Illinois Trivia & Tidbits - Page 13

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

Created by Haeger Potteries in East Dundee (pop. 2,955), the world’s largest hand-thrown vase is 8 feet tall and weighs 650 pounds.

first appeared: 7/28/2002

The remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico are preserved at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, a few miles west of Collinsville (pop. 24,707).

first appeared: 7/21/2002

Descendants of Friedrich and Johanna Busse held the world’s largest family reunion when 2,369 of them showed up June 28, 1998, at Grayslake (pop. 18,506). Guinness officials documented the event.

first appeared: 7/14/2002

The U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association, based in Glenview, started April 1, 1992, and has some 500 members who participate in the grass-roots motorsport. Souped-up mowers whip around dirt tracks at speeds up to 60 mph.

first appeared: 7/7/2002

Carl Sandburg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Abraham Lincoln biographer, was born Jan. 6, 1878, in a small cottage in Galesburg (pop. 33,706). The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency maintains his birthplace.

first appeared: 6/30/2002

The nation’s largest known red maple—along with other large trees—can be seen where state Highway 37 crosses the Cache River in southern Illinois. The maple is 16 feet in circumference and 135 feet tall.

first appeared: 6/23/2002

Western Clock Manufacturing Co. in Peru (pop. 9,835) patented the Big Ben alarm clock in 1908. An early riser and shiner in the marketplace, 28,261 Big Bens sold the first year of production in 1909.

first appeared: 6/16/2002

Timber Lake Playhouse at Mount Carroll (pop. 1,832) is the state’s oldest continuously operating summer theater. It debuted June 28, 1962.

first appeared: 6/9/2002

Two river otters, Andy and Oscar, live in a 5,000-gallon tank at the Union Federal Savings and Loan Association office in Kewanee (pop. 12,944). The bank bought the otters in 1991 to educate people about the state’s endangered species.

first appeared: 6/2/2002

Snakes have the right-of-way on LaRue Road in the Shawnee National Forest near Carbondale (pop. 20,681). Since 1972, vehicles have been banned to allow safe slithering during spring and fall migrations.

first appeared: 5/26/2002

Built in 1866, Jefferson School in Kankakee is the oldest continually used school building in the state of Illinois. Today, the school houses a pre-kindergarten program.

first appeared: 5/19/2002

Fascinated by kids playing with pencils and empty thread spools, Charles Pajeau of Evanston tinkered around and invented Tinkertoys in 1913.

first appeared: 5/12/2002

Dedicated in 1908, Fort Massac State Park near Metropolis (pop. 6,482) is the oldest state park in Illinois. French and American forts once overlooked the Ohio River at the location.

first appeared: 5/5/2002

“The choicest flowers of springtime” should be used to decorate comrades’ graves, wrote Gen. John A. Logan, who was born Feb. 9, 1826, in Murphysboro (pop. 13,295) and founded Memorial Day on May 30, 1868.

first appeared: 4/28/2002

The world’s first Waterspheroid tank, designed by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., was built in Northbrook (pop. 33,435) in 1954. The 500,000-gallon, ball-shaped water tank sits atop a slim pedestal.

first appeared: 4/21/2002

Cahokia (pop. 16,391) was founded in 1699 when three priests from Quebec established a mission among the Tamaroa Indians.

first appeared: 4/14/2002

In 1951, George Stephen designed a kettle-shaped barbecue grill at Weber Brothers Metal Works in Palatine, giving birth to what we know as the Weber grill.

first appeared: 4/7/2002

With more than 9 million volumes, the University of Illinois’ library in Urbana is the nation’s sixth-largest library and the third- largest academic library in the world. Only Harvard and Yale universities have larger libraries.

first appeared: 3/31/2002

In 2000, Illinois ranked sixth among the states in international trade, exporting $33.4 billion worth of goods and services abroad, including nearly $13 billion to Canada and Mexico.

first appeared: 3/24/2002

Abraham Lincoln began studying law while serving as postmaster of New Salem (pop. 136) from 1833 to 1836.

first appeared: 3/17/2002

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