Idaho Trivia & Tidbits - Page 10

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

Idaho towns with curious names include Bliss, Chubbuck, Fruitland, East Hope, Garden City, Grace, Moscow, Paris, Riddle, and Mud Lake.

first appeared: 2/15/2004

The slogan on the state’s tourism website is “Great Potatoes. Tasty Destinations.”

first appeared: 2/15/2004

Philo T. Farnsworth (1906-1971) drew his first television schematic for his high school teacher in Rigby (pop. 2,998) and was the first person in history to transmit a television image. He is known as the Father of Television for his inventions and patents, including camera tubes, circuitry and the cathode ray (picture) tube.

first appeared: 2/8/2004

According to folklore, an Idaho potato farmer was once approached by the Army quartermaster from a nearby fort who wanted to buy potatoes. When asked how much he wanted, the quartermaster said, “About a hundred pounds.” The farmer winced in disdain. “Only a hundred pounds?!” he said. “Boy, I wouldn’t cut a spud in two for no one.”

first appeared: 2/1/2004

Kuna (pop. 5,382) is the gateway to the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, home to the world’s most dense population of nesting eagles, hawks and falcons.

first appeared: 1/25/2004

The longest main street in America, 33 miles, is located in Island Park (pop. 215). The city limits follow U.S. Route 20, the main highway to Yellowstone National Park, with the city only 500 feet wide in some places.

first appeared: 1/18/2004

Idaho is the most heavily forested of the Rocky Mountain states with 40 percent of its 53 million acres covered by trees. This includes the Roosevelt Grove of ancient cedars, located on the west side of Priest Lake in the state’s northwest corner, where a virgin forest contains trees up to 12 feet across and 150 feet tall.

first appeared: 1/11/2004

Elk River (pop. 156) is the home of the Idaho Champion Western Red Cedar Tree, the largest tree in the state. Estimated to be more than 3,000 years old, the tree is 18 feet wide and 177 feet tall.

first appeared: 1/4/2004

At the Jaxonbilt Hat Co. in Salmon, (pop. 3,233) master hatter Roy Jackson makes all his hats by hand, with no machinery. His partner, Kirk Klemmer, makes boots the same way, and the two outfit cowboys and ranchers across the Northwest.

first appeared: 12/28/2003

The state ranks first in the nation in production of potatoes, trout and Austrian winter peas. The latter are grown as a hay crop and for ground cover, and to attract deer and turkey. Potatoes grow well in the state’s rich, volcanic soil, and the bounty of pure spring water spilling from Snake River canyon walls provides water for fish farms that produce more than 40 million trout annually, or 75 percent of the nation’s supply.

first appeared: 12/21/2003

Fifteen thousand years ago the state’s southeastern desert opened up and fissure vents, volcanic cones and lava flows began erupting into what is now called Craters of the Moon National Monument near Arco (pop. 1,026). The park contains 20 volcanic cones, 60 different flows, caves and tree molds.

first appeared: 12/14/2003

When engineer and ski racer Edward Scott invented a tapered aluminum ski pole in 1958 in Sun Valley (pop. 1,427), it quickly replaced existing bamboo and steel poles. Today, the Scott USA company continues to reinvent the ski pole, with new grips and an adjustable pole design, and has expanded to include products for bicycles and motorsports.

first appeared: 12/7/2003

Idaho State University in Pocatello (pop. 51,466) was founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho. With a focus on college preparation and industrial courses, the school opened to 40 students on Sept. 22, 1902. Tuition was free for in-state students, and cost $5 per term for out-of-state students, while room and board was $16 per month.

first appeared: 11/30/2003

Kuna (pop. 5,382) is known as the gateway to the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, where more than 700 pairs of falcons, eagles, hawks and owls nest in spring. The birds, including 150 to 200 pairs of prairie falcons, are drawn to the area by the abundance of prey such as squirrels and jackrabbits.

first appeared: 11/23/2003

Feb. 24, 2003 was named Patti Perry Day in Idaho to celebrate the state’s Teacher of the Year. Perry teaches first grade at Skyway Elementary in Coeur d’Alene (pop. 34,514), and was recognized for her leadership, educational program design and teacher mentoring.

first appeared: 11/16/2003

Payette (pop. 7,054) began in 1883 as a railroad camp known as Boomerang. The name originated with the booms that were built on the Payette River to catch the railroad ties used in building the Oregon Shortline and Union Pacific railroads. Today’s name of Payette honors fur trapper and settler Francois Payette, who arrived in the area in the early 1800s.

first appeared: 11/9/2003

Half a million cubic yards of rock were excavated during the construction of the Cabinet Gorge Dam near Clark Fork (pop. 530) between 1951 and 1952. The dam had to be built in less than a year to ensure that spring floods couldn’t wash away the temporary cofferdams that diverted the Clark Fork River during construction.

first appeared: 11/2/2003

The Cabinet Gorge Fish Hatchery, built in 1985 to increase fish populations, can raise up to 16 million fish, primarily kokanee salmon, for release into Lake Pend Oreille each June.

first appeared: 11/2/2003

The Silver Country 1,000 Mile Trail System near Wallace (pop. 960) is reported to be the world’s largest trail system for snowmobiles, ATVs, mountain biking, hiking, and SUVs. It opened in the mid-1990s, after more than 1,000 miles of prospector trails, and logging and mining roads in Idaho and Montana were linked. Wallace has even allowed ATVs and snowmobiles on its roads, with an “open streets” ordinance.

first appeared: 10/26/2003

The Coldwater Creek clothing company began in 1984 as a home-based business, with a mail-order catalog that featured 18 items. Today, the company has a 20-acre headquarters in Sandpoint (pop. 6,835), and its catalogs offer about 3,000 clothing, accessory, and gift items to more than 2.5 million customers.

first appeared: 10/19/2003

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