15 Interesting Facts About Missouri You Should Know

In 1889, a company in Missouri manufactured the first ready-to-use pancake mix.

The “Show Me State,” also known as “The Cave State,” “Mother of the West,” “The Ozark State,” and “The Lead State,” is an unofficial moniker for the state that is not legally recognized. On August 10, 1821, Missouri became the nation’s 24th state.

It is the 18th most populous state, with a total of 6,137,428 residents (as of 2019). Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska are all neighboring states in the state of Missouri.

69,715 sq. miles of land and water make it the 21st-largest state in the United States of America.

Jefferson City, the state’s capital, is located in the state’s middle.

Let’s move on to some of Missouri’s more intriguing facts now that we’ve covered the essentials.

There’s no official way to pronounce Missouri.

no official way to pronounce Missouri

Some places around the world have names that are so difficult to say that practically everyone who tries to speak it gets stumped.

The concept is not unique to Missouri, but the state takes it to a new level.

Unlike other states in America, Missouri does not have one correct pronunciation.

In the state of Missouri, residents use a variety of pronunciations for the name of their state, including “Missor-ee,” “Mussor-ah,” and even “Mizzoor-ee.”

Scientists have spent decades trying to figure out why people pronounce the state so differently.

That residents’ varied pronunciation in Missouri is not due to differences in geography or culture was validated by the researchers.

Missouri doesn’t actually translate into “muddy water.”

In the past, many people thought Missouri meant “muddy water,” however this is a misconception.

A Siouan Native American tribe named Missouri inspired the state’s name.

The most plausible explanation for the name Missouri is that it was coined by nearby tribes using a Miami-Illinois dialect to refer to the state. “Those with dugout canoes” is a translation of the term.

Missouri has no official state nickname.

There are numerous nicknames for the state, but none of them are officially recognized.

There is only one official nickname for Missouri: “Show Me State.” This nickname has even appeared on the state’s license plates.

When this nickname was coined, the origins of it remain a mystery.

“frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me,” claimed Missouri Congressman Willard Vandiver, a likely source of the term. I’m from Missouri, USA. My curiosity is piqued.

Vandiver may have simply popularized the phrase rather than coined it.

In the 1890s, the mining town of Leadville, Colorado, may have served as an early source of inspiration.

A strike by local miners necessitated the hiring of miners from Missouri.

Local mine managers began referring to the man as “Missouri” because he was unfamiliar with the mines in the area. You’ll have to prove it to him.

People have lived in Missouri for at least 10,000 years!

The Paleo Indians arrived in the Americas some 12,000 years ago, and they established a colony there.

Due to lower sea levels, the Bering Strait was a land bridge that allowed the Paleo Indians to travel from the far east of modern-day Russia to Alaska, North America.

The United States is littered with Paleo Indian archaeological sites dating back to 12,000 BC.

For the first time, evidence of long-term settlement in the state dates back to 7000 BC. However, these early people would have been primarily hunter-gatherers as well.

Complex cultures like the Mississippi Culture, which had a number of cities with over a thousand residents by the year 1000 BC, had emerged.

Europeans arrived in 1673 to find a nearly extinct civilisation.

The first Europeans to reach Missouri were the French.

Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, two Jesuit priests and explorers, were the first Europeans to go through what is now known as Missouri.

With just five other men, they ventured out from Michigan in canoes in 1673. When they reached 435 miles (700 kilometers) from the Gulf of Mexico, they decided to turn back.

They meticulously documented the places they visited.

It wasn’t until 1750 that the first true French settlement, St. Genevieve, was established in La Louisiane (later known as Louisiana), a province of New France.

Missouri’s land changed many times before it became a US state.

The French and Indian War broke out soon after France established St. Genevieve, and France ultimately fell to Britain in 1763.

After the war, France handed over sovereignty of the La Louisiane to Spain, which used French immigrants fleeing British power to further develop the region.

The region was under Spanish authority and development until 1800, when Spain backed the United States during the American Revolution.

Regaining control of Missouri for France in 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte soon sold it to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Louisiana Territory was established in 1805 after the District of Louisiana was established in 1804.

After the War of 1812, Louisiana Territory was divided into two sections, with the northern portion becoming the Territory of Missouri.

Missouri became the 24th state to join the union on August 10, 1821.

Missouri went to “war” with Iowa over a border dispute.

In 1837, Missouri attempted to redefine its northern border with Wisconsin Territory, which was delineated by the first survey, since it was too ambiguous.

Missouri conducted a new survey at the same time as Iowa was constituted out of Wisconsin Territory, which claimed a 9.5-mile (15.3km) wide strip of Iowa that ran along its entire northern boundary.

