Connecticut Trivia & Tidbits - Page 6

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

Once home to the country’s first Impressionist art colony, the Bush-Holley House Museum (circa 1730) in Cos Cob is a National Historic Landmark. The colony, near Greenwich (pop. 6,101), thrived from 1890 to 1920, and artist-residents studied with artists such as Childe Hassam.

first appeared: 10/23/2005

Brothers Abel and Levi Porter formed the Abel Porter Co. in 1802 in Waterbury to make buttons from sheets of brass. By 1850, the company was known as Scovill Manufacturing Co., and its offerings had expanded to include oil lamp burners and artillery fuses.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

Dean Acheson (1893-1971), born in Middletown (pop. 43,167), served as secretary of state from 1949 to 1953. Though he held strong views about the containment of Communism through the use of economic and military aid, Acheson was attacked in 1950 by Sen. Joseph McCarthy as "a pompous diplomat in striped pants" who was too soft on Communism.

first appeared: 9/25/2005

In 1773, the abandoned tunnels of an old copper mine in East Granby (pop. 4,745) were converted into a prison. What remains of the New-Gate prison and mine is now a National Historic Landmark.

first appeared: 9/18/2005

Roughly translated, Connecticut’s state motto Qui Transtulit Sustinet means "He Who Transplanted Still Sustains." The origin of the motto is uncertain, although some have suggested the Bible’s 80th Psalm as a possible source.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

The oldest continuously operating amusement park in the nation, Lake Compounce Family Theme Park was founded in 1846. It straddles the town line between Bristol (pop. 60,062) and Southington (pop. 39,728) and features the Boulder Dash, a wooden roller coaster that reaches speeds of 60 mph and runs for two and a half minutes.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

The General Assembly adopted the eastern oyster as the official state shellfish in 1989. The bivalve mollusk is native to Connecticut’s tidal rivers and coastal bays and is cultivated in Long Island Sound.

first appeared: 8/14/2005

Established in 1904, the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden in Hartford is the nation’s first municipal rose garden. It has expanded from 100 roses to some 15,000 today.

first appeared: 7/31/2005

The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk provides close-up views of harbor seals as they lounge on Sheffield Island and gathers valuable information for an ongoing seal study through two live Web cameras.

first appeared: 7/17/2005

Born in Windsor Locks (pop. 12,043), Ella Grasso (1919-1981) was the first woman elected governor of a state in her own right. She served as the governor of Connecticut from 1975 to 1980.

first appeared: 6/19/2005

The next time you zap your dinner in a microwave, say thank you to Robert N. Hall. During World War II, the inventor, born in 1919 in New Haven, worked on continuous wave magnetrons to jam enemy radar, which later led to the magnetron that operates most microwave ovens. Hall also invented the semiconductor laser in compact disc players.

first appeared: 6/5/2005

Established in 1797 on the third floor of the Old State House in Hartford, the Museum of Oddities and Curiosities harbors unusual treasures from around the world, from birds and bugs to the supposed horn of a unicorn and a two-headed calf.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

Operated by the U.S. Navy, the Submarine Force Library and Museum on the Thames River in Groton (pop. 10,010) traces the development of the "silent service," from the Revolutionary War’s Turtle to modern submarines, and is home to the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine.

first appeared: 5/8/2005

A movable table on tracks, built-in couches and carved wooden light switches are among the innovations in Gillette Castle in East Hadam (pop. 8,333). Built between 1914 and 1919, the castle was the creation of William Hooker Gillette, actor, director and playwright. The estate is now the Gillette Castle State Park.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

The Connecticut Clean Water Act of 1967, the first legislation of its kind, was the template for the federal Clean Water Act, enacted five years later.

first appeared: 4/10/2005

First known as the School of Instruction for the Revenue Marine, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, located along the Thames River in New London (pop. 25,671), began training cadets in 1876. The Coast Guard is the world’s oldest life-saving service.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

Born in East Windsor (pop. 9,818), Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) gained fame as a revivalist and theologian with the publication of A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in 1738.

first appeared: 3/13/2005

In 1996 and 2004, soccer midfielder Kristine Lilly of Wilton (pop. 17,633) helped the U.S. team win Olympic gold medals.

first appeared: 2/27/2005

The least shrew (cryptotis parva), an insect-eating animal that lives in coastal areas and adjacent brackish marshes, was the first mammal included on the state’s endangered species list. Pesticides, pollutants and development pose the greatest threats to the mouselike creatures.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

Noah Webster (1758-1843) of Hartford compiled A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, a schoolbook more popularly known as the Blue-Backed Speller because of its blue cover. More copies of the various editions have sold than any other book except the Bible.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

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