Massachusetts Trivia & Tidbits - Page 9

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

James Michael Curley was the first Boston mayor to have an automobile. Its plate number, 576, reflected the number of letters in “James Michael Curley,” and the mayor’s official car still has that same plate number.

first appeared: 3/14/2004

The Fig Newton, introduced in 1891 by the Kennedy Biscuit Co., was named after the town of Newton.

first appeared: 3/7/2004

Original court documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials of 1692 have been preserved in the archives of the Peabody Essex Museum.

first appeared: 2/29/2004

America’s first subway opened in Boston on Sept. 1, 1897. It was known then as the Tremont Street Subway.

first appeared: 2/22/2004

Jingle Bells was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont of Medford (pop. 55,765), and originally was called One Horse Open Sleigh.

first appeared: 2/15/2004

Artificial snow was first introduced and used for skiing on Mount Greylock on Nov. 13, 1946.

first appeared: 2/8/2004

One of the oldest designated scenic routes in America, the Mohawk Trail (now State Route 2) runs 63 miles from the Connecticut River to New York state.

first appeared: 2/1/2004

To own and drive a motor vehicle in the state, residents are subject to paying excise taxes, gas taxes, insurance, tolls, and fees for licensing, registration and inspection. Still, it’s a fun state to explore.

first appeared: 1/25/2004

The state, widely known for cranberries—which grow on vines in sandy, wetland bogs—annually produces about 30 percent of the nation’s crop.

first appeared: 1/18/2004

A “Nantucket sleighride” was the term given to the treacherous ride which often ensued after a whaler harpooned a whale with the harpoon line affixed to the boat.

first appeared: 1/11/2004

In 1907, the Boston Pilgrims baseball team was re-named by its owner, who five years later moved the team to a new stadium in the city’s “Fenway” section. The Red Sox have played there ever since.

first appeared: 1/4/2004

Plymouth Rock in Plymouth (pop. 9,670), which is viewed by thousands of tourists each year as the site of the Pilgrim’s landing, is the size of a small sports car and shaped like a potato cut lengthwise.

first appeared: 12/28/2003

The 1862 Old Harbor Lifesaving Museum in Provincetown (pop. 3,431) is an original station of the U.S. Lifesaving Service, one of 13 nationwide credited with saving the lives of about 100,000 shipwrecked sailors.

first appeared: 12/21/2003

The 19th-century Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest and longest wooden bridge in the world. The half-mile-long bridge was rebuilt in the 1980s and lost its place in the records book.

first appeared: 12/14/2003

Boston College graduate and 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie established a charitable foundation, named for his autistic son. The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism helps families of autistic children with support and education.

first appeared: 12/7/2003

French King Bridge, which joins Erving (pop. 1,467) and Gill (pop. 1,363), crosses the Connecticut River gorge near French King Rock, named during the French and Indian War. The three-span arch opened in 1932.

first appeared: 11/30/2003

Incorporated in 1829, The Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown (pop. 32,986) was the first school for the blind in the United States. Laura Bridgman, who came to the school in 1837, was the first known deaf-blind person to be educated.

first appeared: 11/23/2003

Arnold “Red” Auerbach, head coach of the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1966, led his team to nine world championships in 10 years. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968.

first appeared: 11/16/2003

The first Basketball Hall of Fame opened in 1968 at Springfield College in Springfield. It commemorates James Naismith’s invention of the sport in 1891.

first appeared: 11/9/2003

Andrew “Hawk” Zamparelli was Northeastern University’s first New England collegiate cross-country running champion in 1936. His achievements, including an undefeated record in cross-country at NU, elevated him to the Husky Hall of Fame.

first appeared: 11/2/2003

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