Illinois Trivia & Tidbits

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

Nancy G. Brinker, born in 1946 in Peoria, received the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, for her work as founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a global campaign in the fight against breast cancer. The organization is named for Brinker's sister, who died of breast cancer.

first appeared: 11/1/2009

The tallest building in the United States, known as the Sears Tower since opening in 1973, was renamed Willis Tower in July. Willis Group Holdings, a London-based company, got the naming rights to the 110-story Chicago landmark as part of an agreement to lease 140,000 square feet of space.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

Built in 1932 along U.S. Route 66, the Standard Oil Station in Odell (pop. 1,014) has been fully restored. It doesn't serve gas, but serves as a visitors center and a reminder of the many gas stations that once flourished along the famous highway.

first appeared: 10/4/2009

Established in 1893, Pickard China in Antioch (pop. 8,788) is one of the oldest fine china companies in the nation. Since 1977, the company has manufactured the official china service for U.S. embassies around the world.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

In 1936, Hart Schaffner & Marx in Chicago became the first clothier to put zippers in men's pants. The company, which changed its name to Hartmarx in 1983, made the suit worn in January by President Barack Obama for his inauguration.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

Calhoun County (pop. 5,084) lies on the tip of a narrow peninsula between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and is accessible by ferryboats to other areas in both Illinois and Missouri.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

Artifacts, documents, photographs and testimonies from survivors tell the tragic story of the Holocaust at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, which opened in April in Skokie (pop. 63,348).

first appeared: 8/9/2009

Chicago's most fashionable street is North Michigan Avenue, nicknamed "The Magnificent Mile" in 1947 by developer Arthur Rubloff. High-end stores, museums, restaurants and ritzy hotels line the wide boulevard.

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—Dr. Gary L. Turpin, 71, of Greenfield (pop. 1,179), is giving free medical treatment until the end of the year to his regular patients who have lost their jobs or don't have health insurance because of the economic recession.

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—In 1968, Stewart Brand published his first Whole Earth Catalog of tools, services and information for the burgeoning back-to-the-land movement. The catalog won a National Book Award in 1972, the only time the award was given to a catalog. Brand was born in 1938 in Rockford.

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, from Peoria, became the youngest member of Congress when he was sworn into office in January at the age of 27. The Republican is the first member of Congress born in the 1980s.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—In 2008, the state became the first in the U.S. to sanction fishing as an official high school sport.

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—A popular underwater attraction is Mermet Springs near Vienna (pop. 1,234), a dive site and scuba training center where a spring-fed quarry offers diving depths from 15 to 120 feet and sunken treasure to explore.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—George Barris, born in the 1920s in Chicago, designed and built many of television and Hollywood's famous vehicles, including the Batmobile, the Munsters' Koach and the Beverly Hillbillies' jalopy. He owns Barris Kustom Industries in North Hollywood, Calif.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–Nicknamed the "Vaulting Vicar," the Rev. Robert Richards is the only two-time Olympic gold medalist in pole vaulting (1952, 1956). He won a bronze medal in 1948. Richards was born in 1926 in Champaign (pop. 67,518).

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—The world's largest manufacturer of football helmets and faceguards is Schutt Sports, headquartered in Litchfield (pop. 6,815). The company was founded in 1918.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—The Ariston Café in Litchfield (pop. 6,815) is believed to be the oldest restaurant along old Route 66. Pete Adam opened the café in 1924 in Carlinville (pop. 5,685), then relocated five years later to Litchfield.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—Peter Oberweis, who began selling milk to neighbors in 1915, bought a partnership in a dairy in 1927. The enterprise became the Oberweis Dairy, in North Aurora (pop. 10,585), a few years later.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—In 1952, Warren Henning conceived the idea of a plastic fishing tackle box to replace rusty metal tackle boxes. Soon after, his company, Plano Tackle Systems in Plano (pop. 5,633), started manufacturing the plastic boxes.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—Actor Rock Hudson, whose good looks made him a romantic leading man in the 1950s and 1960s on the silver screen, was born Roy Harold Scherer Jr. in 1925 in Winnetka (pop. 12,419).

first appeared: 2/8/2009

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