130 Things You May Not Know about Mississippi... BUT SHOULD

I ran across this site earlier today while trying to find the blogging of the ubiquitous Marshall Ramsey... I love Marshall, but I'm glad I ended up at this site... 130 fascinating facts about Mississippi... Here are the first five to whet the whistle... go to the site to see them all: http://www.visitmississippi.org/secrets/facts_1.asp

130 MISSISSIPPI FACTS

"Mississippi has always been a bewitched and tragic ground, yet it's also a land of heroism and nobility; a land which has honored those of us of all our races who possess the courage and the imagination of the resources given us on this haunted terrain. I love Mississippi, and I hope the best of it will endure." Willie Morris Interview 1986

Did you know...

1. The event which led to the creation of the Teddy Bear occurred near Onward, in 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt, acting upon the suggestion of some friends, visited the state on a hunt for wild game. A bear was located by a member of the hunting party for the President. The bear was exhausted and possibly lame, some claim it was a mere cub. In any case, Roosevelt refused to shoot the helpless bear because he found it unsporting. News of the President's refusal to shoot the bear spread far and wide. Soon after, Morris Michtom, a New York merchant, made toy history when he created a stuffed toy bear and labeled it "Teddy's Bear. " Mr. Michtom placed the bear in the window of his candy store to draw attention. His success was so great that it led to the formation of the Ideal Toy Corporation in 1903. The Teddy Bear continues to be a favorite toy of children everywhere.

2. The Blues is a music form that began in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta, and is considered the only music original to the United States. The University of Mississippi Blues Archive in Oxford, contains the world's largest collection of Blues music.

3. The world's first round trip transoceanic flight was performed in 1928 by H. T. Merrill, from Iuka. The flight to England was made in a plane loaded with ping pong balls.

4. Vardaman is the Sweet Potato Capital of the world. The Sweet Potato Festival is held each November to celebrate this most delectable root.

5. William Faulkner, one of the literary giants of the twentieth century, was born in New Albany. His accomplishments include winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, two Pulitzer Prizes and the National Book Award. He is considered to be the greatest writer of fiction during the first half of the 20th century. His novels include The Reivers, The Sound and The Fury, Light In August, and Absalom, Absalom. His home, Rowan Oak, in Oxford, is open to the public. At Rowan Oak, visitors may view Faulkner's room where an outline for A Fable has been scribbled on the wall by the author's own hand...

Now for the remaining 125 facts: http://www.visitmississippi.org/secrets/facts_1.asp