Trivia: Random things about Wyoming

[WyoBrandX]

Wyoming's license plates feature a man on a bucking bronco.

Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote.

Yellowstone is the first official National Park (1872)

Devils Tower was designated as the first National Monument (1906)

The city of Gillette has the largest High School in the state (Campbell County High School)

The first coal mine in Wyoming was in Carbon in 1867

The largest coal mine in the USA is Black Thunder located near Wright.

Wyoming leads the country in coal production in 1994 with 3 million tons per week

The JCPenney stores were started in Kemmerer.

The first Dude Ranch in Wyoming was the Eaton Ranch, near Wolf. The Eaton's also came up with the term "dude"

The Horse on the Wyoming license plate has a name, "Old Steamboat". It is named after a bronc that could not be ridden
back in the oughts or the teens.

Wyoming has the lowest population of all 50 United States.

Cody Wyoming is named after William "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

The majority of Yellowstone Park lies within the boundaries of Wyoming.

The Red Desert in south central Wyoming drains neither to the east nor to the west. The continental divide splits and goes around the desert on all sides leaving the basin without normal drainage.

The Wind River actually changes its name in the middle of the stream becoming the Big Horn River at a site at the north end of the Wind River Canyon, where each year the Native Americans hold a ceremony depicting the "Wedding of the Waters."

I've tossed these in from a different website for the hell of it


Yellowstone was the world's first national park, created in 1872—18 years before Wyoming became a state.

Grand Teton National Park was created in 1929 and greatly expanded in 1950 due to the determined efforts of John D. Rockefeller, who purchased and then donated over 30,000 acres.

The National Elk Refuge, located just outside the town of Jackson, is the largest established elk preserve in North America. Up to 9,000 elk winter on the refuge and visitors can enjoy close-up views on daily sleigh rides from December through April.

97% of the 2,697,000 acres in Teton County are federally owned or state managed, including the Grand Teton National Park, the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and the National Elk Refuge. Only 3% of the land in the Jackson Hole area is privately owned.

The Bridger-Teton National Forest is the second-largest national forest in the lower 48 states, encompassing 3.4 million acres.

Jackson, Wyoming, elected the first all-woman city council in 1920.

The world's longest running Shoot-Out, which began in 1957, is held six nights a week from May to September on the Jackson Town Square.

Wyoming's first ski area was the Snow King Ski Area, which opened in Jackson in 1939.

The U.S. Voyager II spacecraft, launched in 1977 to explore unknown reaches of the solar system, contains an Ansel Adams photograph of Jackson Hole as part of its artifacts cargo.

The world's only public auction of elk antlers takes place on the Jackson Town Square on the third Saturday in May each year. The antlers are shed by the elk on the National Elk Refuge and are collected by local Boy Scouts. The majority of the auction proceeds go back to the refuge for the next year's elk feeding program.

The New York Philharmonic held the first summer residency in its 147-year history in Jackson Hole during the first two weeks of July 1989. America's oldest orchestra performed four concerts as a benefit for Jackson Hole's Grand Teton Music Festival.

The first person to ski down the 13,772-foot Grand Teton was local resident Bill Briggs in 1971. In April 2009 Briggs was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame.

The headwaters of the Snake River are located in Teton County.

John Wayne's first speaking part was in "The Big Trail," filmed in Jackson Hole in 1929. It also is reputed to be the first time he rode a horse!

Over 15 feature films have been made on location in Jackson Hole including: "Shane," "Spencer's Mountain," "Any Which Way You Can," "Rocky IV," and "Django Unchained."

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has one of the lowest base elevations of any ski resort area in the Rocky Mountains, at just 6,311 feet. Most other ski resorts in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico have base elevations between 6,900 and 9,500 feet.

Over 60 species of mammals, over 100 species of birds, and a half dozen game fish can be found in the Jackson Hole/Yellowstone area. Most notable are big game such as elk, moose, bison, deer, antelope, mountain lion, grizzly and black bears, gray wolf and coyote, rare birds such as the bald eagle, trumpeter swan, blue heron, osprey, and native game fish such as the Snake River cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish.

Mountain men used the word hole to describe valleys totally surrounded by mountains.

Yellowstone National Park has approximately 10,000 active thermal features. Old Faithful erupts approximately every 77 minutes, or between 45 and 110 minutes.

The record of the first ascent of Grand Teton, the highest peak in Grand Teton National Park, has long been a subject of debate. In 1898, William Owen, Bishop Spalding, John Shive, and Frank Petersen claimed the first ascent to the summit. However, it appears that Nathaniel Langford and John Stevenson probably preceded the Owen party by climbing Grand Teton when the two men were members of the 1872 Hayden Expedition. Nathaniel Langford was the first superintendent of Yellowstone National Park.