Tax collectors from Missouri were drove away with pitchforks later that year when they attempted to collect tax in this region.

Three honey bee trees were reportedly cut down by tax collectors in exchange for their honey, according to local folklore.

When both Missouri and Iowa sent militias to the region, the “Honey War” was sparked.

Congress finally resolved the issue in 1849 by proclaiming the area to be a part of Iowa.

Missourians fought on both sides of the Civil War.

During the American Civil War, Missouri formed a group of persons who would decide whether or not the state would join the Confederacy or remain in the Union.

Governor Claiborne F. Jackson of Missouri was not convinced despite the clear majority in favor of Missouri remaining in the union.

The secession convention president, Sterling Price, was appointed as the state militia’s leader, and he was ready to battle for the cause.

For their part, the Confederate troops from Arkansas and Texas joined forces with the two and their followers once they fled Jefferson City.

Mark Twain was born in Missouri.

It wasn’t until much later in life that he adopted the pen name “Mark Twain” for his literary career; he was really born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30th, 1835.

When Twain was a child, he lived in the town of Florida, Missouri, but he later moved to Hannibal, a nearby city.

Twain worked for a few minor news outlets in his early career before deciding to become a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River for 18 months.

He didn’t compose his masterpieces until much later in life, after the American Civil War, when he drew heavily on his own experiences on the Mississippi River.

There are apparently more fountains in Kansas City, Missouri, than in Rome.

“Facts” like this are hard to believe, yet it’s one of them. Although Kansas City tour guides have been proclaiming it to be divine truth for some time, no one can say for sure.

Even in Kansas City, no one has been able to come up with a precise count of fountains in the city, and that is the difficulty.

Even after traveling around and counting them all, the City of Fountains Foundation could only come up with a meager total of 200 fountains.

Many more are said to be hidden in various places, including private land.

Do you know if Rome has more fountains in Kansas City or not? Regardless of the outcome, I don’t think Rome’s residents will go to sleep worrying about it!

The world’s first ready-made pancake mix was invented in Missouri.

A excess of flour was found in St. Joseph, Missouri, during the close of the 19th century. It was two St. Joseph’s College students who had the epiphany that would alter the face of breakfast forever.

Flour, baking powder, cornflour, and salt were just a few of the basic, low-cost components they used. The first commercially accessible pancake mix was then supplied as a self-rising mix.

Known as Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix, the product went on sale in the United States in 1889.

Missouri was hit by the deadliest tornado in US history.

Located in the center of Tornado Alley, a corridor that stretches from north to south through the central United States, Missouri sees a good amount of severe weather.

With this in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that Missouri witnessed the worst tornado ever recorded in the US.

On March 18, 1925, a powerful tornado, dubbed the “Tri-State Tornado,” made landfall in Ellington, Missouri.

It ripped through Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois, killing 695 people and injured more than 2,000 more, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

More than 15,000 houses were destroyed, and many little villages were never the same again.

Two of the most famous Wild West outlaws came from Missouri.

Early 19th century births in Kearney (Missouri) gave rise to Jesse Woodson James and Alexander Franklin James.

They were raised in the South, and as a result, they fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War.

They became outlaws after the Confederacy’s loss, fighting against the Union’s way of life.

Over the course of 15 years, they robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains, and were pursued by the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

Jesse and Frank’s story was closely followed by many individuals during this period, who either saw them as trash or heroes.

No matter where they went, they always left a trail of dead people in their wake.

The first Olympic Games held in the US was in St. Louis, Missouri.

St. Louis, Missouri, hosted the first ever American Olympic Games in 1896.

As a result of St. Louis’ protests, the Olympic committee decided to move the games from Chicago to St. Louis.

Due to the ongoing Russo-Japanese conflict and the lack of a transatlantic flight, 1904 was a tough year for international events.

As a result, there were only 65 athletes from outside North America in the 651-strong field.

Missouri has a few straight-up bizarre laws.

The “brothel law,” which specifies that no more than four unrelated women can cohabit in the same house, is the first weird law.

Despite the fact that this rule was never revoked, we can see how it came to be.

We’re baffled as to why causing concern for squirrels is a crime.

The question is whether squirrels are permitted to worry or whether we can’t.

In addition, it is forbidden in Missouri to intoxicate elephants, terrify newborns, or honk another person’s horn.

Missouri has seen it all as a gateway to the Wild West.

As a result of the Civil War, the state was nearly split in two.

However, today, Missouri is a stunning place to live or visit, home to world-class national parks and dynamic urban centers.

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