As previously posted, over the next few months, we will be featuring information about our 50 States.
As a Worked All States net, it may be interesting to refresh our memories about the states we hear and/or work on the net. This week we will focus on the state of Connecticut, the fifth state to ratify the constitution.
As with all our states, Connecticut has several nicknames. The official nickname is: “The Constitution State.” Connecticut is referred to as the “Constitution State” due to the fact that it has the first written constitution as recognized by many historians. It is also referred to as the “Nutmeg State”, because Connecticut’s early inhabitants had the reputation of being so ingenious and shrewd that they were able to make and sell wooden nutmegs.
Connecticut’s first European settlers were Dutchmen who established a small, short-lived settlement called Fort Hoop in Hartford at the confluence of the Park and Connecticut Rivers.
The Connecticut State Capitol is located north of Capitol Avenue and south of Bushnell Park in Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. The building houses the Connecticut General Assembly; the upper house, the State Senate, and lower house, the House of Representatives, as well as the office of the Governor. How many of you GERATOLers, have worked the Capitol of CT ???
Fun facts about the state of Connecticut:
1. Noah Webster, the author of the first dictionary, lived in West Hartford
2. The first automobile law was passed in Connecticut (and the speed limit was only 12 miles per hour).
3. Connecticut is home to the first hamburger, Polaroid camera, color television, and helicopter.
4. It’s illegal to walk on your hands in Hartford.
5. In order for a pickle to be considered a pickle in Connecticut, it must bounce.
6. Besides being known as the Consitution state, Connecticut is also known as the nutmeg state.
7. Our official state song is “Yankee Doodle.”
8. The Hartford Courant is the oldest continually published newspaper in America.
9. Connecticut never ratified the 18th amendment (prohibition).
10. The smallest natural waterfall in America, Mill Pond Falls, is located in Newington, Connecticut
These are just a few of the interesting facts about Connecticut. Have fun working CT as you pursue your W.A.S. or any of the GERATOL Awards and endorsements, that require you contact the Constitution State. You may wish to mention some of the fun facts to the folks you contact from CT.