Remind me of calendar occasions
Funny facts about Indiana: Santa Claus, Indiana, receives more than a half million “Dear Santa” letters at Christmas time every year. And Santa’s little helpers are sure to get them to the North Pole in time for Christmas. In June 1972, Lowell Elliot of Peru was said to have found $500,000 in cash on his farm. It appeared as if the money had fallen from the sky. And in fact, it did! A skyjacker parachuting out of a plane had dropped his stolen profits over Elliot’s farm. Elliot returned the money to the authorities. The first successful goldfish farm in the United States was opened in Martinsville in 1899.
Indiana produces more than 20% of the United States’ popcorn supply. In a typical year, almost half of all cropland in Indiana is planted in corn.
During Prohibition, the Al Brady and John Dillinger gangs were patrons of The Slippery Noodle Inn in Indianapolis, one of Indiana’s oldest bars, established in 1850. The gangs used the rear building (originally the horse stable) for target practice. Today, several bullets remain embedded in the lower east wall.
The Indiana Dunes region on the shore of Lake Michigan provides habitats for many unusual plants, including prickly pear cactus, lichen mosses, bearberry and more than 20 varieties of orchids. Mount Baldy, the largest of the sand dunes, is a living dune that moves away from shore a few feet each year.
If you’re traveling on U.S. 41 just north of Vincennes, look for the famous “Big Peach” in front of the produce market near Bruceville. It’s 20 feet tall and stands next to a Washington Monument replica.
In the 1870s citizens of Greensburg noticed a small sprig growing out of the corner of their courthouse tower. Somehow a tree had taken root in the crevices of the roof some 110 feet above the ground. Other sprigs sprouted, as well. All were removed but two, and one grew to 15 feet tall and five feet around. While that tree died, another two trees made their appearance and have now been there for over a century.
Indiana Statehood Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. state of Indiana commemorating the admission of the state into the Union (Indiana Code 1-1-10). It was first instituted in 1925 by the Indiana General Assembly. The Indiana Code directs the governor to issue an annual proclamation to observe December 11 as the day statehood was granted to Indiana by the United States Congress and the state’s admission to the Union. The law also requires state schools to hold appropriate events to commemorate the event and authorizes public celebrations to be held. Historically the day is commemorated in Indianapolis with speeches and events in the Indiana Statehouse. The day is not a paid holiday, and government employees work on the day.
Source: wikipedia.org | in.gov
