This is the third of my five part blog, each week dealing with
ten states listed alphabetically.
Everyone's home state has special…and weird…claims to fame,
maybe even weirder than you realize. For
every proud historical landmark, event and hero your state has produced, there
are countless bizarre ones it can claim.
I hope you enjoy these random pieces of trivia about the states.
Massachusetts—Lobster
was once so abundant in this state that it was given to slaves and prisoners.
The state used to have so many lobsters that they'd
regularly feed the lobsters to prisoners, slaves and other groups who usually
ended up on the short end when it came to food. Some professional servants even
inserted a clause in their contracts that they would only be given lobster
twice a week, not wanting to eat lobster all day, every day.
Michigan—a university
in the state offers a license to hunt unicorns.
Even though the Unicorn Hunters of Lake Superior State
University haven't officially existed since 1987, the unicorn hunting license
can still be obtained from the website. Created partially as a PR stunt in
1971, the Unicorn Hunters engaged in other whimsical activities such as burning
a snowman on the first day of Spring and holding an annual International Stone
Skipping Tournament.
Minnesota—a Minnesota
father would only speak to his son in the Star Trek language of Klingon for the
first three years of the child's life.
For the first years of his son's life, d'Armond Spears only
spoke Klingon to the young child as a sort of linguistic experiment. In the
beginning, his son would talk back in Klingon occasionally, but because Spears'
wife and others would still speak English, the language didn't stick. As the
boy grew up he didn't want to speak Klingon, so he claimed he hadn't retained
the language.
Mississippi—a Phantom Barber once broke into people's
homes and cut their hair while they were sleeping.
During WWII, the town of Pascagoula was plagued by a series
of mysterious nighttime haircuts. A panic erupted when girls, particularly
blondes, would wake up to find part of their hair had been cut and in some
cases their whole heads had been shaved. The Phantom Barber was never caught, so not too much is known beyond a
few scattered clues, including a man's footprint found in a victim's room.
Missouri—The town of
Tightwad is home to the Tightwad Bank, which draws customers from across the
country.
Tightwad Bank is a legitimate bank in the town of Tightwad,
and the owners are aware of the humor behind the name, as many customers around
the country choose the bank just for the joke. Various merchandising items such
as shirts can be bought from the bank's website.
Montana—Montana has a
replica of the shire from LORD OF THE RINGS.
The Hobbit House is a replica of J.R.R. Tolkien's shire and
has been located in the Cabinet Mountains since 2008. It's a no children and no
pets house with full kitchen, one king-size bedroom and a second small bedroom
with single bed. The current rate is $345/night for 2 people with a minimum 2
night stay and a 3rd person for an additional $50/night.
Nebraska—The
landlocked state has a navy, and anyone can receive the state's highest honor
of "Nebraska Admiral."
Despite not having access to large bodies of water, the
state's highest honor is to become a
Nebraska Admiral. Anyone can receive a nomination, which is then sent to the
governor to decide whether a Cornhusker is worthy. The honorary certificate
reads: "And I [the Governor of
Nebraska] do strictly charge and require all officers, seamen, tadpoles and
goldfish under your command to be obedient to your orders as Admiral—and you
are to observe and follow, from time to time, such directions you shall
receive, according to the rules and discipline of the Great Navy of the State
of Nebraska."
Nevada—There's an
Area 51-themed brothel here.
The Alien Cathouse, an Area 51-themed brothel 85 miles from
Las Vegas, is meant for those with sci-fi fantasies. It was built by brothel
mogul Dennis Hof [owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch 6 miles outside Carson
City, Nevada] and has been running since 2012.
New Hampshire—A group
of Robin Hooders once paid expired parking meters before tickets could be
handed out.
A six-person group going by the name of Robin Hood and his Merry Men were sued in 2013 by the city of Keene
for putting money in random people's expired parking meters and filming ticketing
officers. In December, a judge dropped all chargers against the Robin Hooders.
New Jersey—Napoleon's
penis allegedly resides in this state.
Professor John Lattimer kept what is allegedly Napoleon's
penis in his Englewood bedroom until his death in 2013. Reporters were allowed
to film the penis after Lattimer's death and found that Napoleon's complex
might not have been caused by his height.
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