Welcome to Missouri, home of the Gateway Arch, the Kansas City Royals, railroads, and lots of interesting history! When considering where to vacation, why not visit Missouri? With lots of historical landmarks and museums, it’s hard not to find something incredible and fun on your visit. Before you travel, check out these ten little known facts about the Show-Me State.
1. The first successful parachute jump to be made from a moving airplane was made by Captain Berry in St. Louis in 1912.
2. The Capitol Building in Jefferson has burned down twice. Once was in 1837, and the second structure burned in 1911 when the dome was struck by lightning.
3. The tallest man in documented medical history was Robert Pershing Wadlow from St. Louis. He was 8 feet, 11.1 inches tall.
4. The most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the United States was in 1811 and centered in New Madrid, Missouri The quake affected over one million square miles, and even made the Mississippi River run backwards for a time.
5. Missouri is an Algonquin Indian word meaning “river of the big canoes.”
6. Hermann, Missouri has achieved national recognition for its quality wines and distinctive German heritage. It was built in 1836 as the “New Fatherland” for German settlers.
7. The Lake of the Ozarks has more miles of shoreline than the California coast.
8. Branson is the number one tour bus destination in the United States. It boasts more than 50 live performance theatres, and is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World.”
9. Missouri is home to more than 6100 known caves. 23 of them offer tours to the public. No wonder Missouri is known as the cave state!
10. Ice cream cones were invented in St. Louis at the 1904 World’s Fair when an ice cream vendor ran out of cups. He asked a waffle vendor to roll up waffles to hold the ice cream, and ice cream cones were born.
Now that you know all about the Show-Me State of Missouri, why not learn a little more about the most popular tourist destination in the Midwest, Branson?
