While we love and adore our great state of Georgia, there may be a few things that turn our cheeks a bright shade of red. From insanely ridiculous laws to weird pieces of history, take a look at these 11 embarrassing facts about Georgia that you may have never known.

1. The Georgia Colony originally spanned all the way to the Mississippi River.
Flickr Biodiversity Heritage Library
So for all those Georgians who hate on Alabama for one reason or another, those Alabamians may have been Georgians at one point in time (insert scratching head emoji).
2. Atlanta wasn’t originally called Atlanta.
Flickr Richard Cawood
Besides the longer version "Atlantic-Pacifica", it was also previously named Terminus and Marthaville. I can only imagine the type of city pride everyone would have in Marthaville.
3. Carrying an ice cream cone in your pocket on Sundays is illegal.
Flickr m01229
Probably one of the more embarrassing laws in Georgia, it’s fun to even imagine how this law was enacted in the first place and what that time could have been spent on otherwise.
4. "Sleep tight! Don’t let the bed bugs bite!"
Flickr Jason Eppink
You’ve probably said this before at some point or another. But the phrase actually originated in Georgia because of Georgian colonials who would use Spanish moss to bind their mattresses together, bringing tiny little creepy crawly bed bugs in. How embarrassing.
5. All the major lakes in Georgia are man made.
Flickr sporadic
While beautiful in their own right, it is slightly embarrassing that we had to make our own lakes. Darn you Mother Earth! (Just kidding, we have a much larger list to be thanking you for, starting with Amicalola Falls…)

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6. There is only ONE county in Georgia named after a woman.
Wikipedia
Only one, guys?! Out of 159?! This…..(sigh)…..is pretty embarrassing. Nancy Hart, a Revolutionary war rebel received the honor of having Hart County named after her. While wonderful, we need some more female recognition!!
7. Every citizen in Acworth must own a rake—by law!
Flickr Brent Moore
Leaves apparently are of huge concern to the residents and lawmakers within the town of Acworth.
8. Livestock running at large in Athens is strictly prohibited.
Flickr Mangrove Mike
If you let your mule out for a night on the town unsupervised, you will be breaking the law. Just thought you should know.
9. Georgia was originally founded as a felon colony.
Flickr Dizzy Girl
In 1732, James Oglethorpe wanted to use the colony of Georgia as a place for prisoners who were unable to pay their debts.
10. There are at least 50 streets in Atlanta all with "Peachtree" in their name.
Flickr Brad Clinesmith
I don’t know what’s more embarrassing though, that fact, or the rumor that they should really be named after an old Indian village called "Standing Pitch Tree" instead.
11. In the Chicken Capital of the World, Gainesville, Georgia, it is illegal to eat chicken with a fork.
Flickr Cavale Doom
What is embarrassing is that we spent time drafting up this joke of a law when all people want to do is enjoy their darn chicken!

Care to share your own embarrassing Georgia facts? Add some to the comments below! Otherwise, if you’re interested in learning a bit more about our lovely state, then check out 12 Strange Habits Every Georgian Will Defend To The Death.

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