Iowa Trivia & Tidbits - Page 15

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

In 1955, a youngster found skeletal remains near Turin (pop. 75), which scientists later determined were 5,500-6,000 years old. For a while, they were thought to be the oldest human remains in North America until older ones were found elsewhere on the continent.

first appeared: 9/30/2001

The largest meteorite to fall in North America in recorded history hit near Estherville (pop. 6,656) on May 10, 1879. It exploded into more than 5,000 pieces, ranging from the size of a pea to one that weighed 431 pounds.

first appeared: 9/23/2001

In 1921, five beekeepers pooled $200 and 3,000 pounds of honey to form the Sioux Honey Association in Sioux City. The association now has 375 members nationwide who produce 40 million pounds of honey annually.

first appeared: 9/16/2001

Attracting more than 250,000 visitors a year, the Clay County Fair in Spencer (pop. 11,317) is the largest county fair in the state.

first appeared: 9/9/2001

Of all the buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright around the world, he “signed” just 19 with specially fired tiles bearing his initials. Cedar Rock, a home near Quasqueton (pop. 574), is Wright’s only “signed” design in Iowa.

first appeared: 9/2/2001

The first college football game played entirely under artificial lights was in Des Moines on Oct. 5, 1900. A temporary light was placed every five yards along each sideline during the game between Drake University and Grinnell College.

first appeared: 8/26/2001

Born in Burlington (pop. 26,839) Feb. 26, 1887, actor William Frawley started in show business as an extra in the local opera house. He’s best known for his role as Fred Mertz in the 1950s television comedy I Love Lucy.

first appeared: 8/19/2001

Rock Rapids (pop. 2,773) is home of the first bridge in the nation to use steel-reinforced concrete. Built in 1894 at a cost of $6,913, the Melan Bridge was moved from its original site to a city park on the east side of town.

first appeared: 8/12/2001

Blood Run National Historic Site, near Larchwood (pop. 788), was occupied by people of the Oneota culture between A.D. 1100-1700. The site was so named because iron minerals in the soils create blood-colored runoff when it rains.

first appeared: 8/5/2001

Jesse James robbed his first train southwest of Adair (pop. 839) July 21, 1873. Expecting a train carrying at least $75,000 in gold, the James gang didn’t know the gold had been shipped earlier and reportedly took only about $3,000 in cash from passengers and a baggage car safe.

first appeared: 7/29/2001

A 150-foot-tall wind turbine erected on the campus of the Forest City Community Schools in Forest City (pop. 4,530) in the late 1990s supplies 63 percent of the three schools’ electrical needs and saves $60,000 in utility costs annually.

first appeared: 7/22/2001

Elsa Maxwell, a famous society party hostess during the first half of the 20th century, was born in an opera house in Keokuk (pop. 12,495) May 24, 1883, when her mother refused to leave during a performance. The daughter is credited with creating the scavenger hunt.

first appeared: 7/15/2001

The owner of more than 6,000 hats, Alvina Sellers of Clarion (pop. 2,699) is known as the “Iowa Hat Lady.” She has given more than 4,000 presentations about hats across the nation and appeared on the David Letterman Show.

first appeared: 7/8/2001

The Sac and Fox Indian settlement, near Toledo (pop. 2,518), is not a reservation. After being forced out of the area, the Sac and Fox people, now called Meskwaki, bought back 80 acres of their ancestral lands in the 1850s. Now, about 1,100 Meskwaki live on 2,000 acres at the settlement.

first appeared: 7/1/2001

On the Iowa prairie, B&B Mountaineering, near Kelley (pop. 230), has a climbing gym encompassing 100,000 square feet with 60 man-made routes over rocks, boulders, and ice.

first appeared: 6/24/2001

The Mississippi River Car Ferry, which connects a rural road in Clayton County with Cassville, Wis., during the summer, is Iowa’s only remaining ferry.

first appeared: 6/17/2001

When Fayette County was created as part of Iowa Territory in 1837, it encompassed 140,000 square miles and extended all the way to the Canada border. By 1847, the county was reduced to its present size of 720 square miles.

first appeared: 6/10/2001

Jerry Mathers, better known as Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver in the 1957-63 television show Leave It To Beaver, was born June 2, 1948, in Sioux City, where his father was a schoolteacher.

first appeared: 6/3/2001

The wild rose became the state flower in 1897 when it was used on the engraved silver service presented to the crew of the battleship USS Iowa by the state’s citizens.

first appeared: 5/27/2001

Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to improve the yields and protein content of rice and wheat, was raised on a farm near Protivin (pop. 306). He is the only agriculturist to receive the prize.

first appeared: 5/20/2001

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