New Mexico Trivia & Tidbits - Page 2

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

Madrid (pop. 149) was the locale for the chili festival and other scenes in the 2007 Disney Touchstone movie Wild Hogs, starring John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy, who played four middle-aged wannabe bikers on a road trip.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—Tularosa (pop. 2,864) takes its name from tule, the Spanish word for cattails or reeds, but promotes the floral part of its name as the “City of Roses.” The Organ Mountains east of Las Cruces (pop. 74,267) were so named because their steep spires were thought to resemble organ pipes.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum in Albuquerque is dedicated to the science, history and sport of ballooning, right in the Capital of Ballooning. Opened in 2005, the museum features a collection of more than 50 historic and modern gondolas as well as artifacts and scientific equipment.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—Albuquerque basks in an average of 310 days of sunshine each year, low humidity and a tolerant range of temperatures, which makes the city an ideal destination for outdoor activities.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—Seeing Internet usage growing 2,300 percent a year and the potential for commerce, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994 for book buyers to visit a single location on the Internet to search available titles and place orders. The company, which first offered merchandise to the public in 1997, has grown into the largest online retailer, with sales of $14.8 billion in 2007. Bezos was born in 1964 in Albuquerque.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—A prolific composer in his own right, John Donald Robb transcribed and recorded more than 3,000 traditional folk songs of Nepal, South America and the American Southwest while he worked at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque from 1942 to 1957. The collection is housed at the university, where Robb served as dean of the College of Fine Arts.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

Ruins of Atsinna Pueblo, built in the 13th century, sit atop a mesa in El Morro National Monument near Ramah (pop. 407). Containing 800 to 900 rooms, Atsinna was occupied by the Anasazi, who are believed to be ancestors of the Zuni people.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

—In addition to Roswell (pop. 45,293), Aztec (pop. 6,378) has its own claim to fame in UFO history. In March 1948, according to lore, a UFO measuring 99.99 feet in diameter crashed in Hart Canyon 12 miles north of Aztec. Believers say the U.S. government whisked away the UFO and its alien humanoid occupants. As a fundraiser, the Friends of the Aztec Public Library sponsors an annual UFO symposium, during which researchers from across the country discuss alien abductions and other encounters.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

The village of Angel Fire (pop. 1,048) was named for the region’s legendary fiery sunrises and sunsets, which impressed the Moache Ute Indians and other early inhabitants.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—Founded in 1926 as an oil boomtown, Maljamar’s name is a combination of Malcolm, Janet and Margaret, children of William Mitchell, who started the Maljamar Oil & Gas Co., which drilled the first productive oil well in southeastern New Mexico.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro—or Royal Road of the Interior—was the primary 1,600-mile route between the colonial Spanish capital of Mexico City and provincial capitals to the north between the 16th and 19th centuries. Today, the 404-mile section from El Paso, Texas, to San Juan Pueblo is designated a National Historic Trail.

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—When Spanish colonists arrived at the Pueblo village of Teypana in 1598, they were welcomed by Indians with food and shelter. The expedition named the area Socorro (pop. 8,877), Spanish for “help” or “succor.”

first appeared: 9/21/2008

The Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales (pop. 11,131) has one of the top science-fiction collections in the world. It contains more than 30,000 volumes, including science-fiction books, magazines and manuscripts. Science-fiction pioneer Jack Williamson, who taught at the school, donated many of the items.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—Along with the traditional state song, bird and insect, New Mexico has a state question: “Red or green?” The question refers to the color of chili you prefer with your dinner.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

The discovery of ancient cellulose in an underground nuclear waste dump near Carlsbad (pop. 25,625) may help scientists in their search for life on other planets. Led by Jack Griffin of the University of North Carolina Medical School, the team of researchers that discovered the cellulose estimates its age at 253 million years, which predates the earliest previous evidence of biological material on Earth by about 200 million years.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—Robert O. Anderson, one of the nation’s most prominent oilmen, was head of the Atlantic Richfield Co. and led the effort to discover oil in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, the largest oil field in North America. He also helped build the Alaska Pipeline. Anderson died at his home in Roswell (pop. 45,293) last December at age 90.

first appeared: 8/24/2008

—The state’s commemorative quarter, released in April, features a Zia Pueblo sacred sun symbol over a topographical outline of the state with the inscription “Land of Enchantment.” In 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state admitted to the Union.

first appeared: 8/10/2008

—Media mogul Ted Turner, founder of Cable News Network (CNN) and the nation’s largest private landowner, owns more than 1 million acres in New Mexico, including the 590,823-acre Vermejo Park Ranch near Raton (pop. 7,282).

first appeared: 7/27/2008

—Born in Albuquerque into a race-car family, Al Unser Sr. on May 24, 1987, became the oldest driver to win the Indianapolis 500. He was just five days shy of turning 48. Every Fourth of July, Lovington (pop. 9,471) holds “The World’s Greatest Lizard Race,” an event that has brought the town national attention. Lizards race down a 16-foot ramp in Chaparral Park as their owners cheer them on to the finish line.

first appeared: 7/13/2008

—In 2005, the state became the first in the nation to require first-time Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) offenders to have ignition-locking devices placed on their cars. The device keeps a vehicle from starting if the driver has been drinking.

first appeared: 6/29/2008

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