Posted in Indiana January 03, 2021 by

We Bet You Didn’t Know These 12 Things About Indiana

So you’ve lived in Indiana your whole life. Lots of folks have. But we bet most Hoosiers don’t know these 12 fascinating fun facts about the Hoosier state.

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1. Indianapolis was not the original capital city.
Greg Derylo/Flickr
Nope! In fact, there were two before it. Vincennes, until 1813, and then Corydon, until 1825. Only then did Indianapolis become the capital of the state. Today, it seems like this part of Indiana's history is long-forgotten.
2. About 20% of the popcorn sold in the United States was grown in Indiana. We can't say for sure, but that sounds to us like that means we have the freshest popcorn ever when we go to the movies!
Andrew Seaman/Flickr
3. A decent handful of famous folks were born here; for example, John Mellencamp, Axl Rose, and Hollywood heartthrob James Dean all called Indiana home.
4. People give the town of Gary a tough rap, but it was also the birthplace of the Jackson Five. Indiana breeds tremendous talent, it would seem.
Amanda Bennett/Flickr
5. Speaking of Jacksons, the first ever successful heist of a moving train took place in Jackson County. We don't suggest you try this at home.
6. In 1871, the first-ever professional baseball game was played in Fort Wayne.
Doug Kerr/Flickr
7. Comic book creator Jim Davis, of Garfield fame, stated that the beloved orange house cat lives in Muncie, Indiana, though he greatly hoped readers would simply imagine that the feline lived right next door, no matter where they were reading from.
8. John Chapman, AKA Johnny Appleseed, died in Fort Wayne in 1845. He is likely buried at what is now known as Johnny Appleseed Park.
niawag/Flickr
9. In 1880, Wabash, Indiana became the first US city to fire up electric lights. Neat!
10. Kevin Silva of Indianapolis owns the world's biggest Batman collection. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, awesoooome!
Paul Comstock/Flickr
11. 1/8th of the remaining covered bridges in the United States are in Indiana. There are approximately 800 of them left, and 100 of those are here. We feel honored!
12. From 1868-1916, 10 of 13 US elections featured a person from Indiana on the ballot. Guess we're just that motivated to change the world!
Floyd Wilde/Flickr

And, just for fun, here’s a bonus fun-fact: nobody really knows just why the heck Indiana is known as “The Hoosier State”, but it’s a title we all definitely seem to embrace with a lot of pride. “Indiana” originally meant “Indian Land,” but that doesn’t exactly explain the “Hoosier” thing. How exactly does one hoose, and how do they become a Hoosier? We guess we’ll never know.

How many of these intriguing facts did you know? How many of them were brand-new information to you? Tell us about it in the comments!

Address: Indiana, USA