What it boils down to, is Nebraska and Wyoming are all out west. We aren't Cali, we aren't the east cost. We are lucky to live out here! Toss in Montana and the Dakotas, and we get to experience the combination of the old west and the modern era. I hate to say it, but I'd live in Nebraska long before I'd live in say, NYC.

[WyoBrandX]

This one really cracked me up as well.

No state touches more other states than Wyoming.

Wyoming is the #1 exporter of "Montana Sucks" refrigerator magnets.

"Wyoming" is Native American slang for "Almost square."

You can buy Wyoming-shaped cookie cutters in almost any cooking store. It is the most popular state shape for cookie cutters, second only to West Virginia.

When you enter Wyoming, you are given a complimentary mug. True story.

Wyoming was originally going to be named West Dakota.

Wyoming is the only state with the constitutional right to egg Colorado.

All of the street signs in Wyoming are printed in both English and American Sign Language.

The second W in WWW actually stands for Wyoming.

The Wyoming governor is legally obligated to pose with you for a picture if you ask politely.

Wyoming residents are known as "Yom-ers."

Wyoming was briefly owned by Canada for a time in 1973 during the ill fated "Foreign-Exchange Territory" program. (We traded it for the Yukon.)

The biggest city in Wyoming is smaller than the smallest city in California.

Yellowstone National Park was originally contained entirely in Wyoming. The reason it now lies partially in Montana and Idaho is because it is slowly trying to escape.

License plates are optional in Wyoming. Trailer hitches, however, are not.

When you fly over Wyoming, you will notice that they have built their highways in an argyle pattern.

Wyoming is tied with New York and New Jersey for most y's in its name.

The Wyoming Constitution was written in three languages: English, French, and Jive.

Out of all of the states, Wyoming is one of them.

Wyoming has more bronco-related festivals than any other state.

Residents of Wyoming are 14% more likely to have tried beef jerky than the average American.

[JimmyDimes]

The tallest mountains (or hills for some) of 4 of the 6 surrounding states are within 25 miles of the Wyoming border. Only Colorado's and Idaho's aren't. Wyoming's isn't within 50 miles of any border.

[stymeman]

At one time the license plates shoulda had the Uhaul trailer on them rather than steamboat...lol
Wyoming held Longmire days in Buffalo 2 weekends ago...one the best tv programs on TV, wish it was filmed in Wyoming,

Every entrance/highway to Wyoming is an increase in elevation from where you currently are

I've never called myself a Yomer...lol

and is the 9th largest state in miles just over 97,000sq miles

[fromolwyoming]

Also, there are more Antelope than people.

[Subcanis]

Also, there are more Antelope than people.

Ahem... "Speed Goats".

[fromolwyoming]

Also, there are more Antelope than people.

Ahem... "Speed Goats".

I thought that's what you called a Sheep "driving" on the road?

[Adv8RU12]

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, founder of the eponymous town, and normally only known as a showman and buffalo killer, won the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Jackson Pollock was born in Cody.

[J-Rod]

Wyoming was way ahead of everyone on civil rights for women. You learn something new every day.

[Wyokie]

Wyoming was way ahead of everyone on civil rights for women. You learn something new every day.

Gave women the right to vote in 1869, first year as a territory.

[Subcanis]

Wyoming was way ahead of everyone on civil rights for women. You learn something new every day.

Hence the "Equality State" nickname.

[Wyokie]

Wyoming was way ahead of everyone on civil rights for women. You learn something new every day.

Hence the "Equality State" nickname.

Correctamundo

[snakerivermom]

The headwaters of the Snake River are not in Teton County. They are either at the southern boundary of Yellowstone National Park or in the Teton Wilderness adjacent to YNP. Please correct if you can.

[Adv8RU12]

Buffalo Bill Cody was recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

[MrTitleist]

Fact: At least three members of this forum graduated from a Wyoming high school in 2001 and they did not know each other.

[The Virginian]

The major reason Wyoming gave women the vote was that in order to become a state you needed a certain number of eligible voters. Without them, they would have been a territory for much longer.

Other famous Wyomingites: Dr. Jerry Buss former owner of the Lakers; Dick Cheney, former Vice President of the United States; Gerry Spense, lawyer/TV talking head; Pete Williams, justice correspondent for NBC News; Others

[Adv8RU12]

The Virginian's pointer to the OTHERS list does not include Dana Perino, born in Evanston, who was press secretary to Bush and is co-host of the FOX News show The Five and who recently authored a book.

[fromolwyoming]

The Pacific Northwest has Bigfoot, the South has the skunk ape, the North East has the Dover Demon, California has hippies, Colorado has sheep fans, and we have the ever illusive Jackalope.

[Wyokie]

The Pacific Northwest has Bigfoot, the South has the skunk ape, the North East has the Dover Demon, California has hippies, Colorado has sheep fans, and we have the ever illusive Jackalope.

The world's dumbest animals.

[soccerhead15]

Wyoming also had the first national forest which is Shoshone National Forest