March 4th: Vermont Admission Day

On this date in 1791 Vermont was admitted to the Union as the 14th state. Here are ten things you may not know about Vermont:

1. Vermont's name comes from the French phrase “vert mont,” meaning “Green mountain.”
2. Montpelier, Vermont is the smallest state capital in the USA with a population below 9,000. It is also the only one which doesn't have a McDonalds. What it does have is a state capitol building with a Gold dome and a statue of Ceres on top.
3. Vermont was the first state to join the Union after the first 13 states in 1791. Before that, it had been an independent country for 14 years, having declared independence in July 1777.
4. It is the home of the "sixth great lake". Lake Champlain is the sixth-largest body of water in the country after the five Great Lakes. President Bill Clinton signed a bill that officially made Lake Champlain the sixth Great Lake in 1998, but the status didn't stick - the bill was rescinded. The lake runs along almost the entire length of the border between Vermont and New York, and is big enough to have its own legendary monster. The monster is shy but friendly and goes by the name of Champ. Contested historical accounts say that a local Native American tribe, the Abenaki, warned French explorers to be wary of the monsters in the lake, although it is not clear exactly what they meant. Modern photos of Champ have largely been debunked and shown to be tree trunks.
5. Billboards have been banned in Vermont since 1968 in order to preserve Vermont’s natural beauty. The only advertising permitted is hand painted murals promoting towns and districts. Wackier laws include that it's illegal to deny the existence of God, whistle underwater (even if it were possible, it's not allowed), tie a Giraffe to a telephone pole or not have a bath on a Saturday night.
6. Rudyard Kipling invented the game of snow golf in Vermont by painting his golf balls red so that they were easier to find in the Snow. Later on, the state invented another sport - snurfing, or surfing on snow, which would evolve into snowboarding thanks to Jake Burton, a former Ski racer who set up a snowboard company in Vermont and made major developments in the sport. Vermont is one of only two states in the nation to offer snowboarding as a varsity sport with a state championship.
7. Two more entrepreneurs who set up a company in Vermont were Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Their product was Ice cream - Ben and Jerry's. They came from New York but Vermont was probably a good place for them to set up shop because the state has the highest ratio of Cows to people in the country, with one cow for every 3.8 Vermonters. They give their ice cream waste to local farmers to feed to their hogs. Mint Oreo flavour is the only one the pigs don't like.
8. Montpelier is also the largest producer of Maple syrup in the U.S.
9. State symbols include: Animal -Morgan Horse; Beverage - Milk; Bird - Hermit thrush; Amphibian - Northern leopard Frog; Flower - Red clover; Fruit - Apple; Gemstone - Grossular garnet; Fossil - White whale fossilised skeleton and Mount Holly mammoth tooth and tusk; Tree - Sugar maple; Butterfly - Monarch; Insect - Honey Bee; Reptile - Painted Turtle; and Vegetable - Gilfeather Turnip.
10. Vermont also has a maze made of Maize. It covers an area of 10 acres and the corn walls reach 10 feet high. The maze takes hours to complete, but there are emergency bail out exits should you need them.

NEW!!

Sweet Karma

My latest short story collection: murder and mayhem along with moving statues, Ancient Egyptian magic pebbles, a World War II evacuee's diary and a bathtub full of marshmallows.

Paperback Createspace or Amazon

E-Book Amazon Kindle

See details of all my books

Now you can browse other topics I've covered in this blog - HERE.