California Trivia & Tidbits - Page 13

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

The state dance is West Coast Swing. Related to the Swing, Whip, and Jitterbug, it originated in the California nightclubs of the 1930s and 1940s, and was popularized by soldiers and sailors, and by Arthur Murray dance studios.

first appeared: 5/18/2003

The San Jose Flea Market is believed to be the nation’s largest open-air market. Founded in 1960 with 20 sellers and about 100 customers, the flea market now spreads over 120 acres in Silicon Valley, and features some 2,000 sellers who attract more than 4 million visitors each year.

first appeared: 5/11/2003

Badwater, site of a shallow, salty pool of water in Death Valley National Park, is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, with an elevation of 282 feet below sea level. Each year, one of the world’s toughest runs—the Badwater Ultramarathon invitational running race—climbs from Badwater to Whitney Portals on Mount Whitney, 135 miles away and 8,360 feet above sea level.

first appeared: 5/4/2003

Conrad Hilton, who founded Hilton hotels, left directions in his will for his wealth to be eternally reinvested to help relieve human suffering. Each year, the Los Angeles-based Conrad N. Hilton Foundation distributes an average of $30 million for projects around the world that promote world peace, and aid children and the disadvantaged.

first appeared: 4/27/2003

The largest known natural abalone pearl was found by diver Wesley Rankin at Salt Point State Park in 1990. It measured 2.76 by 1.97 by 1.10 inches (approximately 470 carats), and was nicknamed “Big Pink.” California also is home to US Abalone, considered the world’s largest abalone pearl farm. The farm harvested its first large crop of cultured abalone pearls in 1998 at its facility in Davenport (pop. 200).

first appeared: 4/20/2003

Among the states, California has the largest number of residents—more than 4 million—who are over 60 years of age.

first appeared: 4/13/2003

Annual rainfall in California varies from 3 inches in Imperial County in the southeast to 80 inches in Del Norte County on the northern Pacific coast.

first appeared: 4/13/2003

The Hiller XH-44 helicopter was built by 18-year-old entrepreneur, Stanley Hiller, and some friends in a garage in 1944. Today, it’s on display at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos (pop. 27,718). The XH-44 was the first helicopter to use all-metal rotor blades, and also used coaxial blades (two sets of rotors, mounted one over the other and turning in opposite directions). This eliminated the need for a tail rotor, which drains power keeping a helicopter flying straight.

first appeared: 4/6/2003

The San Francisco Ballet, one of the country’s three largest ballet companies, celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. It was America’s first professional ballet company, and presented the first full-length American productions of Swan Lake (1940) and The Nutcracker (1944).

first appeared: 3/30/2003

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Alfred Hitchcock movie

first appeared: 3/23/2003

The Birds, filmed near Bodega Bay (pop. 1,423). Tippi Hedren, one of the film’s stars, established the Shambala Preserve, near Acton (pop. 2,390), as a wildlife sanctuary for endangered big cats such as lions, tigers, and panthers. The preserve is currently home to more than 70 big cats and one African elephant, and is open to the public one weekend each month.

first appeared: 3/23/2003

Residents of Tarzana (pop. 28,500) named the town in 1927 as a tribute to the character made famous by Edgar Rice Burroughs in Tarzan of the Apes. The town grew up around the ranch that Burroughs bought in 1919, which he named Tarzana.

first appeared: 3/16/2003

When naturalist John Muir became stranded during a storm on Mount Shasta in 1875, he and a companion survived by sheltering near a volcanic hot spring area, using its warmth to offset the cold and snow.

first appeared: 3/16/2003

The historic Mission Inn in Riverside, a National Historic Landmark Hotel, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Some 15 U.S. presidents have visited the hotel, including Theodore Roosevelt, who planted a parent navel orange tree there.

first appeared: 3/9/2003

California’s motto, “Eureka,” comes from the Greek word meaning “I have found it.” The phrase harkens to the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada in the 1800s.

first appeared: 3/2/2003

The state was named by the Spanish after Califia, for the mythical earthly paradise in a book called Las Sergas de Esplanidian, written by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo in 1510.

first appeared: 2/23/2003

Alcatraz Island, near San Francisco, is the site of California’s first lighthouse, built in 1854. The original structure was damaged by a 1906 earthquake, and a new tower—still standing today—was constructed in 1909.

first appeared: 2/16/2003

The highest point in the 48 contiguous states is California’s Mount Whitney, in the Sierra Nevada region, which rises 14,494 feet above sea level.

first appeared: 2/16/2003

On several expeditions in the West between 1857 and 1859, Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a brigadier general in the California Militia, attempted to introduce camels from North Africa as a form of transport. Beale thought they were good pack animals, but they scared the horses and mules and eventually were sold.

first appeared: 2/9/2003

Ohio-born Zane Grey, the prolific author of dozens of popular Western novels, moved to California in the early 1900s and built a Spanish-style home in Altadena (pop. 42,610), where he lived out his life. He wrote almost 90 books and stories.

first appeared: 2/2/2003

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