16 November: Oklahoma Admission day

Today is Oklahoma admission day - so here are ten facts about Oklahoma.

1. The name "Oklahoma" comes from the Choctaw language and it means "Red people."
2. The capital, Oklahoma City, is equidistant from New York and Los Angeles. It's also one of only two US state capitals to include the name of the state. The other is Indianapolis.
3. Cimarron County is unique because it is the only county in the US to border four other states - Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas.
4. Per square mile, Oklahoma has more Tornadoes than any other place in the world. The highest wind speed ever recorded on Earth was during a tornado in Oklahoma in May 1999. Not surprising then, that Oklahoma was the first state to issue a tornado warning, in 1948.
5. Oklahoma has produced more astronauts than any other state. It is also the home state of Jennifer Jones, Brad Pitt, Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks.
6. Oklahoma has the largest Native American population of any state in the U.S., and more man made lakes than any other state.
7. State symbols are as follows: Animal: American Bison; Bird: Scissor-tailed flycatcher; Fish: White or sand bass; Flower: Mistletoe; Insect: Honey Bee; Reptile: Mountain boomer (collared lizard); Tree: Redbud; Musical Instrument: Fiddle.
8. Oklahoma's inventions include the shopping cart, invented in Ardmore in 1936 by Sylvan Goldman; and the aerosol can. It was the first state to install a parking meter, and a "Yield" sign.
9. Boise City, OK, was the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II - and that was by mistake when a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base, Texas, dropped six practice bombs on the town, mistaking the city lights for target lights.
10. It is illegal to tie a Horse in front of Yukon City Hall, but there is a law in Oklahoma that requires cars to be tethered outside public buildings. In parts of the state, it is illegal to: wash your clothes in a bird bath; open a soft drink can unless supervised by a trained engineer; take a bite out of someone else’s Hamburger; wear boots in bed; carry a goldfish in a bowl on a bus (it's also illegal to get a fish drunk); own more than two adult Cats; tip the coffin over at a funeral; own a stink bomb or cause "annoying vibrations". Whaling is illegal, not to mention difficult, since Oklahoma is landlocked.