Share something odd/interesting about your state/province/country

[Babs Johnson]

Maryland has the most narrow part of any state. It is less than two miles from West Virginia to Pennsylvania, with Maryland in between, at the town of Hancock.

 

[bcla]

It's not my state, but there is this little oddity known as Point Roberts, Washington.

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.9932833,-123.0633675,13z

 

[Aladora]

The Chesapeake bay of Maryland has its own legend creature like the Loch Ness Monster. Chessie has been seen in the bay for decades with no conformation that it really exists or what it actually is.

Cadboro Bay here in Victoria also has one called the Cadborosaurus, nicknamed Caddy. There have been more than 300 reported sightings going back over 200 years.

 

[Vernie822]

In Pennsylvania you can only buy wine and liquor at specific state stores. You can buy beer at a beer distributor. And certain grocery stores now have the right to sell you 2 12-packs of beer in a special area of the store.

It's the most annoying thing.

 

[clori]

more on Massachusetts

• The USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides", is the US Navy's oldest commissioned warship and it is berthed in the Charlestown Navy Yard.

• The first public beach, Revere Beach, is also located in Massachusetts

• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) invented the first computer in Cambridge in 1928

• Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith in Springfield

• The sweet treat Marshmallow Fluff was invented in Union Square, Somerville in 1917

• Today there is a yearly Fluff Festival in Somerville, MA

• The Boston University Bridge on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane

 

[Julie's Haircut]

We were just in NJ driving back from my husband's family's house in NY (we live in TN), it was so incredibly bizarre to me to see people at gas stations and the attendant who pumps your gas for you. Lol. I asked Bill, but he couldn't give me a good reason - WHY can't you pump your own gas? What's the reasoning?

Supposedly the ban on self-service started as a safety concern. Apparently the legislature thought citizens were too stupid to operate gas pumps without a PhD from MIT. Occasionally some state senator introduces a bill to allow self-service, but the reaction is always overwhelmingly negative. The naysayers still cite safety, employment (mostly part time and low paid), and other silly reasons, but they all add up to "I'm too lazy to pump my own gas."

I admit it's great in winter to only have to crank the window a bit and hand the attendant a credit card.

A few years ago DW called me in a panic. She's a lifelong Jurzee Gurl and was in Pennsylvania with about a quarter tank of gas. She was afraid she wouldn't have enough gas to get home, or even to get back to New Jersey. (She had more than enough). I just told her to pull up to the pump and read the instructions. It ain't rocket science. If she has a problem, someone will notice the Jersey plates, roll their eyes, laugh in her face, but still show her what to do.

 

[VandVsmama]

I live in Arizona. Carsland was inspired by many places in Arizona, like Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon, but my favorite has to be the jack rabbit sign at the Jack Rabbit Trading Post that says "HERE IT IS." Here's a link from somebody's travel blog.

• In Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Nation (technically not in Arizona since it's a Native American reservation), you can hire Navajo guides to take you through the canyons and they will share the history of their culture with you while you get a personally guided tour. I've always wanted to do this.
• El Charro Café in Tucson (I live in a suburb of Tucson) is famed to have invented the chimichanga many decades ago. But honestly, the food at El Charro isn't very good! Go to Mi Nidito instead and get carne seca instead.
• The only known wild jaguar living in the US was filmed on camera southwest of Tucson in the forest.
• American Quarter Horse racing started in Tucson.
• Tucson school children get 2-3 days off at the end of February for Rodeo Days. But they don't get any days off for Presidents' Day. Go figure.
• Tucson has a big solar observatory at the top of Mt. Lemmon and you can take tours of it in the evening for a fee. The solar observatory is the big reason why we don't have any street lights around here. So it's REALLY dark!
• Mt. Lemmon also has the southern-most ski area in the United States.
• The original London Bridge was disassembled, shipped to Arizona, & reassembled at Lake Havasu, AZ.
• Fort Huachuca is the base of the Buffalo Soldiers.
• Tucson is home to Mission San Xavier del Bac just south of town on the Tohono O'odham nation. It's been there since 1692. And on any given day in the courtyard out in front of the church, you can get some of the best Native American fry bread you've ever had.
• Southern Arizona is home to wild horses. Sometimes if you're lucky, you can see them in the mountains near Marana or in Sahuarita.

