Missouri Trivia & Tidbits - Page 6

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

African-American horse trainer Tom Bass was born a slave in 1859 near Ashland (pop. 1,869). Growing up in Mexico (pop. 11,320), he later moved to Kansas City, where he invented the Bass bit, a metal mouthpiece that did not irritate a horse’s mouth and which is used today. Famous for his success in training American saddle horses, Bass died in 1934.

first appeared: 10/23/2005

Shannon, an 8-year-old border collie-golden retriever mix, from Washington (pop. 13,243), won the National Hero Dog award in May. Shannon howled and scratched at the door until her owner, Peggy Mandry, let her outside. The dog then led Mandry through the woods to find her husband, injured in a tractor accident.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

Since 1910, the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde (pop. 74) have supported themselves by baking altar bread. The nuns spent years developing a low-gluten bread, safe for people with celiac disease, a digestive disorder triggered by gluten.

first appeared: 9/25/2005

Three hundred thousand snow geese, 100,000 ducks and other migratory birds descend on the marshes of Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City (pop. 1,193) each spring and fall. Established in 1935, the refuge covers 7,350 acres.

first appeared: 9/18/2005

An Italian restaurant in a St. Louis neighborhood known as The Hill has served toasted ravioli since 1947. According to lore, a chef at Angelo’s dropped ravioli in breadcrumbs then decided to deep-fry it. The restaurant is now Charlie Gitto’s.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

In 1798, Moses Austin, from Durham, Conn., began mining lead in eastern Missouri. He built a Colonial-style mansion, Durham Hall, around which the town of Potosi (pop. 2,662) grew up. In 1816, Austin relinquished his mine to his son Stephen and moved to Herculaneum (pop. 2,805), a town he had established in 1808 as a shipping point for his lead business.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

Born in Lodz, Poland, in 1877, Max Factor opened a rouge and hair goods concession at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, then moved to Los Angeles and perfected greasepaint for movie stars. Later, he created Pan-Cake makeup, which produced more natural effects.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

Dorm students at Stephens College in Columbia don’t have to leave Fido at home. Last fall the women’s college opened the first floor of Prunty Hall to students who want to bring their dogs, cats or rabbits to college.

first appeared: 8/14/2005

Since 1935, a tree nursery near Licking (pop. 1,471) has supplied millions of seedlings for reforestation, windbreaks and erosion control. Currently known as the George O. White State Forest Nursery and owned by the state, the nursery provides a seedling to every Missouri fourth grader each spring.

first appeared: 7/31/2005

Clowns abound in Houston (pop. 1,992) on the first weekend in May during the Emmett Kelly Clown Festival, which honors Kelly, also known as Weary Willie, America’s famous sad-faced hobo clown. Kelly moved there from Sedan, Kan., as a boy.

first appeared: 7/17/2005

The state Legislature adopted the Missouri mule as the official state animal in 1995. The offspring of a mare (female horse) and a jack (male donkey), mules helped pioneer farmers and moved supplies and troops during World War I and II. Mule breeding was once a major industry in the state.

first appeared: 6/19/2005

The 21,676-acre Mingo National Wildlife Refuge near Puxico (pop. 1,145) contains the largest tract of bottomland hardwood forest (14,000 acres) in the Bootheel region.

first appeared: 6/5/2005

In 1849, German immigrant Charles Hager bought the St. Louis blacksmith shop where he had been forging wagon hinges. Five generations later, Hager Companies is a family-owned swinging success and among the world’s largest manufacturers of hinges and hardware.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

The 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Judy Garland, introduced a generation of Americans to the history of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904.

first appeared: 5/8/2005

Illustrator, author and creator of the Kewpie doll, Rose O’Neill spent much of her time at her family’s home, a 14-room mansion called Bonniebrook, near Branson (pop. 6,050). She claimed that the idea for the plump cupids with turnip-shaped heads came to her in a dream in 1909.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

Artist Thomas Hart Benton had just finished a mural for the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn., when he died at his easel in 1975 in Kansas City.

first appeared: 4/10/2005

The TWA Museum took off in 2004 near the Kansas City International Airport and chronicles the airline’s history and connection with Kansas City. TWA moved its headquarters there in 1931. In 2001, American Airlines bought the company.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

In 1724, Etienne de Bourgmont established Fort Orleans in today’s Carroll County.

first appeared: 3/13/2005

The world’s largest banjo, with a 47-foot-long neck, stands in Branson’s (pop. 6,050) Grand Country Square.

first appeared: 2/27/2005

In 1913, cartoonist George McManus (1884-1954), born in St. Louis, launched Bringing Up Father starring Jiggs and Maggie, one of the most popular cartoon strips of all time, while working for the New York Journal in New York City.

first appeared: 2/13/2005

jump to page: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18

newspaper partner login create account

Recent

Popular

Recipes

Below are the most recent American Profile articles:

Below are the most recent, highest rated American Profile articles:

Below are the most recent, highest rated American Profile recipes:

Relish

Spry

Below are the most recent articles from our Relish sister site. Click on the "Spry" tab above to see the most recent articles from our other sister site.

Below are the most recent articles from our Spry sister site. Click on the "Relish" tab above to see the most recent articles from our other sister site.