Idaho Trivia & Tidbits - Page 12

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

The Bruneau Canyon Overlook, about 65 miles southeast of Boise, features views into a river canyon that drops 1,200 feet below the surrounding plateau. About 800 feet wide, the canyon provides challenging rapids for kayakers on the Bruneau River.

first appeared: 6/8/2003

St. Stanislaus Church in Rathdrum (pop. 4,816) is the oldest brick church in Idaho. The church was built in 1901 as part of the St. Stanislaus Kostka Mission, established in 1900, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

first appeared: 6/1/2003

Shelley (pop. 3,813) has been home to the Idaho Annual Spud Day since 1927. The September event celebrates the potato—particularly the Idaho Russet—with events that include the World Spud Picking Championship, the Mashed Potato Tug-of-War, and the Tator Tot Trot.

first appeared: 5/25/2003

Shoshone Falls on the Snake River near Twin Falls (pop. 34,469) is known as the Niagara of the West. Water tumbles more than 212 feet over Shoshone Falls, while at Niagara Falls, the greatest waterfall height is 194 feet.

first appeared: 5/18/2003

In 1994, Myron Finkbeiner founded the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise to celebrate athletes who not only excel within their sport, but also within their communities. Past inductees include Arthur Ashe, Chi Chi Rodriguez, and Mary Lou Retton. This year, the Hall of Fame honored Steve Young and the Harlem Globetrotters.

first appeared: 5/11/2003

Hikers can see four states—Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington—from Heavens Gate Lookout in the Seven Devils Mountains. The mountain range stretches 40 miles along the state’s border with Oregon, from White Bird (pop. 106) to Council (pop. 816), with its highest elevation (9,393 feet) at the summit of He Devil.

first appeared: 5/4/2003

The Old Mission in Cataldo, west of Kellogg, (pop. 2,395) is the state’s oldest standing building. Built between 1848 and 1853 on a grassy knoll overlooking the Coeur d’Alene River, the Mission of the Sacred Heart was a cooperative effort between Jesuit missionaries and the Coeur d’Alene Indians, who still consider it their mission.

first appeared: 4/27/2003

Idaho varies in width from 45 miles at its northern border with Canada to about 310 miles at its southern border with Nevada and Utah. Its geographic center is the ghost town of Custer on the Yankee Fork River in Custer County.

first appeared: 4/20/2003

Two National Baseball Hall of Famers have Idaho links. Walter “Big Train” Johnson played baseball in Weiser (pop. 5,343) early in his career. His record of 416 wins and a 2.17 career ERA made him one of baseball’s first Hall of Famers in 1936. Harmon Killebrew, who was born in Payette (pop. 7,054), hit 573 career home runs (second only to Babe Ruth in the American League) and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.

first appeared: 4/13/2003

After getting caught in a massive forest fire in 1910, near Wallace (pop. 960), Forest Service Ranger Edward Pulaski invented a firefighting tool that’s still used today. The Pulaski ax combines two tools in one—it has both an ax head and a sharp grub hoe, and is ideal for clearing vegetation.

first appeared: 4/6/2003

Despite being more than 300 miles from the coast, Lewiston (pop. 30,904) is a seaport. Located where the Clearwater and Snake rivers meet, Idaho’s oldest city became a port in 1975, after the completion of the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River. The port handles approximately 1 million tons of wheat and barley each year, together with container shipping, forest products, and minerals such as bentonite and talc.

first appeared: 3/30/2003

John Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor who created the faces of the four presidents at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, was born in St. Charles (pop 156), in 1867, in what was then Idaho Territory.

first appeared: 3/23/2003

Bear Lake, which sits half in Idaho and half in Utah, is home to four fish that aren’t found anywhere else: the Bear Lake whitefish, Bonneville whitefish, Bear Lake sculpin, and the Bonneville cisco. Local rumor has it that a serpentine monster, first reported to settlers by American Indians, also lives in the lake.

first appeared: 3/16/2003

Sun Valley (pop. 1,427) near Ketchum, which opened as a ski resort in 1936, was built by Averell Harriman, president of the Union Pacific railroad, as an incentive for passengers to travel west on the Union Pacific line. It boasted the world’s first chairlift, which the railroad’s engineering department based on a hoist that hauled bananas into ships’ holds.

first appeared: 3/9/2003

The Teton Flood Museum in Rexburg (pop. 17,257) is housed in the basement of what once was the Rexburg Tabernacle, on which construction began in 1911. The museum features memorabilia detailing the occurrences of June 5, 1976, when the Teton Dam collapsed—sending 80 billion gallons of water into Rexburg and its surroundings. A water line from the flood is still noticeable at the building’s entrance.

first appeared: 3/2/2003

Idaho’s radio broadcasting days began in 1922 with station KFAU, located in Boise High School. A private company bought the station from the school in 1928 and re-named it KIDO.

first appeared: 3/2/2003

One of Idaho’s best-preserved ghost towns is Silver City, established between 1863 and 1864 in the Owyhee Mountains in Owyhee County. In its heyday, Silver City produced more than $60 million worth of gold, silver, and other precious metals. Today, 70 of its historic buildings still stand, including the Idaho Hotel—established in 1866 and still open for business.

first appeared: 2/23/2003

The Mountain Bluebird was named Idaho’s state bird in 1931. The bird boasts a striking blue coat and a blue vest covering white underfeathers. It measures about 7 inches and builds its nests in hollow trees.

first appeared: 2/16/2003

Caldwell (pop. 25,967) radio station KBGN became Idaho’s first station dedicated to Christian programming when it went on the air in October 1960. First broadcast on 910 AM, it now plays Christian music and news programs on 1060 AM.

first appeared: 2/9/2003

The syringa or mock orange—a branching shrub with clusters of white, fragrant flowers—was designated Idaho’s state flower in 1931. The species’ name lewisii honors Meriwether Lewis, who wrote of the flower in his journal during the 1803-1806 Lewis & Clark expedition.

first appeared: 2/2/2003

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