 

[tvguy]

The one I know of (because DH mentions it a lot) is Adaptive headlights. I try to tune out as much geeking out about cars as I can--not my thing.

I can totally see that some features make more sense for the type of driving that is typical in one country versus another (moderate highway speeds vs autobahns, plenty of dirt roads and hills, vs plenty of super narrow cobblestone streets, etc).

I admit to being baffled by the brightness of the headlights though. What is it about driving in the US that makes brighter headlines dangerous/blinding but not in Europe (where European spec headlights come at me all the time, of course, and I never feel blinded by them)? I'm sure there is something, I just can't think what it would be--maybe you can explain? Thanks.

Oh many, I was in England 18 months ago, didn't drive, but just walking on the street or riding the bus at night my eyes hurt from the bright lights. Better than Russia I guess. When I was there in 1976 it was illegal to drive in the city limits with your headlights on, only the parking lights. As tourists, we were told it was so as to not blind other drivers. But others said it was a carry over from the cold war, and the city wanted to keep populated areas as dark as possible in case of aerial attacks!

 

[tvguy]

That is still an ongoing balancing act! There was an article here not too long ago about trying to design an interior that had enough cup holders that Americans would buy them but hid them well enough that the Europeans would not be deterred from buying it. Definitely a different mentality about what you do while driving between the two countries.

Me? I like a cup holder and a drink available when I drive. Oddly, again DH was mentioning that in response to that article people on the forum from the US complained the current 5 series does not have enough cup holders--there are 4, two in front and two in back (so basically one per person) and Germans were complaining they are unneeded and unsightly (they all go behind a panel or into an armrest when not in use.
Personally, I think it is a good number and they look fine as designed. Then again--I am not obsessive with cars or on the forums lol

DW and I both keep bottles of water in the car. We had to go buy hang on cupholders for our 1965 Mustang.

 

[bcla]

In Pennsylvania you can only buy wine and liquor at specific state stores. You can buy beer at a beer distributor. And certain grocery stores now have the right to sell you 2 12-packs of beer in a special area of the store.

It's the most annoying thing.

I take it there are bars where one can purchase an alcoholic beverage for immediate consumption.

Heck, I've been to Utah, and it's a really tough go buying alcoholic beverages. They have state liquor stores that aren't open on Sunday. Bars don't really exist. They're technical "private clubs" requiring a membership. One can buy weak beer outside of state liquor stores or package agencies, but "heavy beer" is only sold in these stores.

Utah even sends cops out to border towns just outside and follow drivers home and bust them after they've bought alcohol. Heck, it's way past the statute of limitations. I brought alcohol into Utah, although I wasn't aware of the law at the time.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Louisiana - Birthplace of Jazz Music and Home of Tabasco Hot Sauce

 

[soccerdad72]

There's a school in Pennsylvania that calls itself "California University".

That's because it's in California, PA.

There's also an Indiana, PA (and University) - so maybe it's a Pennsylvania thing?

 

[Julie's Haircut]

In Pennsylvania you can only buy wine and liquor at specific state stores. You can buy beer at a beer distributor. And certain grocery stores now have the right to sell you 2 12-packs of beer in a special area of the store.

It's the most annoying thing.

I lived in Pennsylvania until I was 28, and buying alcohol there was always a PITA. There were some State Stores where everything was behind the counter. You couldn't browse, you had to ask specifically for what you wanted. And some of the clerks were the surliest people who ever lived. Closed on Sundays, closed on July 4th and even minor holidays. One time the union wanted more days off and wanted to close on Flag Day. They didn't get their wish.

It was well worth the drive to go to New Jersey for alcohol. Prices were much cheaper, the selection was superior, and they were open practically every day including Sundays. NJ drinking age was 18 at the time while PA was always 21. It was easy to get a fake NJ drivers license. No photos at the time. Some places would even honor a PA ID, even though they weren't supposed to.

 

[Vernie822]

I lived in Pennsylvania until I was 28, and buying alcohol there was always a PITA. There were some State Stores where everything was behind the counter. You couldn't browse, you had to ask specifically for what you wanted. And some of the clerks were the surliest people who ever lived. Closed on Sundays, closed on July 4th and even minor holidays. One time the union wanted more days off and wanted to close on Flag Day. They didn't get their wish.

