How to Use This Blog

The posts on this blog need not be read in order. As the blog description says, they are really just a collection of random things I hear or read about concerning history. The list of labels on the left side of the screen shows the topics I have discussed so far. Feel free to browse them if you're looking for something particular, or just read straight through the posts in the order I've written them. I update often, so be sure to visit me again soon!

Edited to Add: Okay, so maybe I don't update as often as I'd like. Visit my other blog if you want frequent updates, and this one if you want cool random history stuff!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

From the back of a cereal box...

...You can get the most interesting trivia:

American City Trivia:

~ DFW International Airport in Dallas, TX takes up more space than New York's entire island of Manhattan!

~ Detroit is called Motor City or Motown because it is the birthplace of the car industry. Henry Ford began the Ford Motor Company in Detroit in 1903.

~ The Chicago River is the only river in the world that flows backwards. Its flow was reversed by engineers in 1900 to prevent industrial wastes from flowing into Lake Michigan. Every year on St. Patrick's Day, the Chicago River is dyed green.

~ Marthasville, Terminus, and Atlanta are all the same city! Atlanta was formerly known as "Marthasville" after a former Governor's daughter. Before that it was named "Terminus" because it was situated at the end of a railroad. Today, it is known by its third and final name, Atlanta.

~ Chicago's Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue was completed in 1925. Its large Gothic entrance contains pieces of stone from other famous structures such as the Alamo, Westminster Abbey, the Taj Mahal, and the Great Pyramid.

~ City Firsts:
First Daily Newspaper: Philadelphia, PA Dec. 1, 1913
First Traffic Light: Cleveland, OH Aug. 5, 1914
First Baseball Stadium: Pittsburgh, PA June 30, 1909
First Department Store: Salt Lake City, UT 1868
First Parking Meter: Oklahoma City, OK July 16, 1935
First Skyscraper: Chicago, IL 1885
First Computer: Philadelphia, PA 1946


Random, but interesting, huh?