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Fun Facts About
Vermont
Fun Facts About the U.S.
One Vote Can Make
a Difference
City Nicknames
Fun Facts about Vermont
1. While all other 12
senatorial districts have 1 to 3 senators, the Chittenden
district (Burlington area) has 6.
2. Vermont is the largest
producer of maple syrup in the U.S., producing over 500,000
gallons a year.
3. Dr. H. Nelson Jackson was
the first to drive an automobile across the U.S. in 1903. He
was from Burlington.
4. John Deere served his
apprenticeship in VT.
5. Some philatelists credit
Brattleboro with producing America's first postage stamp in
1846.
6. Coldest temperature recorded in VT:
-47 F degrees. Hottest: 106 F.
7. VT was the first state to
outlaw adult slavery.
8. Vermont has nearly one half
of the dairy farms in New England.
9. About half the milk consumed
in New England is produced in VT.
10. VT is the second-largest state in
New England, with Maine the first.
11. Norwich University is the oldest
private military college in the U.S.
12. More people live in a rural
setting in VT than in an urban setting.
13. VT is 160 miles long and 80 miles
wide.
14. VT is the second smallest state
in population.
15. VT has the least amount of
violent crimes out of all 50 states.
16. Montpelier is the smallest state
capital in the U.S.
17. Until 1996, VT was the only state
without a Wal-Mart.
18. Montpelier is the only state
capital without a McDonalds.
19. Vermont-born U.S. president
Calvin Coolidge was the only president to be born on the 4th of
July.
20. Until recently, the only way a
Vermonter could get a photo driver's license was to drive to
Montpelier.
21. Ben & Jerry's gives their ice
cream waste to local farmers who feed it to their hogs. The
hogs seem to like every flavor except Mint Oreo.
22. Each Vermonter's vote in the
presidential elections counts 2.5 times more than someone from
Ohio. Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Vermont and Wyoming are the seven states with the smallest
population. They each have 3 Electoral votes, giving them a
combined total of 21 votes. Ohio alone has 21 Electoral votes,
but it has 2.5 times the population of the combined population
of the seven smallest states. Because Ohio has the same voting
power as those seven states but has 2.5 times more people, a
vote from someone from a small state like Vermont has 2.5 times
the weight of a vote from an Ohioan.
23. Vermont was the first state
admitted to the union after the first 13 colonies.
24. In 1886, Ebenezer J. Ormsbee and
Levi K. Fuller ran for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of
Vermont. Each were one-armed amputees. Their campaign slogan
was "two good arms between the two of us."
25. Matthew Lyon, nicknamed
"Mad-Matt, the Democrat," and "Spitting Lyon, the Wild Irishman
from Vermont," was re-elected to congress while in jail! Lyon
was incarcerated for making defamatory statements about the
president, which was in violation of the Sedition Act. The
Sedition Act, which makes the criticism of the president by any
American citizen illegal, was repealed in 1801.
26. In 1998, Fred Tuttle, a 79-year
old Vermonter, ran for U.S. senate as a Republican. With a
campaign budget of $201, Tuttle beat a millionaire from
Massachusetts in the Republican primary. After winning the
primary, Tuttle began publicly supporting his Democratic
opponent, Patrick Leahy.
27. In 1980, Sergio Pasetto of Barre
received the most votes in the race for House of Representatives -
even though he had died a week before the general election.
28. A recent Vermont Auditor of
Accounts named Alexander Acebo faced controversy about his
campaign postcards. During one of his campaigns for
re-election, Acebo attached a penny to his campaign cards. This
was viewed by some as trying to buy people's votes. Surely
someone's vote is worth more than a penny, but wouldn't you be
more likely to read the card if you saw a free penny attached to
it?
29. In the Vermont election of 1840,
there was an 82% voter turnout among eligible voters. This is
remarkably higher than it is today, especially considering the
advances in transportation and communication through time.
Fun Facts about the
U.S.
1. The state that was the birthplace for the most former
presidents is Virginia, with 8 former presidents born there.
2. The religion to which the most former presidents belong
is Episcopalian, with 11 former presidents.
3. Four of our presidents have won the presidency but not
the popular vote. They are John Quincy Adams, Rutherford
G. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush.4. Armored knights used to raise their visors to identify
themselves when they rode past their king. This custom
has turned into the modern military salute.
5. There are over 50 recognized political parties, though
many are very small and many are based out of only one or
a few states.6. Definition: Psephophobia: The fear of voting.
7. You must be 35 years old to be president, 30 to be U.S.
senator, 25 to be a U.S. House member, 18 to be Governor
of Vermont and 18 to be a state senator of Vermont.8. The youngest elected president of the U.S. was John F.
Kennedy, at 43 years old.
One Vote Makes
a Difference
1714: One vote placed King George 1 on the throne in
England and restored the monarchy.1800: One vote kept Aaron Burr, later charged with treason,
from becoming president.
1839: One vote elected Marcus Morton as the Governor
of Massachusetts.
1844: A farmer in Switzerland County, Indiana named Freeman
Clark was seriously ill on Election Day. He had his
son carry him to the county seat so he could vote for David
Kelso for state senator. Clark died on the way home
from the polling place. David Kelso was elected state
senator by one vote.1844: Back when state senates elected U.S. senators,
the Indiana state senate elected Edward Hannigan for U.S.
senate by one vote; that vote was David Kelso's.
1845: The U.S. Senate passed a convention to annex Texas by a
vote of 27 - 25. One of the two critical votes was cast
by Senator Hannigan from Indiana.1850: One vote made California a state.
1859: One vote made Oregon a state.1868: One vote saved President Andrew Johnson from being
removed from office.
1876: President Rutherford B. Hayes was elected by one vote.
Here's the full story: His democratic opponent Samuel Tilden won
the popular vote, but came up one electoral vote shy of a
majority. Twenty electoral votes were under dispute
because political tactics were so shady. Congress appointed a
commission of eight Republicans and seven Democrats to resolve
the issue of the disputed electoral votes. The members voted
along party lines, and so the Republicans, with a majority of
one, voted to give all 20 of the electoral votes to Hayes, thus
making him the President.
1889: One vote made Washington a state.1890: One vote made Idaho a state.
1920: Tennessee ratified the 19th amendment,
which allowed women to vote, by one vote. Tennessee
was the last state needed for ratification.
1941: One vote made the term for selective service 2
½ years instead of 1.1950: A state senator from Garrett County, Maryland was
elected by one vote.
1955: In Huron, Ohio, the mayor was elected by one vote.1959: One vote elected the mayors of both Rose Creek
and Odin, Minnesota.
City Nicknames
Barre: Granite Center of the World
Bennington: Vermont's Most Historic Town
Burlington: Queen City of Vermont, Year Round Vacationland
Montpelier: Green Mountain City
Rutland: Marble City
Springfield: Cradle of Industry
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