Fun Facts About Vermont
Fun Facts About the U.S.
One Vote Can Make a Difference
City Nicknames

Fun Facts about Vermont

• While all other 12 senatorial districts have 1 to 3 senators, the Chittenden district (Burlington area) has 6.
• Strange Town Names in VT: Bread Loaf, Island Pond, Mosquitoville, Notown, Moscow, Underhill, Satans Kingdom, Wilder
• Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S., producing over 500,000 gallons a year.
• Dr. H Nelson Jackson was the first to drive an automobile across the U.S. in 1903.  He was from Burlington.
• John Deere served his apprenticeship in VT.
• Some philatelists credit Brattleboro with producing America's first postage stamp in 1846
• Coldest Temp recorded in VT: 50 F degrees below.  Hottest: 105 F.
• VT was the first state to outlaw slavery.
• About half the milk consumed in New England is produced in VT.
• VT is the second-largest state in New England, with Maine the first.
• Norwich University is the oldest private military college in the U.S.
• More people live in a rural setting in VT than in an urban setting.
• VT is 160 miles long and 80 miles wide.
• VT is the second smallest state in population.
• VT has the least amount of violent crimes out of all 50 states.
• Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the U.S.
• Until 1996, VT was the only state without a Wal-Mart
• Montpelier is the only state capital without at McDonalds
• Vermont-born U.S. president Calvin Coolidge was the only president to be born on the 4^th of July.
• In ratio of cows to people, VT has the greatest number of dairy cows in the country.
• Until recently, the only way a Vermonter could get a photo driver's license was to drive to Montpelier.
• 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.
• 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.
• Vermont was the first state admitted to the union after the first 13 colonies.
• Vermont is the only state that recognizes the Grass Roots Party as a major party on the election ballot.
• 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."
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1980, Sergio Pasetto of Barre received the most votes in the race for House Representative - except he died a week before the general election.
• 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?
• 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. 

• The state that was the birthplace for the most former presidents is Virginia, with 8 former presidents born there.
• The religion to which the most former presidents belong is Episcopalian, with 11 former presidents.
• 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.
• 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.
• There are over 50 recognized political parties, though many are very small and many are based out of only one or a few states.
• Definition: Psephophobia: The fear of voting.
• 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.
• The youngest elected president of the U.S. was John F. Kennedy, at 43 years old.

One Vote Makes a Difference

• 1645: One vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
• 1649: One vote caused Charles 1 of England to be executed.
• 1714: One vote placed King George 1 on the throne in England and restored the monarchy.
• 1776: One vote gave America the English language instead of German.
• 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: One vote made Texas a state.  This vote was cast by U.S. senator Edward Hannigan, who was elected by the one vote of Indiana state senator David Kelso, who was elected by the one vote of citizen Freeman Clark.
• 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: One vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.
• 1876: One electoral vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency.  The man who cast that one vote was an Indiana congressman who was also elected by one vote.
• 1889: One vote made Washington a state.
• 1890: One vote made Idaho a state.
• 1920: Tennessee ratified the 19^th amendment, which allowed women to vote, by one vote.  Tennessee was the last state needed for ratification.
• 1923: One vote gave Adolph Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.
• 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 ïRound Vacationland
Montpelier: Green Mountain City
Rutland: Marble City
Springfield: Cradle of Industry