10 Interesting Facts About Ohio

1. The Buckeye state

Ohio is popularly known as the Buckeye State. Reason….? The buckeye trees which are spread throughout the Ohio River Valley. These trees produce small brown nuts resembling the eye of a deer; and hence the name buckeye. Bonus fact: carrying one in your pocket brings good luck.

2. One and only Presidential Museum

Ohio is home to the “One and Only Presidential Museum” which honors John Hanson and eight others, who were elected and served one year terms before the Constitution was written. This being said John Hanson, technically becomes the first president of the United States.

3. Mother of modern Presidents

Ohio State has been nicknamed “Mother of Modern Presidents,” as Ohio is the birthplace of seven U.S. presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft and Warren G. Harding. Two Ohio presidents: Grant and McKinley are portrayed on the US Currency, which is kind of a big deal, don’t you think.

4. River on fire

No! This isn’t a joke. The Cuyahoga River has caught fire at least 13 times and is therefore nicknamed “The River That Caught Fire.” It was one of the most polluted rivers in the country and would easily catch fire when sparks from the train would fall into the water. Only after elaborate media coverage it was cleaned up in 1969.

5. Glacial Grooves

The Glacial Grooves on Kelleys Island is a National Natural Landmark. It is considered to be the largest and most easily reachable such groove on this planet. It is quite amazing to see scratches and grooves on the bedrock left behind by the great ice sheet that covered part of North America 18,000 years ago, as it dragged over the surface.

6. The birthplace of aviation

Ohio is considered as “The Birthplace of Aviation.” The Wright Brothers, credited as inventors of the first airplane hailed from Dayton.

7. Astronaut’s hub

Ohio is home to 24 astronauts. Why so many? Role models such as Senator John Glenn, the oldest man to travel into outer space (“the first all Ohio crew”) and not to forget, Neil Armstrong, the first human ever to walk on the Moon have been inspirational for the buckeyes.

8. Home sweet Trash…?

Sounds gross right…? But it actually is pretty cool. A couple from Philo, Ohio has made a house completely out of trash and it turned out to be amazing. The idea was to show how much can be made out of recycled material and the couple nailed it. The house has now been opened up for tours.

9. Company in a basket

Longaberger Company takes the cake when it comes to being unique. Longaberger Company, a manufacturer of wood baskets and lifestyle products, Newark has its corporate office in the world’s largest basket. Today, it not only functions as the headquarters of the company but is a tourist attraction too. Thousands of fans flock to Newark every year to get a glimpse of the basket.

10. The Y Bridge

Would you believe it if I say that there’s a bridge which you can cross and still be on the same side of the river? Well believe it or not, the Y Bridge in Zanesville is one such bridge. It was opened in 1814 to span the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum Rivers and has been reconstructed four times at the same place.