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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 65 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Kansas
Coronado. Coronado entered Kansas in 1541, searching for gold.
bleeding Kansas. In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act established the territory of Kansas, and both pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups flocked to the new territory. Because of the sometimes violent nature of the conflict between the two groups, the territory soon became known as 'bleeding Kansas'.
Quantrill's Raiders. On August 21, 1863, several hundred men under the leadership of William Quantrill entered Kansas from Missouri and destroyed the town of Lawrence. Approximately 200 buildings were burned, and 150 people were killed.
the Mennonites. The Mennonites had settled in Russia in 1790, based on assurances from the czar that they would be exempt from military service. This promise was broken in the 1870s, and the emigration ensued, many of them settling in Kansas. They brought with them the hard red winter wheat that they had grown in the Ukraine, leading to Kansas becoming the number one producer of wheat in the U.S.
Charles Curtis. Curtis was a U.S. Senator, and then served as Herbert Hoover's Vice President from 1929 to 1933.
Alf Landon. Alf was rewarded with the Republican nomination for President in 1936. However, he won only two states and was swamped by FDR.
William Allen White. White catapulted into national prominence in 1896 with his anti-Populist editorial, 'What's the matter with Kansas?', which helped William McKinley defeat William Jennings Bryan in the election that year. His poignant editorial 'Mary White', written in 1921 after the accidental death of his daughter in a horse-riding accident, is a classic. White also wrote biographies of Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge.
the Menninger Clinic. Founded in 1925 by the Menninger family, the clinic has become world famous for its innovative and humane treatment of psychiatric disorders.
track and field. Ryun burst into national prominence in 1965 when he set the high school record for the mile run, with an incredible time of 3:55.3. This record stood for 36 years, an amazing length of time for a track and field record, until finally broken in May of 2001 by Alan Webb. Ryan is currently (as of 2001), a U.S. Congressman from the Second District of Kansas.
The Air Capital of the World. Boeing, Beech, Cessna, and Lear Jet all have plants in Wichita. The world's largest hand-dug well is in Greensburg, Kansas.
Abilene. Although Eisenhower was born in Texas, he grew up in Abilene and that is considered his home town.
Dodge City. 'Gunsmoke', the longest-running dramatic series in TV history, is based on the Dodge City of the 1870's. The railroad and the cattle drives brought all kinds of people there, leading to the town persuading Wyatt Earp to move there and restore law and order as the town marshal. By the 1880's, the cattle drives had ended and an era had ended.
the NBC World Series. Every year 32 of the best semi-pro teams in North America gather in Wichita for a double elimination tournament. The first tournament in 1935 was won by Bismarck, North Dakota, which sent a team led by the legendary Satchel Paige, and the event has been held annually ever since.
34. Kansas became the 34th state in the U.S. on January 29, 1861.
ad astra per aspera. 'To the stars through difficulties'.
the Wichita Eagle. The Kansas City Star is a Missouri newspaper.
the Arkansas river. The Little Arkansas and the Big Arkansas join in Wichita to form the Arkansas River. The Big Arkansas begins in Colorado but is dry in much of Western Kansas, due to overuse of the river's water by Colorado. In 1985 Kansas sued Colorado for violation of an agreement concerning water use, and has been awarded {$14} million in damages. As of 2001, interest on this amount is still to be determined, and Colorado has paid nothing on the judgment awarded by the U.S. Supreme Court. Kansas also has ongoing litigation against Nebraska over water rights.
the Missouri River. The Missouri River forms the boundary in the northeast corner of Kansas. Other than that, Kansas is perfectly rectangular.
south wind. The Native American tribe in the area was called 'the people of the south wind'. One of the albums by the rock group Kansas was called 'People of the South Wind', in tribute to the original inhabitants.
Western Meadowlark. Lewis and Clark first noticed the differences between the Eastern and Western Meadowlark, which look very similar but sing much different songs.
Cottonwood. The cottonwood tree is a member of the poplar family of trees.
Buffalo. Kansas is also the home of many deer, badgers, foxes, rabbits, racoons, and many types of fish and birds.
Ornate Box Turtle. Most kinds of turtles can withdraw into their shells, but a box turtle can close up more completely than other species because their lower shell is hinged.
Honeybee. The honeybee is the state insect for many states, in addition to Kansas.
f. The state motto is "Ad Astra per Aspera", which is Latin for "To the Stars Through Difficulties".
t. The state song was written by Dr. Brewster Higley and Daniel Kelly.
f. She was actually born in Kentucky in 1846 and moved to Medicine Lodge, Kansas in 1889. She was strongly opposed to liquor because her first husband drank himself to death. She was known to attack saloons and break bottles with her hatchet.
t. Topeka is the capital of Kansas.
Cawker City. Each year, the people of Cawker City hold a twine-a-thon and add to the giant ball of string. In 1995, it weighed about 17,000 pounds.
Kansan. Kansans love their state and their home towns. As Dorothy Gale said when she returned from Oz, "There's no place like home!"
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