Kansas Trivia & Tidbits - Page 3

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

—Lucas (pop. 436) claims to be the home of the world’s largest souvenir travel plate, which measures 14 feet in diameter and features scenes of the town painted by artist Erika Nelson on a defunct satellite dish.

first appeared: 2/10/2008

—According to local lore, Sabetha (pop. 2,589) was named in the 1850s by a traveler, a student of Greek and the Bible, who was bound for the California goldfields and got waylaid by the death of one of his oxen on a Sunday. The gold seeker gave up his quest, pitched a tent, dug a well and named the site after the Greek word for Sabbath, which led to Sabetha.

first appeared: 1/27/2008

—Adopted in 2007, the official state firefighters museum is the Kansas Firefighter’s Museum, located in Engine House No. 6 in Wichita.

first appeared: 1/13/2008

—Brian Stanley of Newton (pop. 17,190) became the lord of gourds at the 2007 Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson (pop. 40,787) after growing a 976-pound pumpkin, which topped the previous fair record by more than 300 pounds.

first appeared: 12/30/2007

—Ron Tyler of Topeka bought a USO key chain while serving in the Army in Vietnam. Since then, he’s added more than 42,000 key chains and claims to have the largest collection in the world. The key chains are organized by topic and hang on hooks in his basement.

first appeared: 12/2/2007

—Four counties on the state’s western border observe Mountain time: Sherman (pop. 6,760), Wallace (pop. 1,749), Greeley (pop. 1,534), and Hamilton (pop. 2,670). The rest of the state is in the Central time zone.

first appeared: 11/18/2007

—Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence is the only four-year college in the nation devoted exclusively to American Indian education. Students represent federally recognized tribes from across the United States. The university got its start in 1884 as a government training school for elementary children.

first appeared: 11/4/2007

—In 1902, Luther Taylor of the New York Giants pitched to William Ellsworth Hoy of the Cincinnati Reds, marking the first time in major league baseball history that two deaf players faced each other. Taylor was born in 1875 in Oskaloosa (pop. 1,165).

first appeared: 10/21/2007

—Suneil Iyer, 12, of Olathe won second place in the 2007 National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C., and a $15,000 scholarship. The first-place winner was Caitlin Snaring, 14, of Redmond, Wash.

first appeared: 10/7/2007

—A total of 1,683 guitarists performed “Smoke on the Water” at Community American Ballpark in Kansas City in June in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the most guitarists simultaneously playing a song. The 1972 Deep Purple song was chosen because it’s one that many beginning guitarists learn.

first appeared: 9/30/2007

—An 1864 chapel in Sproxton, England, was disassembled and moved stone by stone to the campus of Baker University in Baldwin City (pop. 3,400), where it was rebuilt and dedicated in 1996.

first appeared: 9/9/2007

—Cedar Crest, the Kansas governor’s mansion in Topeka, is the smallest occupied governor’s residence in the United States, but sits on the largest property: 244 acres.

first appeared: 8/26/2007

—An all-steel Lustron home, built between 1948 and 1950, can be toured at the Barton County Historical Society Museum and Village near Great Bend (pop. 15,345). Other Lustrons are private residences in the town. The prefabricated homes were an answer to the post-World War II housing shortage.

first appeared: 8/19/2007

—A 44-foot-tall sculpture of an American Indian warrior with hands stretched up in offering stands at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers in Wichita. Internationally recognized artist Blackbear Bosin designed The Keeper of the Plains sculpture, which was dedicated in 1974 and since has been refurbished.

first appeared: 8/12/2007

—In 1892, Jesse Reno patented an inclined elevator, the forerunner of the escalator, and introduced it to the public a few years later as an amusement ride at Coney Island. Reno was born in 1861 in Fort Leavenworth near Leavenworth (pop. 35,420).

first appeared: 7/15/2007

—Ellis County (pop. 27,507) is the official German Capital of Kansas. In the 1870s and 1880s, German immigrants settled in Hays (pop. 20,013); Ellis (pop. 1,873); Victoria (pop. 1,208) and nearby villages.

first appeared: 7/1/2007

—Established in 1887, Riggs Arboretum north of Waterloo is believed to be the oldest arboretum west of the Mississippi River. More than 60 varieties of trees grow at the 10-acre facility.

first appeared: 6/17/2007

—Renee Miller of Spring Hill (pop. 2,727) invented the game of horse soccer to help her horse overcome his skittishness about objects in his path. While horses in the game have riders, it’s the steeds that kick, block and score with a 50-inch rubber ball.

first appeared: 6/3/2007

—Steve Hund Jr. of Paxico (pop. 211) began restoring antique potbellied stoves in 1971, bought a boarded-up general store for his shop and sparked a downtown revival. Today, a dozen antique stores attract bargain hunters to Paxico.

first appeared: 5/28/2007

—At 95, Nola Ochs is a senior at Fort Hays State University in Hays (pop. 20,013) and if she completes her degree this month, will become the world’s oldest college graduate. Ochs isn’t planning to join the job market, but simply enjoys learning.

first appeared: 5/6/2007

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