10 July: Wyoming

10 July is Wyoming Admission Day. On this day in 1890, Wyoming became the 44th state of the United States.

Devils Tower, Wyoming

1. The name “Wyoming” comes from the Lenape Indian word mecheweami-ing, which means “on the big plain.” Although the state could have been called Big Horn, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Sweetwater or Yellowstone - these were all names considered for the territory in 1868.
2. The U.S. acquired the land which is now Wyoming from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. John Colter, a fur-trapper, was the first white man known to enter the region. He explored the Yellowstone area in 1807.
3. Wyoming comes last in the alphabetical list of US states. It also has the lowest population, although it is 9th largest in size. Census data tells us approximately 586,000 people live there, which is equivalent to the population of Albuquerque, New Mexico or the country of Luxembourg. Hence, although only two of America's 530 athletes at the London 2012 Olympics were from Wyoming, it was the best represented state at the games per capita.
4. Famous people from Wyoming include expressionist painter Jackson Pollock, Dick Cheney, former Vice-President of the United States, "Buffalo Bill" Cody and outlaw Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, or The Sundance Kid, who took his nickname from the town of Sundance, Wyoming, where he was jailed at the age of 15 for stealing a horse.
5. There are only two Escalators in the entire state, both located in the town of Casper.
6. Wyoming's motto is "Equal Rights" and one of the state’s nicknames is the Equality State, because it was the first state to give women the right to vote in 1869. The first woman to vote in the US general election was Louisa Ann Swain, 69, who got up early to go to the shop to buy yeast, and stopped off to vote on her way. Wyoming also had the first female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross, who was elected to complete her husband's term after he died in office. However, Wyoming wasn't always a pioneer in changing the law. It was the last state to raise the legal drinking age from 19 to 21, which it did in 1988.
7. Wyoming's license plates feature a man on a bucking bronco. The horse as a name - "Old Steamboat", after a bronc that could not be ridden.
8. State symbols are: flower: Indian Paintbrush; bird: Western Meadowlark; fish: Cutthroat Trout; tree: Plains Cottonwood; song: “Wyoming"; insect: Sheridan's green hairstreak butterfly; gem: jade; and the state animal is the bison. Not the jackalope, a fictitious animal invented by brothers Ralph and Douglas Herrick, when they stuck antlers onto a stuffed rabbit. They made up a tall tale to go with it and sold many of them. You can still get a jackalope hunting license if you believe the story and want to catch one for yourself.
9. The majority of Yellowstone Park lies within the boundaries of Wyoming. Yellowstone became the first official National Park in 1872. The state also has the first National Monument, designated in 1906 -Devils Tower, and the largest coal mine in the USA - Black Thunder, near Wright. Wyoming led the country in coal production in 1994 with 3 million tons per week.
10. How to stay on the right side of the law in Wyoming: don't take photos of rabbits from January to April unless you have a permit, don't use firearms to catch fish, stand at least five feet away from the bar when drinking, don't wear a large hat at the theatre, take a shower on a Wednesday or have sex in the walk-in meat freezer in a shop.

More details about my books. Follow this link if you like Superheroes, Psychics and/or quirky short stories. 

I've listed the themes each novel touches on here for easy reference.

Like my author page on Facebook for news on new books and blog posts.

Follow me on Twitter and Pinterest

Check out my Writing blog