January 9th: Connecticut Ratification Day

On January 9th 1788 Connecticut became the fifth state to ratify the US Constitution. here are some things you might not know about this US state.

1. The origin of the state's name is the word “Quinnehtukqut,” which means “land on a long tidal river” or “upon the long river.” Its nicknames include “The Nutmeg State,” “The Constitution State,” and “The Land of Steady Habits.”
2. Famous people to hail from Connecticut include Noah Webster, the author of the first dictionary; Seth McFarlane. creator of the TV show Family Guy; Charles Goodyear, who created vulcanized rubber; and former president George W. Bush.
3. The state has also been home to a number of inventors. George Smith, who invented lollipops, naming them after his favourite Horse; In 1900, Louis’ Lunch in New Haven crafted the first Hamburger when a rushed patron wanted something he could eat on the go; Ezra Warner invented the can opener in 1858; David Bushness of Connecticut drew up the original plans for the first Submarine in 1776. Then there was Mary Kies, the first woman to receive a U.S. patent, which was for a method of weaving straw with silk to make hats.
4. The state capital is Hartford, and the largest city is Bridgeport.
5. State symbols are as follows: State insect: Praying Mantis; motto: Qui Transtulit Sustinet - "He Who Transplanted Still Sustains"; state song: “Yankee Doodle”; State Bird: American Robin; State Animal: Sperm whale; State Fossil Eubrontes giganteus (Fossilized footprints of a meat-eating dinosaur); State Shellfish: Eastern Oyster; State Flower: Mountain laurel; State Tree: White oak; State Mineral: Garnet; State Folk Dance Square dance.
6. Connecticut is home to the oldest library in the US, dating back to 1771 when Richard Smith, owner of a local blast furnace, used community contributions to buy 200 books in London. Patrons could borrow and return books on the third Monday of every third month. In those days, there were more library fines for getting candle grease on the books than for returning them late. In 1810, a town meeting agreed to use public funds to buy more books, making the library the first publicly supported free town library in the United States.
7. In January 1878, New Haven, Connecticut became the first town to offer a subscription to a telephone exchange service. In February, the world's first telephone directory was published there, with a grand total of fifty names in it.
8. Lyme disease, the nasty lurgy caused by ticks, is named after a town in Connecticut. It was in Lyme, Connecticut that doctors first noticed the connection between the symptoms and tick season, back in 1975.
9. The first speed limit ever set was passed into law in Connecticut in 1901, 12 miles per hour. Even now, in parts of the state, fire engines are not allowed to go faster than 25mph, even on the way to a Fire.
10. It is illegal in parts of the state for a man to kiss his wife on Sunday, walk backwards down the street after sunset, cross the street walking on his hands, ride a bicycle more than 65mph, carry a corpse in a taxi or throw used razor blades into the bin.

I write fiction, too!

If you're doing one of those reading challenges, I could be your self-published author, your female author, or your out of your comfort zone book. There are books published in the last year, most set in the UK and one with a place name in the title.

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