Connecticut Trivia & Tidbits - Page 10

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

A hefty sandwich served by New London (pop. 25,671) storeowner Benedetto Capalbo in 1926 was nicknamed the “submarine” after it became popular with servicemen from the nearby submarine base in Groton (pop. 39,907).

first appeared: 9/21/2003

The hiking trail complex at Shelton Lakes in Shelton (pop. 38,101) received Millennium Trail status from the White House in 2000. Volunteers maintain the more than 20 miles of paths.

first appeared: 9/14/2003

Groton (pop. 39,907) became Submarine Capital of the World after General Dynamic’s Electric Boat Division delivered 74 submarines to the U.S. Navy during World War II. The first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, was also built here.

first appeared: 9/7/2003

Hartford was established in 1636 when the Rev. Thomas Hooker arrived seeking refuge from the Puritan laws of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

first appeared: 8/31/2003

The praying mantis was designated Connecticut’s state insect in 1977. The insect was named for its ability to fold its forelegs back in jackknife fashion, giving it the appearance of praying.

first appeared: 8/24/2003

At 2,380 feet above sea level, Mount Frissell is the state’s highest point.

first appeared: 8/17/2003

More than 600,000 daffodils create a sea of blossoms every April for Meriden’s Daffodil Festival. The flowers are scattered across Hubbard Park’s 1,800 acres and represent 61 different varieties.

first appeared: 8/10/2003

Alfred Carlton Gilbert, the multi-talented inventor of the Erector Set in 1913, helped pay his way through Yale Medical School in New Haven by performing as a magician.

first appeared: 8/3/2003

Benedict Arnold, one of the American Revolution’s most famous figures, was born in Norwich (pop. 36,117) in 1741. Later reviled in the new republic for collaborating with the British, Arnold moved to England where he died in 1801.

first appeared: 7/27/2003

A 60-foot brontosaurus is among the life-size dinosaurs on display at New Haven’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. Each creature was reconstructed from fossils, many of which came from the American West.

first appeared: 7/20/2003

Born July 5, 1810, in Bethel (pop. 18,067), Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum was 60 years old when he presented his Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Circus to the public.

first appeared: 7/13/2003

As first president of the library association in Redding (pop. 8,270), Mark Twain augmented the library’s collection with books of his own. A donation from Twain’s friend Andrew Carnegie helped build the 1911 library.

first appeared: 7/6/2003

Baseball got its start in New Britain in 1866 with the formation of the Phoenix Base Ball Club. The club played a game called wicket, which uses bats, balls, and bases, and evolved into baseball.

first appeared: 6/29/2003

More than 270 vessels that plied the Connecticut River and America’s coastline were built in Glastonbury (pop. 31,876), just south of Hartford. Some were privateers that raided British ships during the American Revolution.

first appeared: 6/22/2003

The Canton Historical Museum offers three floors of 19th-century memorabilia in an original Collins Axe Co. building constructed in 1865. It was used for finishing agricultural plows, reportedly up to 100 a day.

first appeared: 6/15/2003

Pierre Lallemont, a French immigrant to Ansonia, (pop. 18,554) is credited with inventing the first modern bicycle. His creation, which used two small carriage wheels and was nicknamed the “Bone Shaker,” was patented in 1865.

first appeared: 6/8/2003

Norwich, (pop. 36,117) often called the “Rose of Connecticut,” earned its nickname from the city’s impressive two-acre rose garden. Here some 2,500 rose bushes in 120 varieties reach peak bloom in June.

first appeared: 6/1/2003

A cultural center for northwest Connecticut, Norfolk (pop. 1,660) is home to the Music Shed at the Stoeckel Estate. Visited by artists and performers from around the world, the estate is home to Yale University’s Summer School of Music and Art.

first appeared: 5/25/2003

Twentieth-century literary giant and humorist Mark Twain built his magnificent 19-room Victorian mansion in Hartford in 1874. During his 17 years there, he wrote eight major novels.

first appeared: 5/18/2003

Every February, Eagle Festival in Essex (pop. 6,557) celebrates the return of the majestic raptors. Each winter, the birds fly south from Canada and northern New England, seeking the open waters of the Connecticut River.

first appeared: 5/11/2003

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