Oklahoma Trivia
- The world's first operational parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, on July 16, 1935. Carl C. Magee of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is generally credited with originating the parking meter. He filed for a patent for a "coin controlled parking meter" on May 13, 1935. Most of the rights are still owned by Duncan Meter Co. Located in Duncan, Oklahoma.
- Oklahoma has more astronauts than any other state.
- Wyandotte, Oklahoma is home to the world's largest paintball game, Oklahoma D-Day
- Watonga, Oklahoma is the birthplace of Clarence Nash, better known as the voice of Donald Duck. Nash captured the ears of a young Walt Disney with his voice imitation of a duck. Nash provided Donald Duck's world famous voice exclusively until his death in 1985
- Oklahoma is one of only two states whose capital city's name includes the state name. The other is Indianapolis, Indiana.
- The first YIELD sign was used in a trial basis in Tulsa.
- Oklahoma was the last state in USA to legalize tattooing as of November 1, 2006. [5]
- Vinita is the oldest incorporated town on Oklahoma Route 66, having been established in 1871. Vinita was the first town in Oklahoma to enjoy electricity. Originally named Downingville, the town's name was later changed to Vinita, in honor of Vinnie Ream, the sculptress who created the life-size statue of Lincoln at the United States Capitol.
- Rural Oklahoma, similar to problems faced by other Plains states (Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa), is seeing populations fall in many communities. Between 1996 and 2004 nearly 500,000 people, half of them with college degrees, left the six states. The effects of rural flight in Oklahoma have mostly been felt in Western Oklahoma.
- The Amateur Softball Association of America - a volunteer-driven, not-for-profit organization based in Oklahoma City, OK - was founded in 1933 and has evolved into the strongest softball organization in the country.
- During World War II, Boise City, Oklahoma was the only city in the continental United States to be bombed during World War II. A B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base dropped six practice bombs. The practice bombs were intended to be dropped on a range in Conlen, Texas.[24]
- An Oklahoman, Sylvan Goldman, invented the first shopping cart.
- In Guthrie, nearly 20,000 lighters and "fire starters" are displayed at the National Lighter Museum. It is the nation's only museum devoted to the collection of lighters.
- Oklahoma has approximately 11,611 miles of shoreline, slightly less than the estimated combined general (nontidal) coastline of the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and Arctic Coasts which has 12,383 miles.[25]
- In recent years, Oklahoma has become the second largest natural gas-producing state in the nation. Only Texas surpasses Oklahoma in natural gas production.
- In January 2007 the United States Postal Service issued the Oklahoma Statehood Stamp to celebrate the 100th birthday of Oklahoma's statehood (Oklahoma became the 46th state on November 16, 1907). [6]
- Claremore Oklahoma is home to the J. M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum, which is the largest arms museum in the world. [7]
- One town, Kenton, OK., is the only city in Oklahoma on Mountain Time.
- Scenes from the 2007 Michael Bay film Transformers were filmed at Tinker Airforce Base. The scene involves Airforce One landing per emergency due to being invaded by a small alien robot. In addition to this scene, the Decepticon Transformer Barricade, disguised as patrol car, debuts in this scene bearing an Oklahoma license plate.
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