Michiganders are a proud people. We could go on for hours about all the history, influence, and culture that has come out of our state. But then there are also the random little factoids about Michigan that also just so happen to pop into conversation, those trivial nuggets of wisdom that make us say, hmmm. Here are just a few of them to stump your know-it-all friends.

13) Grand Rapids' very own Gerald Ford was the 38th president.
"Gerald Ford on field at Univ of Mich, 1933" by Unknown - http://www.ford.utexas.edu/images/avproj/pop-ups/H0035-03.html. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
But he was winning at life long before he took the White House. He was a football star at U of M (as pictured here) and earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
12) The world's first auto traffic tunnel built between two nations was the Detroit-Windsor tunnel that takes drivers underneath the Detroit River.
"Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Portal" by Ibagli - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
11) The Detroit Zoo was the first in the U.S. to feature cage-less, open spaces for the animals.
10) Michigan's state stone, The Petoskey can be found along Lake Michigan.
Flickr
This is what it looks like up close.... Really, really up close.
9) So most of us know Michigan by several nicknames, including the Wolverine State.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverine "Gulo gulo 2" by Zefram - Own work (own photography). Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
But wolverines don't really know Michigan. That's because they don't really even live here.
8) Did you know the Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Bridge "Mackinac Bridge Sunset" by Dehk - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
It connects the trolls of the LP with the Yoopers and spans 5 miles over the Straits of Mackinac.

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7) The 19 chandeliers in the Capitol in Lansing were specifically designed for the building by Tiffany's.
"Michigan State Capitol chandelier" by Steve & Christine from USA - Michigan CapitolUploaded by xnatedawgx. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
They're quite a load, too, weighing in at between 800-900 pounds a-piece.
6) Need to amp up your magic supplies? Who doesn't, really?
Photo Credit
Well, if the answer is yes, then you needn't go anywhere else but Colon (Michigan, that is!), which is home to the world's largest manufacture of magic supplies.
5) Michigan lays claim to have the world's only floating post office.
"J W WESTCOTT II Starboard side in drydock after salvage" by US Coastguard - Photos from the accident report of the US Coastguard. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Known as the J.W. Westcott II, this vessel actually delivers mail to ships.
4) The city of Novi has this seemingly random name and it's widely believed that it got its name from its designation as Stagecoach Stop No. 6 or No.VI... Get it?
"Novi Special Water Tower" by Wasrts - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Turns out, that's not true, cool as the story may be. Apparently, the city was named back when it became a township, formerly known as Farmington.
3) Based on sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci, this 24-foot sculpture known as "American Horse" in Grand Rapids the largest equestrian sculpture in the Western Hemisphere.
Cliff/Flickr
A second one, Il Gavallo, is in Italy.
2) Michigan has more lighthouses and navigational lights - 116 to be exact - than any other state in the country.
"Round Island Lighthouse Michigan" by Dale Fisher, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Visual LibraryImage pageImage description pageDigital Visual Library home page. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Pictured here, a cool aerial shot of Round Island Lighthouse Michigan.
1) One of the largest moose herds in the United States is here in Michigan at the Isle Royal Park shelters.
"Isro-ImageF 00007 moose" by National Park Service - Dept of the Interior, National Park Service (http://photo.itc.nps.gov/storage/images/index.html). Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Common

So maybe you knew all this already. Maybe just some. Maybe some really surprised you. And maybe you know a few surprising things about Michigan that NOBODY knows about. Why don’t you share your wisdom, and thoughts, in the comments below?

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