Arkansas Trivia & Tidbits - Page 6

Looking for Arkansas trivia? Try our list Arkansas little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Keo Fish Farm in Lonoke County is the world’s largest producer of hybrid striped bass, raising 100 million fingerlings a year and selling them mainly to other fish farmers.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

Little Rock’s Mount Holly Cemetery is the burial site for five Confederate generals, six U.S. senators, 10 Arkansas governors, 14 Arkansas Supreme Court justices, 21 Little Rock mayors and the legendary 17-year-old Confederate spy, David O. Dodd.

first appeared: 9/25/2005

Believed extinct for 60 years, the ivory-billed woodpecker has been sighted by wildlife biologists and others since February 2004 in the remote forested wetlands called the Big Woods in central Arkansas.

first appeared: 9/18/2005

When Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1958 he began his training at Fort Chaffee in Fort Smith (pop. 80,268). The World War II-era base was the filming site for the movies A Soldier’s Story (1983) and Biloxi Blues (1987). Since 1997, it has been under the control of the Arkansas Army National Guard.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

Cosmic Cavern near Berryville (pop. 4,433) is known for its two deep lakes and for the rare Ozark blind cave salamander.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

Actor Alan Ladd (1913-1964), born in Hot Springs (pop. 35,750), is best known for his role as the mysterious stranger in 1953’s Shane.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

"When pigs fly" happens regularly for Virgil Randall of McRae (pop. 661) who trains pigs to race around a track and dive into swimming pools. The natural hams entertain nationwide at festivals and fairs.

first appeared: 8/14/2005

Founded by Johnnie Bryan Hunt with five trucks and seven refrigerated trailers in 1969, J.B. Hunt Transport Services of Lowell (pop. 5,013) has grown into one of the nation’s largest truckload carriers with a fleet of 9,900 tractors and 46,000 trailers and annual revenues exceeding $2 billion.

first appeared: 7/31/2005

Thousands of people diagnosed with tuberculosis lived out their lives at the Arkansas Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Booneville (pop. 4,117) between 1910 and 1973. Because of the infectious nature of their disease, patients were isolated in the self-sustaining city.

first appeared: 7/17/2005

Distance runners and track stars race to Fayetteville (pop. 58,047), the self-proclaimed "Track Capital of the United States." Both the University of Arkansas’ track coach John McDonnell and its $6.5 million track facility led to the title.

first appeared: 6/19/2005

With five graceful arches across the White River, the 1930 R.M. Ruthven Rainbow Arch Bridge in Cotter (pop. 921) reopened last September after a $6 million renovation. The rededication coincided with the north-central Arkansas town’s 100th anniversary.

first appeared: 6/5/2005

Incorporated in 1888, Altus (pop. 817) derived its name from the Latin word for "height" because it was the highest point in the Arkansas River Valley along the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad, which later became part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

When Wesley White of Hartford (pop. 772) reeled in an 80-pound flathead catfish on the Arkansas River in October 1989, he landed the state record for the largest flathead caught with a rod and reel.

first appeared: 5/8/2005

In 1989, Alda Ellis of Little Rock began making gift soap with pictures but was frustrated when the designs washed off. She patented a technique that adheres the design until the soap is nearly gone and cleaned up with a multi-million dollar company, Alda’s Forever. The White House and the Grand Ole Opry are among her clients.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

Nathan Taylor of Farmington (pop. 3,605) set a state record when he snagged an 80-pound grass carp from Lake Wedington near Fayetteville (pop. 58,047) in June 2004.

first appeared: 4/10/2005

Near Winslow (pop. 399), endangered Ozark big-eared bats hibernate in the caves of Devil’s Den State Park, where park interpreter Harry Harnish leads Bat-A-Rama workshops.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

In 1722, French explorer Bernard de la Harpe named the bluffs he saw along the Arkansas River "La Petite Roche" or Little Rock.

first appeared: 3/13/2005

Hot Springs (pop. 35,750) native Billy Bob Thornton won a 1996 Academy Award for his screenplay Sling Blade.

first appeared: 2/27/2005

After a $14.5 million restoration, Vulcan, the world’s largest cast-iron statue, was returned to his pedestal last March on top of Red Mountain in Birmingham. The 56-foot Roman god of the forge was created for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis to promote the state’s rich mineral resources.—Daisy Outdoor Products in Rogers (pop. 38,829) operates a museum devoted to the Daisy Airgun. First offered as a premium to customers who purchased a windmill from the Plymouth (Mich.) Iron Windmill Company, the little BB gun was hugely popular and by 1895 became the company’s primary product.

first appeared: 2/13/2005

The Gibson family in Winslow (pop. 399) has woven white oak baskets the old-fashioned way— without glue, nails or power tools—since 1840.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

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