Illinois Trivia & Tidbits - Page 7

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

Microbiologist Curt Jones invented Dippin’ Dots Ice Cream in his garage in Grand Chain (pop. 890) in 1987. The beads of flash-frozen ice cream are sold by franchises worldwide.

first appeared: 12/5/2004

The National Amateur Dodgeball Association in Schaumburg sponsors tournaments across the country.

first appeared: 11/21/2004

Visitors get "cornfused" at Richardson Farm in Spring Grove (pop. 3,880) where a 24-acre cornfield is billed as the world’s largest corn maze.

first appeared: 11/7/2004

In 1895, Ignaz Schwinn and Adolph Arnold founded Arnold, Schwinn & Company in Chicago to manufacture bicycles. Bikes in their 1896 line weighed up to 24 pounds.

first appeared: 10/24/2004

Chicago’s oldest home was built in 1836, a year before the city was incorporated, by New Yorkers Henry and Caroline Clarke. Today, the house serves as a museum.

first appeared: 10/10/2004

The National Ice Carving Association in Oak Brook (pop. 8,702) is the nation’s only organization devoted solely to promoting the art of ice sculpture.

first appeared: 10/3/2004

Ivy has covered the outfield wall at Wrigley Field in Chicago since it was planted there in 1937. If a ball lodges in the vines, the batter is limited to a double.

first appeared: 9/19/2004

Biochemist James Watson, born in 1928 in Chicago, co-discovered the structure of DNA in 1953 while working with British biologist Francis Crick.

first appeared: 9/12/2004

Completed in 1925, the Tribune Tower in Chicago contains stones from famous landmarks, including the Arc de Triomphe, Great Wall of China, Berlin Wall and Taj Mahal.

first appeared: 9/5/2004

A 1920s embalming room, mourning dresses and a horse-drawn hearse enliven the Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield.

first appeared: 8/29/2004

The 1839 Putnam County Courthouse in Hennepin (pop. 707) is the state’s oldest courthouse still in use.

first appeared: 8/22/2004

Construction began in 1831 on the Illinois stretch of the National Road—the first federally funded highway—and was supervised by William Greenup, for whom the town of Greenup (pop. 1,532) was named.

first appeared: 8/15/2004

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Queen Victoria and British authors, booksellers and publishers donated 8,000 books to what is today the Chicago Public Library.

first appeared: 8/8/2004

King Neptune, a pig dressed in a crown and purple blanket, helped raise $19 million in war bonds during World War II. The patriotic porker traveled in a red, white and blue FFA truck and was “sold” at mock auctions. He is buried near Anna (pop. 5,136).

first appeared: 8/1/2004

Buggies and cars share the road in Arthur (pop. 2,203), the heart of Amish country, which boasts more than 3,000 Amish in the area.

first appeared: 7/25/2004

In 1903, J.L. Kraft began buying wholesale cheese in Chicago and reselling it to merchants. He then formed a corporation with his four brothers and bought a cheese factory in 1914 in Stockton (pop. 1,926). The Kraft brothers introduced cheese in a tin the next year.

first appeared: 7/18/2004

Rock formations that resemble manmade walls, which create the appearance of a “giant city,” inspired the name for Giant City State Park in Makanda (pop. 419).

first appeared: 7/11/2004

In 1873, Charles M. Barnes opened a book shop in his Wheaton (pop. 55,416) home, then joined with Clifford Noble in 1917 to open the first Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York.

first appeared: 6/27/2004

A garden grows sky-high atop Chicago’s city hall where a 20,000-square-foot “green roof” was planted in 2001 to help lower urban temperatures.

first appeared: 6/20/2004

The nation’s first African-American priest was Father Augustine Tolton, also known as Augustus. Tolton celebrated his first mass in his childhood home of Quincy (pop. 40,366) in 1886 at St. Boniface Church.

first appeared: 6/13/2004

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