11 November: Washington Admission Day

11 November is Washington Admission Day. The Evergreen State became the 42nd state of the USA on this date in in 1889. 10 things you might not know about the US state of Washington.

1. Washington is the only state to be named after a president. When the territory became a state, the name was changed from Columbia (after the Columbia River), so people wouldn't confuse it with the District of Columbia in Canada. Washington's largest city, Seattle, was named after a native American chief. The capital is Olympia.
2. The state's geographical properties include the only rainforests in the continental United States, the most northwesterly point continental United States (Cape Flattery), more glaciers than in all the other contiguous states combined (47) and five major volcanoes, including Mount St Helens, which erupted in 1980 causing the deaths of 57 people, the deadliest volcano eruption in recorded US history.
3. It's the home of a number of hugely successful companies, like Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks and Boeing. The latter owns a building in the state, an assembly plant, which is the largest building in the world. There's an agricultural side to it, too – it produces the majority of America's apples, hops and raspberries.
4. Lots of famous people come from Washington. They include, in the music world, Jimi Hendrix, Bing Crosby, Judy Collins, Burl Ives, Kenny Loggins and Kurt Cobain. In the acting world, Carol Channing, James Doohan, Hilary Swank, Kyle MacLachlan and Adam West. Also from here are Ted Bundy, the serial killer, Gary Larson, the cartoonist and Bill Gates.
5. The state Flag is one of the most expensive to produce, because it has a picture of George Washington on it (drawn by Gilbert Stuart) which must be stitched on both sides with George Washington facing in the same direction. The flag is also the only US state flag to have a field of Green.
6. State symbols: Flower: Coast Rhododendron; insect: Green Darner Dragonfly; tree: Western Hemlock; bird: Willow Goldfinch; fish: steelhead Trout; fruit: Apple; gem: petrified wood; vegetable: Walla Walla sweet Onion; dance: square dance; fossil: Columbian Mammoth; marine mammal: orca.
7. One of the most famous buildings in the state is the Space Needle in Seattle. It is 605 feet tall and is home to the second revolving restaurant in the world (opened in 1961) and the first in the US. 500 feet above sea level, it revolves at a rate of one revolution every 47 minutes. The rotation mechanism comprises just one 1.5 horsepower motor.
8. The largest county in Washington was renamed in 1986. It was originally known as King County after William R. King, Vice President under Franklin Pierce, but after 1986 it was renamed after civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was henceforth known as... King County.
9. As well as the world's largest building, Washington can boast the largest man-made island in the United States, the longest floating bridge in the world and the oldest operating gas station in the US.
10. It is against the law in Washington to drink alcoholic drinks standing up or to catch fish with your hands.

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