31st October: Nevada admission day

Nevada celebrates its admission to the Union which took place on this day in 1864.

1. Nevada gets its name from a Spanish word meaning “Snow-covered” - even though it's actually the driest US state with less than 10 inches of rain a year. The state is named after the Sierra Nevada mountains, the name of which literally translates as “snow covered saw.”
2. Nevada has several nicknames. One is The Battleborn State, because it became a state during the US Civil War, the Sagebrush State and the Silver State. This last one may seem ironic at first since it is Gold that Nevada produces in abundance – more than any other US state, including California, which is known as the Golden State. The only place in the world producing more gold than Nevada is South Africa. However, silver is nevertheless important. America’s largest silver deposit, the Comstock Lode, was found in Nevada in 1859.
3. 87% of Nevada's land (which includes over 300 mountain ranges, over 300 hot springs and a lot of desert) belongs to the Federal government.
4. No list of Nevada facts would be complete without mentioning gambling, one of Nevada's big money earners since Governor Fred Balzar legalised it there in 1931. In the same year, the Pair-O-Dice Club became the first casino to open on Highway 91, which would later become the Las Vegas Strip. In 1999 Nevada had 205,726 slot machines, one for every 10 residents. Given all this, it is perhaps rather strange that Nevada is one of only seven states without a state lottery. As well as gambling, prostitution is legal in the state – provided it is conducted in regulated brothels and only in communities with populations of less than 400,000 – so in Las Vegas and Reno, it's still illegal.
5. While on the subject of what's illegal, It's illegal to drive a Camel on any highway in Nevada, sing in a public bar room in Las Vegas, walk in the streets of Elko without wearing a mask or buy drinks for more than three other people in Nyala. It is perfectly legal, however, to hang someone for shooting your Dog on your property.
6. The capital is Carson City, one of the smallest state capitals in the USA. The state symbols are as follows: State fossil: The ichthyosaur; Fish‎: ‎Lahontan cutthroat Trout; Animal‎: ‎Desert Bighorn Sheep; Tree‎: ‎bristlecone pine Motto: All for Our Country; Song: “Home Means Nevada" Flower; Sagebrush; Bird: Mountain Bluebird; Colours: Silver and Blue; Gemstone: Black Fire Opal; Grass: Indian Rye Grass (one of only 18 states to have an official grass, and Utah has the same one); Metal: Silver; Reptile: Desert tortoise; Rock: Sandstone; Semi-precious Gemstone: Turquoise.
7. Famous Nevadans include Andre Agassi, Thelma "Pat" Nixon (first lady), Charisma Carpenter, Mädchen Amick, Toni Basil, Nicolas Cage, and Mark Twain.
8. Aside from Las Vegas, which is home to the Stratosphere, the tallest, free-standing, observation tower in the US and the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, Nevada is also home to the Hoover Dam (one of the largest public construction works ever undertaken and is larger in volume than the Great Pyramid in Egypt; the hard hat for construction workers was designed for the people building the dam), Area 51, with its nearby State Route 375, officially christened "The Extraterrestrial Highway"; the most haunted town in the US (Virginia City) and the loneliest highway (Highway 50, received the name from "Life" magazine in 1986. There are few road stops in the 287 mile stretch between Ely and Fernley, so fill up with petrol before you set off). You might also want to visit the only museum in America dedicated to the life and career of Liberace.
9. Nevada got bigger after admission thanks to the government at the time wanting to punish two other states by making them smaller – Utah for Mormonism and Arizona for supporting the Confederacy. Some of their land was taken away and given to Nevada.
10. Nevada has more hotel rooms per capita than any other U.S. State. The national average is 1 room per 67 state residents; Nevada's ratio is 1 per 14 state residents.

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