Mississippi Trivia & Tidbits - Page 6

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

The temperature soared to 115 degrees on July 29, 1930, in Holly Springs (pop. 7,957), a record high in the state, and dipped to 19 degrees below zero on Jan. 30, 1966, in Corinth (pop. 14,054), a record low.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

The Black Creek Trail near Wiggins (pop. 3,849), the state’s longest hiking trail, meanders 41 miles through the De Soto National Forest and along Black Creek, a federally designated wild and scenic river.

first appeared: 9/25/2005

The coldest recorded temperature in the state occurred on Jan. 30, 1966, in Corinth (pop. 14,054) where the temperature dropped to 19 degrees below zero. The hottest day was 115 degrees in Holly Springs (pop. 7,957) on July 29, 1930.

first appeared: 9/18/2005

Bo Diddley, born Ellas Bates in 1928 in McComb (pop. 13,337), had his first hits with Bo Diddley and I’m a Man in 1955. His distinctive beat, sometimes described as "shave-and-a-haircut," is one of the cornerstone rhythms of rock ’n’ roll music.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

The blossoms and leaves of two magnolias, the state flower, are showcased on the Mississippi state quarter released in 2002. The fragrant flower is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

Dr. James D. Hardy of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson transplanted the heart of a chimpanzee into the chest of a dying man in 1964. The patient lived only 90 minutes. The operation preceded the first human-to-human heart transplant, performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard in South Africa, by three years.

first appeared: 8/14/2005

The state’s American Indian heritage is alive in the names of 19 of its 82 counties, including Chickasaw, Choctaw and Yazoo, all named after tribes, and Coahoma (red panther), Neshoba (gray wolf), Oktibbeha (bloody water) and Tallahatchie (river of the rock), all Indian words and descriptions.

first appeared: 7/31/2005

From an 1886 Benz to a 1994 Dodge Viper, more than 100 cars shine in the showroom of the Tupelo (pop. 34,211) Automobile Museum. Located in Elvis Presley’s hometown, the museum also sports a 1976 Lincoln Mark IV that belonged to the King.

first appeared: 7/17/2005

Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner, considered one of America’s greatest writers, set 15 of his novels, beginning with 1929’s Satoris, in mythical Yoknapatawpha County. He was born in 1897 in New Albany (pop. 7,607).

first appeared: 6/19/2005

With sites in Utica (pop. 966) and Natchez (pop. 18,464), the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience documents the story of Jewish immigrants who settled in small Southern towns. The museum is part of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

first appeared: 6/5/2005

Founded in 1947, Norris Bookbinding Co. in Greenwood (pop. 18,425) operates the nation’s largest Bible rebinding plant.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

H.A. and Margret Rey, creators of Curious George, are among 1,200 children’s book authors and illustrators who donated their original manuscripts and artwork to the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg (pop. 44,779).

first appeared: 5/8/2005

Located on the campus of Mississippi University for Women at Columbus (pop. —The North Carolina Arboretum opened in Asheville (pop. 68,889) with 426 acres of public gardens and trails, nearly a century after landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, who designed the Biltmore Estate grounds, envisioned it in the 1890s.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

In 1940, Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula (pop. 26,200) launched the Exchequer, the world’s first ship with an all-welded steel hull.

first appeared: 4/10/2005

In 1972, Louisiana chef Tony Chachere launched his line of Creole foods and seasonings in Opelousas (pop. 22,860) and published Cajun Country Cookbook.—The state adopted the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) as its official state water mammal in 1974.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

In 1944, at the age of 9, James Cotton left his home in Tunica (pop. 1,132) to pursue a musical career. He played harmonica in Muddy Waters’ band for nearly 12 years and won a Grammy for his Deep in the Blues album in 1996.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

In October 1945, at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair in Tupelo (pop. 34,211), 10-year-old Elvis Presley won $5 during a talent contest for singing Old Shep. NORTH CAROLINA—Born in 1942 at Fort Bragg (pop. 29,183), Raymond Floyd has won 62 tournaments and $17 million during his golfing career.

first appeared: 3/13/2005

Laurel (pop. 18,393) is home to the Anvil Shooting Championship, during which contestants use gunpowder to blast 100-pound blacksmith anvils skyward.

first appeared: 2/27/2005

Located at Mile 547 on the Lower Mississippi River, Greenville (pop. 41,633) is the largest of the state’s 16 river ports and bills itself as "Towboat Capital of the World."

first appeared: 2/13/2005

In Columbia (pop. 6,603), Earl and Weldon Bascum produced what is believed to be the first outdoor rodeo held under electric lights at night in 1935.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

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