1 June: Tennessee

On this date in 1796, Tennessee was admitted to the union. 10 things you might not know about Tennessee.

1. It’s not known for sure where the name of the state comes from. It may have been named after a small town called "Tanasqui" which may have meant "meeting place", "winding river", or "river of the great bend" – but nobody really knows.
2. People from Tennessee are sometimes referred to as “Butternuts” or “Volunteers”. The latter comes from the fact that large numbers of people from the state volunteered to fight in the war of 1812, and the former dates back to the American Civil War when soldiers from the area wore uniforms that were the colour of butternut squash.
3. One thing the state is famous for is Music. The capital, Nashville, and Memphis have well known musical connections, but the birthplace of country music isn’t either of these, but another town, called Bristol, where early recordings in the genre were made. A number of famous singers hail from Tennessee, including Pat Boone, Miley Cyrus, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton and of course, Elvis Presley. The musical tradition is also reflected in the fact that Tennessee has no less than nine official state songs, and an official state rap, more than any other state.
4. Other state symbols include: flower – Iris; tree - tulip poplar; bird -mockingbird; horse - Tennessee walking horse; animal - Raccoon; and wild flower - passion flower.
5. Graceland in Memphis, former home of Elvis, is the second most visited house in the US (the White House is first). Another house tourists can visit whilst there is the world’s tallest tree house, which was built by Minister Horace Burgess in Crossville, from recycled materials. The house is about 100 feet tall and has an estimated area of 10,000 square feet.
6. Shelby County, Tennessee, has more Horses than any other county in the USA.
7. Tennessee is home to the world’s largest artificial Ski area (five acres, in Gatlinburg) and the world’s largest freshwater aquarium, home to around 7,000 animals, including an electric eel which uses its electrical discharges to post from its own Twitter account.
8. By law, women in Tennessee may not wear ankle bracelets, phone a man up to ask him out, or drive a car without there being a man walking in front waving a Red warning flag. Driving while asleep is an offence for both sexes as is using a lasso to catch a fish. Even Frogs are breaking the law if they croak after 11pm.
9. There are more caves in Tennessee than in any other state – around 10,000 of them, or 20% of the country’s caves. 90% of them are privately owned. The Bats which live in the caves are of great help to farmers because they eat insects and are said to be worth $313 million a year to agriculture in the state. Not only are there lots of bat caves, but the tallest skyscraper in the state is the 617-foot (188 m) 33-story AT & T Building, colloquially known as “The Batman Building” because it resembles Batman.
10. The town of Oak Ridge was founded in 1942, and was a military secret, because the people who lived there were working on the Manhattan Project, working to create the nuclear bomb. Even though most of them had no idea what they were actually working on, they were fenced in with guards at every exit. Two years after the war, it became a regular civilian town.

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