Mr. Polhill's class!
Chicago is the candy capital of the world, producing more candy than any other city.
The world's largest
cookie and cracker factory, where Nabisco made 16 billion Oreo cookies in 1995,
is located in Chicago.
The world's first aquarium anywhere opened in Chicago, 1893. The current aquarium,
the Shedd Aquarium, opened in 1930 and is the world's largest. The oldest fish
at the Shedd Aquarium is an Australian Lungfish. It arrived at the Shedd in
1933.
The world's first skyscraper was built in Chicago, 1885.
The first Mormon Temple in Illinois was constructed in Nauvoo. This was to be
the site of the Mormon Church, but Joseph Smith and his followers were forced
out by the local people; they left and ended up in Salt Lake City.
Peoria is the oldest community in Illinois.
The Sears Tower is still the tallest building in the world., and two other Chicago
buildings, the Hancock Center and the Amoco Building, are among the world's
tallest.
Metropolis (the home of Superman) is a town that really exists in southern Illinois.
Cahokia Mounds,
now a State Historic Site near East St. Louis, was the largest and most sophisticated
prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico.
Illinois had two capital cities, Kaskaskia and Vandalia, before Springfield.
The NFL's Chicago Bears were first located in Decatur and were known as the
"Staley Bears".
Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
abolishing slavery, in 1865.
The Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station, on Michigan Avenue, are the only
buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Carlyle is the home of the largest man-made lake in Illinois.
Illinois has 102 counties.
The highest point in Illinois is Charles Mound at 1235 feet above sea level.
The state motto is: "State Sovereignty, National Union".
The ice cream "sundae" was named in Evanston. The town leaders were
upset about the influences of the soda fountain on Sunday (drawing people away
from church and holy activities), so they passed a law prohibiting the selling
of ice cream sodas on Sunday. Clever drug store operators (soda fountains were
located in drug stores then) obeyed the law and served ice cream with the syrup
of one's choice without the soda. People then became upset about calling a dish
after the Sabbath, the holy day. So the spelling of "sunday" was changed
to "sundae".
The hot dog and deep dish pizza were invented in Chicago.
The round silo
for farm storage of grain was first constructed on a farm in Spring Grove.
The Illinois state dance is square dancing.
Illinois has more units of government than any other state (i.e., city, county,
township, etc.) — over six thousand. No wonder we can never get anything
done!
The worst prison
camp during the Civil War in terms of percentages of death was in Rock Island,
Illinois.
Illinois boasts the highest number of personalized license plates, more than
any other state.
In 1905, president of the Chicago Cubs filed charges against a fan in the bleachers
for catching a fly ball and keeping it.
The Black Sox
Scandal occurred in 1920, when a number of Chicago White Sox players, including
"Shoeless Joe" Jackson, were accused of being bribed to lose the 1919
World Series. Eight players were banned from baseball for life.
Chicago's O'Hare airport is the busiest in the world. It opened in 1945. Guess
which airport was the busiest in the world before O'Hare was? Midway,
Chicago's other airport, which opened in 1927. Midway today is much less busy
than O'Hare because it was built in an age when airports were smaller.
Bessie Coleman,
from Chicago, was one of the first African-Americans in the world to become
a licensed pilot, and one of the first women in the country to do so. Does her
name ring a bell for you?
Chicago is also the center of train travel in the U.S. More train travel goes
through Chicago than any other American city. Why do you think that might be?
In Mount Pulaski, Illinois, it is illegal for boys (and only boys) to hurl snowballs
at trees. Girls are allowed to do that, however.
In Illinois Michael is the top name chosen for boys. Emily is the most chosen
name for girls.
Illinois is known for its wide variety of weather. Major winter storms, deadly
tornadoes, and spectacular hot and cold waves.
Chicago has been a diverse, multiracial city since the area was taken from Native
Americans. The first birth on record in Chicago was of Eulalia Pointe du Sable,
daughter of the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, who had both black
and white ancestry, and his Potawatomi Indian wife in 1796.
Chicago's Mercy Hospital was the first hospital opened in Illinois. Chicago's
Cook County Hospital is famous for emergency medicine — the first trauma
center opened there. The Hospital also created the world's first blood bank
(storing blood for future needs) in 1937. The TV show "ER" ("Emergency
Room") is based on Cook County Hospital.
The first animal purchased for the Lincoln Park Zoo was a bear cub, bought for
$10 on June 1st, 1874. The Lincoln Park Zoo is the country's oldest, and one
of the few remaining free zoos. It started when a gift of a pair of swans from
New York's Central Park was made to Chicago.
The University of Chicago opened on October 1, 1892 with an enrollment of 594
and a faculty of 103.
New York Sun editor Charles Dana, tired of hearing Chicagoans boast of the world's
Colombian Exposition, dubbed Chicago the "Windy City" (because the
people were "windbags"). Many people naturally think that "the
Windy City" refers to the weather, because Chicago is a very windy
city!
Comedy showcase "Second City" was founded on North Wells Street in
a former Chinese laundry in 1959.
The 4 stars on the Chicago flag represent Fort Dearborn, the Chicago Fire, the
World's Colombian Exposition (the Chicago World's Fair of 1893), and the Century
of Progress Exposition (the Chicago World's Fair of 1933).
The Chicago Public Library is the world's largest public library with a collection
of more than 2 million books, and the largest public library building.
The Chicago Post Office at 433 West Van Buren is the only postal facility in
the world you can drive a car through.
Chicago was the first center of filmmaking, before Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin was centered here from 1907 to 1917.
Pinball was invented in Chicago and the only remaining manufacturer of pinball games in the world is in Chicago.
Illinois is part of "Tornado Alley". The worst tornado event in history happened in Illinois in 1925, and also included Missouri and Indiana; 750 people were killed and 2000 injured.
Route 66 ("Get
your kicks on Route 66") was a famous road dating from the 1920s where
people could drive thousands of miles through the heart of America while experiencing
local culture along the way (such a long road was unheard of in early days of
automobiles). It started in Chicago, went through Bloomington, Springfield,
and St. Louis, and all the way to Los Angeles, California.
The Chicago River is dyed green on Saint Patrick's Day.
Illinois trivia game!
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