29 May: Wisconsin

On this date in 1848 Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. 10 things you might not know about Wisconsin.

1. The state’s name comes from the Native American name for the Wisconsin River, “meskonsing” which translates as “stream that meanders through something Red” which probably refers to the sandstone formations associated with the river. Frenchman Jacques Marquette first recorded the name in 1673 and over time, it evolved into the name of the state today.
2. Wisconsin’s nickname is the Badger State. Badger in this case is nothing to do with the animal but rather the Lead miners who moved there from Cornwall in England in the 1820s who dug tunnels to sleep in.
3. Wisconsin’s state bird is the Robin, its state flower is the wood Violet, its state song is “On, Wisconsin,” and its state motto is the simple, yet powerful, “Forward.” Madison’s official bird, however, is the plastic Flamingo – in honour of a 1979 student prank in which 1,008 Pink flamingos were planted on the grass in front of the dean’s office.
4. It’s the dairy capital of the US, producing more Milk than any other state. Some individual Wisconsin towns lay claim to be world capitals of other items: Wausau is the ginseng capital of the world; Somerset is the inner tubing capital of the world; Monroe is the Swiss Cheese capital of the world; Eagle River is the snowmobile capital of the world; Sheboygan is the Bratwurst Capital of the World; and Green Bay is the Toilet paper Capital of the World.
5. The capital is Madison. The oldest city in the state is actually Green Bay which dates back to a small French reading post established in 1634. Green Bay is also known as “Titletown” because of the success of its sports team, the Green Bay Packers.
6. The highest point in the state is Timm’s Hill at a height of 1,951 feet.
7. The Ice cream sundae was invented in Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1881. Other notable Wisconsin inventions include the QWERTY keyboard and the blender.
8. Barbie is from Willows, Wisconsin. Real famous people from here include Harry Houdini, Frank Lloyd Wright, Georgia O'Keeffe, Orson Welles, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Liberace and Mark Ruffalo.
9. News satire site The Onion started life as a satirical campus newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, created by two of its students, Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson.
10. It is illegal in Wisconsin to park your car for more than two hours unless there is a Horse tied to it; wake a sleeping fireman; Kiss on a train; play checkers in public or go out in public if you are ugly. It’s also illegal for women to wear red in public.

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