1. Fifty percent of the United States population lives within a 500-mile radius of Columbus, Ohio.
2. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was from Wapakoneta, Ohio.
Source: Flickr User James Vaughan (x-ray delta one)
3. It is illegal to fish for whales on a Sunday in Ohio… not that
there’s any place to do that. Well, at least you can fish for them every
other day of the week.
4. Thomas A. Edison, the inventor of the incandescent light bulb, the
phonograph, and the early motion picture camera, was from Milan.
5. Akron was the first city to use police cars.
6. Ohio has the largest Amish population of any state in the nation.
Source: Flickr User Alvin Trusty (trustypics)
7. John Lambert of Ohio City made America's first automobile in 1891.
8. The first full-time automobile service station opened in 1899 in Ohio.
9. Oberlin College, founded in 1833, was the first interracial and coeducational college in the United States.
Source: Oberlin College Facebook
10. Seven United States presidents were born in Ohio: Ulysses S.
Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison,
William McKinley, William H. Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Must be
something in the water.
11. There is an alley dedicated to drummer Dave Grohl in his hometown of Warren, Ohio.
Source: Flickr User 5chw4r7z
12. The largest drum sticks in the world are in David Grohl Alley, each measuring 23 feet long and weighing a half-ton.
Source: Flickr User Jack Pearce (Jack W. Pearce)
13. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton.
14. Women are prohibited from wearing patent leather shoes in public
in Ohio. The reasoning? So that men can’t see reflections of the women’s
underwear in their shoes. Obviously.
15. Life Savers candy was invented by Clarence Crane of
Garrettsville, Ohio in 1912. They were touted as a “summer candy” since
they didn’t melt like chocolate.
Source: Flickr User Roadsidepictures
16. Some well-known personalities were born in Ohio. Among them are
Steven Spielberg, Paul Newman, Annie Oakley, Arsenio Hall and Clark
Gable.
17. It is illegal for more than five women to live in one house in Ohio.
18. The world’s largest horseshoe crab is more than 55 feet long, and lives in Blanchester.
Source: Flickr User Dan Century (DanCentury) https://www.flickr.com/photos/dancentury/2557042372/sizes/z/
19. Ohio’s state flag is not a rectangle like other flags—it’s a
pennant design, and it’s the only state flag in the United States with
that design.
20. By state law, no one may be arrested on a Sunday or on the Fourth
of July in Ohio, which is totally awesome and definitely not enforced.
21. Roy J. Plunkett of New Carlisle, Ohio invented Teflon in 1938.
Source: Flickr User sharyn morrow (massdistraction)
22. You can take tours of a house made entirely of trash,
affectionately referred to as ‘House of Trash’ in Philo. Spoiler: It’s
actually totally cool.
23. There’s a mysterious rolling sphere in the Marion Cemetery. The
5,200-pound sphere of granite has been revolving on its base since it
was placed there in the late 1800s. “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”
featured it in 1929. It’s still moving at an average of two inches per
year.
24. The first airplane was invented by Dayton natives the Wright Brothers.
Source: Wikipedia user Materialscientist
25. The Great Serpent Mound, the largest serpent effigy in the world
at a half mile long, is on a plateau overlooking Brush Creek Valley in
Adams County.
Source: Flickr User Nu Essence Design (NuNationBuilding)
26. The largest, most comprehensive collection of historical
contraceptives in the world is at the Dittrick Museum of Medical History
in Cleveland.
Source: Dittrick Museum of Medical History via Facebook
27. The very first mechanical cash register was invented in Dayton.
28. The first concrete street in America, which is still in use
today, was poured in 1891 near the Logan County Courthouse in
Bellefontaine.
29. If a restaurant wants to serve horse meat in Ohio, they must
display a sign that says, “Horse Meat Served Here.” Thank goodness for
that.
30. There is a double Futuro House, aka UFO House, in Carlisle.
Source: Flickr User Rob Lambert (Darth Bengal)
31. The first capital city of Ohio wasn’t Columbus—it was
Chillicothe, which is now part of the Greater Columbus Metropolitan
Area.
32. In 1879, Cleveland became the first city to be lighted by electricity.
33. Akron is the rubber capital of the world.
34. It is unlawful to leave chewing gum in public places in Cleveland.
35. “Hang On Sloopy” is the official state rock song.
Source: Youtube user Never fear, only trust and obey
36. Ohio is the leading producer of greenhouse and nursery plants.
37. The Lake Erie Monster, aka “Bessie,” is a serpent-type monster
that lives in Lake Erie, or at least it’s been sighted a lot over the
last 100 years. The New York Times even did a story on it in 1931.
38. The Glacial Grooves on the north side of Kelleys Island are the
largest and most easily accessible great ice sheet grooves in the world.
They were created 18,000 years ago by the great ice sheet that covered
part of North America.
Source: Flickr User Snassek
39. Dresden is the home of the world's largest basket. It is located at Basket Village USA.
40. There is an ‘Unofficial Lego Museum’ in Bellaire and it has some of the coolest lego creations known to man.
Source: “Unofficial LEGO museum” via Facebook
41. For many years the patrons of Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop in
Greenville have been sticking their gum outside the walls. Three of the
building’s four walls are covered in gum, creating the infamous ‘Wall of
Gum’.
42. In Dublin there’s a public art installation called ‘Field of Corn
(with Osage Orange Trees)’. By the locals it’s called ‘Cornhenge’ and
features 109 ears of concrete corn that stand eight feet tall. It’s a
tribute and celebration of Sam Frantz, who invented hybrid corn species.
Source: Flickr User Pamela Carls (IrisDragon)
43. There is a permanent ‘Things Swallowed’ display at the Allen
County Museum in Lima that featured things that have been swallowed and
retrieved by doctors, including buttons, thumbtacks, bones, coins,
dentures and other things swallowed.
44. There is a shrine called the ‘Temple of Tolerance’ in Wapakoneta,
that looks like it should be somewhere sacred, but it’s in Jim
Bowsher’s backyard. He’s the temple master and gives free tours every
day.
45. Ohio holds the record for the world’s largest basket, the
Longaberger Company headquarters building in Newark. It’s seven stories
high and 180,000 square feet.
Source: Wikipedia user Tysto
