Nevada Trivia & Tidbits - Page 11

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

Located on the banks of the Colorado River, Laughlin (pop. 7,076) marks the point where San Bernardino County, Calif., Mohave County, Ariz., and Clark County, Nev., meet. The region is known as the tri-state area.

first appeared: 10/5/2003

North America’s largest ichthyosaur fossils, measuring 50 feet long, were found in 1928 at what is now Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, 23 miles east of Gabbs (pop. 318). The 40 fossils found there are also the largest number of these prehistoric marine reptiles (which resembled fish, breathed air, and bore live young) discovered in one area of North America.

first appeared: 9/28/2003

The Botanical Cactus Garden at Ethel M Chocolates in Henderson is one of the world’s largest cactus collections. Four acres and more than 300 species of drought-tolerant ornamentals, cacti, and other succulent plants grow there, on a base of 15,000 cubic yards of sandy fill and soil, and 400 tons of rock.

first appeared: 9/21/2003

It took three tries to settle Mesquite (pop. 9,389), on the Virgin River. Mormon settlers build an irrigation canal in 1880, but it was destroyed by flash floods a few years later. The Dudley Leavitt family arrived in 1887, but gave up the struggle to settle the Mesquite Flats after four years. In 1894, however, six families rebuilt the irrigation canal, finally establishing a permanent community.

first appeared: 9/14/2003

The Misfits, starring Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Thelma Ritter, Eli Wallech, and Montgomery Clift, was filmed in Dayton (pop. 5,907) in 1960. John Huston directed the movie, with a script by Monroe’s then-husband Arthur Miller. It turned out to be the last movie that either Monroe or Gable made.

first appeared: 9/7/2003

When water levels in Lake Mead are low, the houses of St. Thomas appear. The town was flooded in 1938 when Hoover (then known as Boulder) Dam was completed, turning the Colorado River into Lake Mead. St. Thomas, which was founded in 1865, lasted until Jun. 11, 1938, when the postmaster cancelled thousands of “last day” envelopes before he evacuated.

first appeared: 8/31/2003

Cyclists who participate in the annual One Awesome Tour Bike Ride Across Nevada, or OATBRAN, pedal five days and cycle 420 miles across the state, from Stateline (pop. 1,215) to Great Basin National Park. Also known as Nevada’s loneliest bike tour, the 13th annual ride in September includes following the Pony Express route on U.S. Highway 50, dubbed America’s loneliest road.

first appeared: 8/24/2003

Built in 1864 for $1,446, Glendale School in Sparks is the state’s oldest remaining school building. It saw continuous use as a school until 1958, with students who included U.S. Sen. Patrick A. McCarran (1876-1954).

first appeared: 8/17/2003

State Route 375 is officially known as the Extraterrestrial Highway. Rachel (pop. 100) is the only community on the remote 98-mile road, which runs through Lincoln and Nye counties. Known for its proximity to the legendary Area 51 and stories of UFOs, Rachel hosted the road’s designation ceremony in April 1996, complete with the state governor and stars from the movie Independence Day.

first appeared: 8/10/2003

When the six-story Hotel Nevada opened in 1929 in Ely (pop. 4,041), it was the state’s tallest building—a status that it held for some 20 years. At the time, room rates started at $1.50, and although Prohibition was still in effect, bootlegged alcohol was available 24 hours a day. Having welcomed guests such as Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, and Mickey Rooney, the recently restored hotel remains open today.

first appeared: 8/3/2003

Silent movie star Edna Purviance was born in Paradise Valley (pop. 363) in 1896, and grew up in Lovelock (pop. 2,003), where she attended school and helped her mother run a boarding house. She went on to become one of Charlie Chaplin’s leading ladies, appearing in 34 of his movies, from His Night Out to A Woman of Paris.

first appeared: 7/27/2003

Known as the “jewel of the desert,” turquoise became the state’s official semi-precious gemstone in 1987. Turquoise often is found in dry or desert climates like Nevada’s—the state has been a major turquoise producer since the 1930s. Single specimens can weigh up to 150 pounds.

first appeared: 7/20/2003

Some 55,000 military personnel train each year at the Naval Air Station, the Navy’s premiere tactical air warfare training facility, near Fallon (pop. 7,536).

first appeared: 7/13/2003

The National Automobile Museum in Reno houses an 1892 Philion Road Carriage, one of the oldest American-built cars. It is powered by a two-cylinder, one horsepower steam engine.

first appeared: 7/13/2003

The first major resort on the Las Vegas Strip was the 63-room El Rancho Las Vegas, built in 1941. The first high-rise hotel on the Strip (which is actually in Clark County, rather than the city of Las Vegas) was the nine-story Riviera, built in 1955.

first appeared: 7/6/2003

The state is home to one of the nation’s largest Basque populations. The Basques came from Europe’s Pyrenees Mountains in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and earned their living shepherding on the high-desert range. Today, Basque festivals are held in Elko, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Reno, and Carson City. Basque restaurants still serve traditional food at the Winnemucca Hotel in Winnemucca, and at The Star in Elko.

first appeared: 6/29/2003

The creator of Levi’s jeans was a tailor named Jacob Davis, from Reno. He was inspired to add rivets to points of strain on trousers (such as pocket corners), and turned to his wholesale cloth supplier, Levi Strauss, for assistance in patenting the process. The two men received their patent on May 20, 1873, and the blue jean was born.

first appeared: 6/22/2003

The oldest known Tabasco pepper sauce bottle was found last year during an archeological dig in Virginia City. The bottle was used in the Boston Saloon, which catered to African-Americans and operated from 1864 to 1875. Virginia City was once the center of the Comstock mining district. Today, it’s the nation’s largest federally designated historical district.

first appeared: 6/15/2003

Near the southeast border of Great Basin National Park, Lexington Arch towers more than six stories above the ground. The natural rock arch is unusual for the area, consisting of limestone rather than the more common sandstone, leading to speculation that it may once have been a passage in a cave system.

first appeared: 6/8/2003

Reno’s Velma B. Johnston earned the nickname “Wild Horse Annie” for her 1950s grassroots campaign against cruelty to wild horses. She began her crusade at the county and state level, organizing a ban on using aircraft to capture wild horses. Eventually, she won the support of Congress, first in 1959, and later in 1971 with the Wild Horse and Burro Act, which protects the animals on public lands.

first appeared: 6/1/2003

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