Tennessee Trivia & Tidbits - Page 2

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

—The world’s largest Rubik’s Cube is at the Knoxville Convention and Exhibition Center. The puzzle, which weighs 1,200 pounds and stands 10 feet tall, was built for the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—A literary landmark in Memphis since 1875, Burke’s Book Store sells old, new and hard-to-find collectible books.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—The oldest restaurant in Memphis is The Arcade, open since 1919. One of its most famous diners was Elvis Presley, whose regular booth is marked with a plaque.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—President Gerald Ford shot a hole-in-one at Colonial Country Club golf club in Cordova in 1977 during a tournament. The televised feat was dubbed “the shot heard round the world.”

first appeared: 11/16/2008

—Zorb Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge (pop. 5,083) is the first U.S. site to offer the extreme sport of “zorbing,” in which thrill seekers strap themselves into 11-foot-high inflatable balls and tumble head over heels downhill.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—Built in 1797, The Chester Inn in Jonesborough (pop. 4,168) has been host to three U.S. presidents—Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson—and today is home to the International Storytelling Center.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—Thirty-five years after the end of the Vietnam War, the state became the first in the nation to declare “Vietnam Veterans Day” as a state holiday on March 29. A “Welcome Home” celebration was held in March in Crossville (pop. 8,981).

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—Most people eat at restaurants to avoid cooking at home, but at Pfunky Griddle in Berry Hill (pop. 674), the tables have built-in griddles so diners can cook their own pancakes and other fare.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—Founded in 1954 by Turner E. Kirkland in his garage, Dixie Gun Works in Union City (pop. 10,876) sells black powder firearms and antique gun parts. The company’s 700-page catalog offers more than 10,000 items.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—In 1952, Kemmons Wilson opened his first Holiday Inn in Memphis after becoming frustrated with the shabbiness of inns during a family vacation. He took the name “Holiday Inn” from the 1942 Bing Crosby movie of the same name.

first appeared: 8/24/2008

—The steepest roller coaster drop in the nation can be experienced on the Mystery Mine “runaway” mine cart ride at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge (pop. 5,083). The ride twists and turns down a 1,811-foot steel track, and features a first drop at a 95-degree angle of descent.

first appeared: 8/10/2008

—In 1919, Brenda Runyon founded the First Woman’s Bank in Clarksville, which is believed to be the first bank created and staffed entirely by women. Deposits from men were welcomed, however.

first appeared: 7/27/2008

—Tom Michaels, a truffle farmer in Chuckey, isn’t the first U.S. truffle farmer, but he is the first to produce commercial quantities of the treasured black fungi that command $800 a pound. The plant pathologist grows the truffles in an orchard of 350 hazelnut trees.

first appeared: 7/13/2008

—One of the world’s largest dealers of vintage and used guitars is Nashville-based Gruhn Guitars, established by George Gruhn in 1970. The guitar guru has written a comprehensive guide to vintage guitars.

first appeared: 6/29/2008

—The Volunteer State was the first to designate an official state painting—two, actually, in 1997 and 2007. “Tennessee Treasures” and “Tennessee Treasures Too” by artist Michael Sloan depict the state’s 17 official flora and fauna.

first appeared: 6/15/2008

—In 1941, Camp Tyson near Paris (pop. 9,763) became the site of the U.S. Army’s only barrage balloon training center. The rubber defensive-weapon balloons on nearly invisible steel cables provided a shield from enemy aircraft around important buildings, factories and strategic areas.

first appeared: 6/1/2008

—The orange and white colors associated with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville football team were suggested by Charles Moore, a member of the first squad in 1891. The colors were the same as the common American daisy, which grew in the area.

first appeared: 5/18/2008

—Madison and William were the most popular names for babies born in 2007 in the state. The second most popular choices were Emma and Jacob.

first appeared: 5/4/2008

—In 1957, Tennessee A&I State (now Tennessee State) University in Nashville became the first historically black college to win a national basketball title when the Tigers won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship.

first appeared: 3/9/2008

—Benjamin L. Hooks, pioneer civil rights leader and former executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom last year. Hooks was born in 1925 in Memphis.

first appeared: 2/24/2008

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