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Detroit
is known as the car capital
of the world.
Alpena
is the home of the world's
largest cement plant.
Rogers
City boasts the world's
largest limestone quarry.
Elsie
is the home of the world's
largest registered Holstein
dairy herd.
Michigan
is first in the United
States production of peat
and Magnesium compounds and
second in gypsum and iron
ore.
Colon
is home to the world's
largest manufacturer of
magic supplies.
The
state Capitol with its
majestic dome was built in
Lansing in l879.
Although
Michigan is often called the
( Wolverine State ).
There are no longer any
wolverines in Michigan .
(However,
one was spotted in 2007, so
there are some.)
Michigan
ranks first in state boat
registrations.
The
Packard Motor Car Company in
Detroit manufactured the
first Air-conditioned car in
1939.
The
oldest county (based on date
of incorporation) is Wayne
in 1815.
Sault
Ste. Marie was founded by
Father Jacques Marquette in
1668. It is the third oldest
remaining settlement in the
United States
In
1817 the University of
Michigan was the first
university established by
any of the states. It was
founded by priests. Originally
named Cathelepistemian and
located in Detroit , the
name was changed in 1821.
The university moved to Ann
Arbor in 1841.
The
city of Novi was named from
its designation as
Stagecoach Stop #6 or No.
VI.
Michigan
State University has the
largest single campus
student body of any Michigan
university. It is the
largest institution of
higher learning in the state
and one of the largest
universities in the country.
Michigan State University
was founded in 1855 as the
nation's first land-grant
university and served as the
prototype for 69 land-grant
institutions later
established under the
Morrill Act of 1862.
It
was the first institution of
higher learning in the
nation to teach scientific
agriculture.
The
largest village in Michigan
is Caro.
Michigan's
state stone, The Petoskey is
the official state stone. It
is found along the shores of
Lake Michigan .
The
Mackinac Bridge is one of
the longest suspension
bridges in the world.
Connecting
the upper and lower
peninsulas of Michigan .
It spans 5 miles over
the Straits of Mackinac,
which is where Lake Michigan
and Lake Huron meet.
The
Mighty Mac took 3 years to
complete and was opened to
traffic in 1957.
Gerald
R Ford grew up in Grand
Rapids and became the 38th
president of the United
States . He attended the
University of Michigan where
he was a football star. He
served on a World War II
aircraft carrier and
afterward represented
Michigan in Congress for 24
years. He was also an
Eagle Scout, the highest
rank in Boy Scouts.
The
Kellogg Company has made
Battle Creek the Cereal
Capital of the World.
The Kellogg brothers
accidentally discovered the
process for producing flaked
cereal products and sparked
the beginning of the dry
cereal industry.
The
painted turtle is Michigan
's state reptile.
The
western shore of Michigan
has many sand dunes.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes rise
460 feet above Lake Michigan
. Living among the dunes is
the dwarf lake iris the
official state wildflower.
Vernor's
ginger ale was created in
Detroit and became the first
soda pop made in the United
States . In 1862, pharmacist
James Vernor was trying to
create a new beverage when
he was called away to serve
our country in the Civil
War. When he returned, 4
years later, the drink he
had stored in an oak case
had acquired a delicious
gingery flavor.
The
Detroit Zoo was the first
zoo in America to feature
cageless, open-exhibits that
allowed the animals more
freedom to roam.
Michigan
is the only place in the
world with a floating post
office.
The
J. W. Westcott II is the
only boat in the world that
delivers mail to ships while
they are still underway.
They have been operating for
125 years.
Indian
River is the home of the
largest crucifix in the
world. It is called the
Cross in the Woods.
Michigan
has the longest freshwater
shoreline in the world.
Michigan
has more shoreline than any
other state except Alaska.
The
Ambassador Bridge was named
by Joseph Bower, the person
credited with making the
bridge a reality, who
thought the name (
Detroit-Windsor
International Bridge ) as
too long and lacked
emotional appeal. Bower
wanted to symbolize the
visible expression of
friendship of two peoples
with like ideas and ideals.
Michigan
has more than 11,000 inland
lakes and more than 36,000
miles of streams.
Michigan
has 116 lighthouses and
navigational lights. Seul
Choix Point Lighthouse in
Gulliver has been guiding
ships since 1895. The
working light also functions
as a museum, which houses
early 1900's furnishings and
maritime artifacts.
Forty
of the state's 83 counties
adjoin at least one of the
Great Lakes.
Michigan
is the only state that
touches four of the five
Great Lakes.
Standing
anywhere in the state a
person is within 85 miles of
one of the Great Lakes.
Michigan
includes 56,954 square miles
of land area; 1,194 square
miles of Inland waters; and
38,575 square miles of Great
Lakes water area.
Sault
Ste. Marie was established
in 1668 making it the oldest
town between the Alleghenies
and the Rockies.
Michigan
was the first state to
provide in its Constitution
for the establishment of
public libraries.
Michigan
was the first state to
guarantee every child the
right to Tax-paid high
school education.
Four
flags have flown over
Michigan -- French, English,
Spanish and United States.
Isle
Royal Park shelters
one of the largest moose
herds remaining in the
United States.
Some
of the longest bulk freight
carriers in the world
operate on the Great Lakes .
Ore carriers 1,000 feet long
sail Michigan's inland
seas.
The
Upper Michigan Copper
Country is the largest
commercial deposit of native
copper in the world.
The
19 chandeliers in the
Capitol in Lansing are one
of a kind and designed
especially for the building
by Tiffany's of New York .
Weighing between 800-900
pounds apiece they are
composed of copper, iron and
pewter.
The
first auto traffic tunnel
built between two nations
was the mile-long
Detroit-Windsor tunnel under
the Detroit River .
The
world's first international
submarine railway tunnel was
opened between Port Huron ,
Michigan , and Sarnia ,
Ontario , Canada in 1891.
The
nation's first regularly
scheduled air passage
service began operation
between Grand Rapids and
Detroit in 1926.
In
1879 Detroit telephone
customers were first in the
nation to be assigned phone
numbers to facilitate
handling calls.
In
1929, the Michigan State
Police established the first
state police radio system in
the world.
Grand
Rapids is home to the
24-foot Leonardo Da Vinci
horse, called Il Gavallo.
It is the largest
equestrian bronze sculpture
in the Western Hemisphere .
The
State Motto (written in
Latin) translates to: "If
you seek a pleasant
peninsula, Look about
you.."
Wasn't
that interesting?
With
all the negativity due to
poor economics and housing
market these days, let
us all try to remember and
say something positive about
our beautiful and
interesting Michigan! We
will strive to thrive once
again! It would also
be a good thing to keep our
Michigan in our prayers and
thoughts too. Thank
you and may God Bless our
Michigan and her people!
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