It was well worth the drive to go to New Jersey for alcohol. Prices were much cheaper, the selection was superior, and they were open practically every day including Sundays. NJ drinking age was 18 at the time while PA was always 21. It was easy to get a fake NJ drivers license. No photos at the time. Some places would even honor a PA ID, even though they weren't supposed to.

I hear ya. We live not too far from the Ohio border (my fiance's parents live there) and it's always so bizarre to me that they can just walk into a gas station and buy a case of beer.

Our Wegmans sells beer, I was buying 3 6-packs of craft beer for a party once. I had to buy the 2 6-packs (the legal limit), take them out to my car, and come back in to buy the remaining. Such a PITA.

 

[DisneyOma]

Massachusetts used to include the state of Maine.

Harvard University was the first college in the US, located in Boston/Cambridge, MA.

Birdseye frozen food started in Gloucester, MA.

Boston Latin was the first public school, and it still exists.

The first Dunkin' Donuts was in Quincy, MA.

 

[winterman]

The Missouri Compromise was in 1820. Most people know that it allowed Missouri to be admitted to the US as a slave state. The state that was admitted as a free state was Maine. I suspect that is not widely known. Before that Maine was a territory of Massachusetts.

 

[gncntry]

Maryland

Maryland gave up some of it's land to form Washington D.C.
The United States Naval Academy was founded on October 10, 1845 at Annapolis which is known as the sailing capital of the world.
America's national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key a Maryland lawyer. It is believed Key wrote the anthem on September 14, 1814 while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor.

 

[bcla]

That's because it's in California, PA.

There's also an Indiana, PA (and University) - so maybe it's a Pennsylvania thing?

Well yeah. However, it had several names before taking the current name. One name was apparently "California State Normal School", which was also the name of what's now San Jose State University.

 

[maxaroni]

Supposedly the ban on self-service started as a safety concern. Apparently the legislature thought citizens were too stupid to operate gas pumps without a PhD from MIT. Occasionally some state senator introduces a bill to allow self-service, but the reaction is always overwhelmingly negative. The naysayers still cite safety, employment (mostly part time and low paid), and other silly reasons, but they all add up to "I'm too lazy to pump my own gas."

I admit it's great in winter to only have to crank the window a bit and hand the attendant a credit card.

A few years ago DW called me in a panic. She's a lifelong Jurzee Gurl and was in Pennsylvania with about a quarter tank of gas. She was afraid she wouldn't have enough gas to get home, or even to get back to New Jersey. (She had more than enough). I just told her to pull up to the pump and read the instructions. It ain't rocket science. If she has a problem, someone will notice the Jersey plates, roll their eyes, laugh in her face, but still show her what to do.

Lifelong Jersey gal here as well. I have never pumped my own gas....
I haven't driven by myself anywhere that I can't fill right before I leave the state and then again, upon return.

 

[maxaroni]

I lived in Pennsylvania until I was 28, and buying alcohol there was always a PITA. There were some State Stores where everything was behind the counter. You couldn't browse, you had to ask specifically for what you wanted. And some of the clerks were the surliest people who ever lived. Closed on Sundays, closed on July 4th and even minor holidays. One time the union wanted more days off and wanted to close on Flag Day. They didn't get their wish.

It was well worth the drive to go to New Jersey for alcohol. Prices were much cheaper, the selection was superior, and they were open practically every day including Sundays. NJ drinking age was 18 at the time while PA was always 21. It was easy to get a fake NJ drivers license. No photos at the time. Some places would even honor a PA ID, even though they weren't supposed to.

For DH, he was 21+ when NJ went to 18. He'd cross state lines and go to NY and drink there, as it was 18. We lived in Bergen County and close to the border into Rockland county. For me, the age was 18 in NJ. I remember hearing about the state stores and thinking that was so odd. I was 19 and flew to Colorado to spend time with an old boyfriend. We went to PIzza Hut and they sold beer. Very odd to me, of course, it was 3.2 beer....do they even call it that anymore? I am dating myself for sure.