The 411 on Vermont

Well, the kids and I are off to Vermont on Thursday for 12 days...woohoo!! Andy is in Germany during that time, on business, and yes...he would much rather be with us!

In honour of our upcoming trip I have decided to give y'all the 411 on Vermont (had to do some research myself anyway...)
As those of you who have been following this blog know, I am a fan of interesting facts, and useless snippets of information about places. Therefore, I didn't want to disappoint you all, by not giving you some more of these nuggets of information. Which I know you all can't wait to read, and are sitting on the edge of your computer chair in anticipation , *wink*

So here goes.....

1. Vermont is 160 miles long and 80 miles wide.
2. Vermont is the second smallest state in population.
3. Vermont has the least amount of violent crimes out of all 50 states.
4. The capital of Vermont is Montpelier.
5. Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the U.S.
6. Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonalds.
7. More people live in a rural setting in Vermont than in an urban setting.
8. Rudyard Kipling, living in Vermont in the 1890's invented the game of snow golf.
9. In 1846, the first postage stamp in America is printed in Brattleboro, Vermont.
10. The Green Mountains, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, run up the center of the state. In fact, the state’s name is derived from it: Ver, from the French word for green, vert; and -mont from mountain.
11. Ben & Jerry's Ice cream gives their ice cream waste to local farmers who feed it to their hogs. The hogs seem to like every flavor except Mint Oreo!
12. In 1886, Ebenezer J. Ormsbee and Levi K. Fuller ran for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Vermont. Each were one-armed amputees. Their campaign slogan was "two good arms between the two of us."
13. Until 1996, VT was the only state without a Wal-Mart.
14. Three quarters of Vermont is covered with forest, including ash, beech, birch, maple, hickory, oak, pine and spruce trees.
15. Champ is a legendary sea creature believed to live in Lake Champlain. Champ might be a reptile, fish, or mammal, or just an old myth or story passed down through the centuries. There have been over 300 Champ sightings recorded: the first as early as 1819, and most recently in 1995.

Well, there you have it, my expounded list of all things Vermont!! Or "The Green Mountain State", as it is also called.

Never let it be said you learn nothing from reading this blog!!