Fun facts about Wisconsin. (And I still wear beaver, although that coat is getting awfully heavy, but it sure feels good on a day like today.)
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interesst ping list.
Was there a 19-century Karl Rove telling them that they were going "too far" to the right?
...and the birthplace of progressivism, IIRC
I just saw the series `To Make a Murderer’. Did Steven Avery and Brendan Dassy kill that poor woman in Manitowoc county, or not?
Go Pack!
I think WI also gave birth to the socialist movement.
And I think Milwaukee is the only city to have socialist mayors, and then under democrat rule for over a century.
And the Wisconsin State motto is? ...
“Come smell our Dairy Air”
My handy-dandy fact I happen to know, with all of the lynchings that have happened in the USA, Wisconsin never lynched a black man. Massachusetts I believe shares this distinction as well as possibly some other states. One can look this up.
GOP founding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29#Founding_and_19th_century
he first public meeting where the name “Republican” was suggested for a new anti-slavery party was held on March 20, 1854 in a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin. The name was partly chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jefferson’s Republican Party.
The first official party convention was held on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan.
Your #5 is patently incorrect.
After meeting in Jackson, Michigan, the nascient members of the Republican Party, (having separated from the Whigs) gathered in Ripon Wisconsin to nominate one Abraham Lincoln for POTUS.
The Republican Party was first formed in Jackson, Michigan.
I looked for confirmation but couldn’t find it, I thought they say too, one can ride across Wisconsin on a bike trail and never have to ride on the highway.
Green Bay Bump!
Even this Native Texan found it interesting -- especially the part about all the effigy mounds. My involvement in archaeology has led me to visit several in Ohio -- but I was ignorant of their ubiquity in Wisconsin...
Thanks again!
Here is one you fergot!
The upper penninsula was originally also part of Wisconsin. But it was decided to give it to Michigan . As a result of a territorial claim created by the Michigan Ohio war. When the Ohio national guard was called out to defend Toledo from a Michigan invasion when Michigan laid claim to it. And the song; Don’t give a a damm for the whole state of Michigan cause we’re from Ohio, came about.
“The Peshtigo Fire was a forest fire that took place on October 8, 1871 in and around Peshtigo, Wisconsin. It was a firestorm that caused the most deaths by fire in United States history, with estimated deaths of around 1,500 people,[1] possibly as many as 2,500.[2] Occurring on the same day as the more famous Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire has been largely forgotten.[3][4] On the same day as the Peshtigo and Chicago fires, the cities of Holland and Manistee, Michigan, across Lake Michigan, also burned and the same fate befell Port Huron at the southern end of Lake Huron as well.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_Fire
“By the time [the Peshtigo Fire] was over, 1,875 square miles (4,860 km² or 1.2 million acres) of forest had been consumed, an area approximately twice the size of Rhode Island. Some sources list 1.5 million acres (6,100 km²) burned.[citation needed] Twelve communities were destroyed. An accurate death toll has never been determined because local records were destroyed in the fire. Between 1,200 and 2,500 people are thought to have lost their lives. The 1873 Report to the Wisconsin Legislature listed 1,182 names of deceased or missing residents.[7] In 1870, the Town of Peshtigo had 1,749 residents.[8][9] More than 350 bodies were buried in a mass grave,[10] primarily because so many had died that no one remained alive who could identify many of them.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_Fire
That was one heck of a fire.
Not be upstaged by a larger place:
The “You Know You’ve Been on Guam Too Long Test.”
1. What do you think is the purpose of a trip to the world’s largest K-Mart on Thursday?
a. An errand to see what is on sale
b. The social highlight of the week
2. What do you think is an appropriate speed limit on a highway?
a. 55 to 75 mph
b. 35 mph but occasionally 45
3. What do you call a stray dog?
a. A stray dog
b. A boonie
4. What do you think about nepotism in government?
a. A serious crime
b. It is something that is cured by a vaccination
5. What is a “Tang-a-Tang”?
a. A cocktail made from powdered orange juice, vodka and club soda.
b. A small, ugly tree that looks like a mimosa but can’t be killed
6. What is a poinsettias?
a. A decorative plant at Christmas
b. A noxious weed that grows in your yard
7. What do you think about a daily commute to work of 15 miles?
a. A short commute
b A really long way to go
8. What do you think about going to the beach?
a. A fun family outing
b. What you do when you don’t have anything else to do
9. What are the things you look for when house hunting?
a. A house with curb appeal, floor space, bathrooms and number of bedrooms
b. A house with a concrete roof and that is flood, earthquake and tsunami proof
10. What are fruit trees?
a. A desirable addition to your yard
b. a nuisance that make the grass hard to mow
11. What would your reaction be if you received directions to: “go to the overpass and turn right”?
a. Ask “What over pass?”
b. Say “Oh, OK” because there is only one overpass on the island
12. How long does rush hour traffic last?
a. At least an hour probably two or three
b. 15 to 30 minutes
13. Which of these is more likely to break the windshield of your automobile?
a. An errant baseball from a pickup game being played by neighborhood boys
b. A falling coconut
14. What is your response if a checkout clerk at the grocery store says “Half a Day”?
a. You think she is commenting on her work schedule
b. You realize that the word “Hafadai” is hello in Chamorro.
15. What is a “Gwa-ee-ick”?
a. You have no idea
b. A small lizzard
How to score the test
If you answered “A” to 12 or more of these you are a normal person
If you answered “A” to 8 or more of these you have probably lived on Guam but should consider moving soon
If you answered “A” to 3 or less of these you you need to stay on Guam because people in other places will laugh at you and call you a freak
If you answered “B” to all 15 questions you are probably really angry with me at this time for making fun of you culture
Not all of the miners stayed for the winter. Those who moved south to Illinois came to be known as suckers, after a migratory freshwater fish, a name that came to be applied to all Illinoisans. And that was not an insult--one of Illinois' nicknames is The Sucker State.
Damn, it’s cold in Wisconsin. Just so cold.