Ode to Kentucky

Kentucky is an incomparable land, bursting with innovation! Our fine Commonwealth gave birth to bluegrass music, George Clooney, the world's most famous horse race, bourbon, and me. Here are some more amazing Kentucky facts. Prepare to be blown away:

1. Cheeseburgers were first served in 1934 at Kaolin's restaurant in Louisville.
2. Mammoth Cave is the world's longest cave and was first promoted in 1816, making it the second oldest tourist attraction in the United States. Niagara Falls, New York is first.
3. Cumberland is the only waterfall in the world to regularly display a Moonbow. It is located just southwest of Corbin.
4. Christian County is wet while Bourbon County is dry. Barren County has the most fertile land in the state.
5. Thunder Over Louisville is the opening ceremony for the Kentucky Derby Festival and is the world's largest fireworks display.
6. More than 100 native Kentuckians have been elected governors of other states.
7. The song "Happy Birthday to You" was the creation of two Louisville sisters in 1893.
8. Pikeville annually leads the nation in per capita consumption of Pepsi-Cola.
9. The radio was invented by a Kentuckian named Nathan B. Stubblefield of Murray in 1892. It was three years before Marconi made his claim to the invention.
10. Joe Bowen holds the world record for stilt walking endurance. He walked 3,008 miles on stilts between Bowen, Kentucky to Los Angeles, California.
11. The brass plate embedded in the sidewalk at the corner of Limestone and Main Street in downtown Lexington is a memorial marker honoring Smiley Pete. The animal was known as the town dog in Lexington. He died in 1957.
14. More than $6 billion worth of gold is held in the underground vaults of Fort Knox. This is the largest amount of gold stored anywhere in the world.
15. The swimsuit Mark Spitz wore in the 1972 Olympic games was manufactured in Paris, Kentucky.
16. Frederick Vinson who was born in Louisa is the only Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court known to be born in jail.
17. Pike County the world's largest producer of coal is famous for the Hatfield-McCoy feud, an Appalachian vendetta that lasted from the Civil War to the 1890s.

That's right! A Kentuckian invented radio! Marconi may have played the mamba, but that jerk didn't listen to the radio 'til 1895.