Minnesota Trivia & Tidbits

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

—Begun in the 1930s by merchants in Benson (pop. 3,376), "Kid Day" is held each July and includes events such as a parade and the coronation of the Kid Day king and queen.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—Since 1971, boats built from milk cartons have been raced at the summertime Aquatennial in Minneapolis. The largest competitor was made with 25,000 cartons and stretched 100 feet.

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—The Bergquist cabin, built in 1870 by Swedish immigrant John Bergquist, is the oldest house in Moorhead (pop. 32,177) still on its original site. The cabin is open each June during the Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival and by appointment.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—The Hautman brothers-Jim, of Chaska (pop. 17,449), Bob, of Delano (pop. 3,837), and Joe, of Plymouth (pop. 65,894)-have established themselves as America's foremost family of wildlife artists. They are the only set of brothers to win the Federal Duck Stamp Contest and their work has been featured on more than 40 state and federal conservation stamps.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–Bert Holbrook, 80, of Waseca (pop. 8,493), has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest known person with Down syndrome. The life expectancy for people with Down syndrome is 55 years.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—The first woman in the world to cross the ice to both the North and South Poles is explorer Ann Bancroft, born in 1955 in Mendota Heights (pop. 11,434). She traveled by dogsled at the North Pole in 1986 and on skis at the South Pole in 1993.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—1987 World Series champions the Minnesota Twins were the first team to appear on the famed Wheaties cereal box.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—“Sitting still” isn’t a requirement for elementary students of Abby Brown, a teacher in Marine on St. Croix (pop. 602), who invented the AlphaBetter standing desk. Students stand or perch on a stool while they work.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—You might be waiting a while if you agree to meet someone at “Long Lake” in this state nicknamed “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” At least 91 different lakes are named “Long Lake.”

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—In 1913, pitcher Leslie Ambrose Bush, dubbed “Bullet Joe” because of his throwing speed, became the youngest pitcher to win a World Series game. Born in 1892 in Brainerd (pop. 13,178), Bush was 20 years and 315 days old when he led the Philadelphia Athletics over the New York Giants during the third game of the series.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—The only major waterfall on the entire Mississippi River is St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, which was harnessed in the mid-1800s to provide power for the pioneering milling town.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—With 12 city parks covering more than 115 acres, Montevideo (pop. 5,346) has earned the nickname “City of Parks.”

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—The “Lost 40” in Big Fork State Forest near Alvwood (pop. 74), so-called because of a surveying slip in 1882, contains acres of virgin old-growth red pine and spruce-fir.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—Galactic Pizza, a restaurant in Minneapolis, uses wind-powered electricity and employs servers clad in superhero costumes who deliver pizza in electric-powered cars.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

—A 44-foot-tall stucco snowman, billed as the world’s largest snowman, has been a landmark since 1974 in North St. Paul (pop. 11,929). The 20-ton snowman was a gift from the late Lloyd Koesling and is the city’s official logo.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—Online images of streets and homes in North Oaks (pop. 3,883), a private community where residents own the roads, no longer are available on Google Maps’ street view feature. The town successfully enforced its no-trespassing rule on the Internet-based company.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—A popular treat in Tyler (pop. 1,218) are aebleskivers, Danish pancakes shaped like tennis balls, often filled with fruit, and cooked in special aebleskiver pans. The town holds an Aebleskiver Days festival in July.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—The official state fruit is the honeycrisp apple, developed by University of Minnesota plant breeders, and popular for its crispy and juicy texture.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—Karlstad (pop. 794) proclaims itself the “Moose Capital of the North.” Swedish settlers named the town after Karlstad, Sweden.

first appeared: 8/24/2008

—The 14,000-acre Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington is near the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America, and is one of a handful of urban wildlife refuges in the United States.

first appeared: 8/10/2008

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