Illinois
- The world’s largest cookie and cracker factory, where Nabisco made 16 billion Oreo cookies in 1995, is located in Chicago.
- The round Silo for farm storage of silage was first constructed on a farm in Spring Grove.
Iowa
- Quaker Oats, in Cedar Rapids, is the largest cereal company in the world.
- Knoxville’s National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum is the only museum in the country dedicated to preserving the history of sprint car racing.
Minnesota
- Minneapolis has more golfers per capita than any other city in the country.
- Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline, more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.
Missouri
- In 1889, Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented at St. Joseph, Missouri, was the first self-rising flour for pancakes and the first ready-mix food ever to be introduced commercially.
- Missouri ties with Tennessee as the most neighborly state in the union, bordered by 8 states.
Nebraska
- Nebraska is both the nation’s largest producer and user of center pivot irrigation.
- The 911 system of emergency communications, now used nationwide, was developed and first used in Lincoln,Nebraska.
- Kearney, Nebraska is located exactly between Boston and San Francisco.
North Dakota
- North Dakota grows more sunflowers than any other state.
- Of the 50 states North Dakota is 17th in size, with 70,665 square miles. North Dakota is 212 miles long north to south and 360 miles wide east to west.
- The American elm (Ulmus americana) is the official state tree and is commonly found across North Dakota. The American elm often reaches 120 feet or taller.
South Dakota
- Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began drilling into the 6,200-foot Mount Rushmore in 1927. Creation of the Shrine to Democracy took 14 years and cost a mere $1 million, though it’s now deemed priceless.
- Belle Fourche is the geographical center of the United States of America, designated in 1959 and noted by an official marker and sheepherder’s monument called “Stone Johnnie.”
- The U.S.S. South Dakota was the most decorated battleship during World War II