be how this turned from “Is there something that only occurs in your state?”, into facts about the 50 states, told by those who live there.
Pennsylvania has a town named Intercourse. Not what you may be thinking. It is in Amish country and refers to that other definition of intercourse.
@Prosb , thanks. I do have a hard time expressing myself and do tend to trash people, but I shall go easy on this one. I’ll make another question as soon as I can think of one.
@snowberry Delaware is the only state without a national park. Can we have one of yours? It would have to be one of the smaller ones.
@lilycoyote Delaware NEEDS something to make it park worthy. I suppose I’d be willing to let one go, but I can’t decide which one. We have some remarkable state parks as well. Considering Delaware’s size, a state park or even a national monument would work. Goblin Valley State park is an option, but I’m afraid it’s just too cool to lightly hand off to Delaware. Folks there might not appreciate it…Hmmmm.
http://thundafunda.com/5/Rocks/photos-of-Land-of-Goblins-Goblin-Valley-State-Park-Utah-pictures.php
Only Bavaria features the original Oktoberfest.
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