9 Quirky Facts About Mississippi That Sound Made Up, But Are 100% Accurate
Ready to brush up on your Magnolia State trivia? We’ve got some unique facts about Mississippi that may not seem true, but they are! From the origin of the teddy bear to the state beverage, here are some quirky facts about Mississippi that you can take with you to your next trivia night.
Mississippi may not be known for tornadoes, but it takes both the #2 and #4 slots. The second deadliest tornado in United States history was in Natchez on May 6, 1840, and left 317 people dead. The fourth was in Tupelo on April 5, 1936, and killed 216. On average, Mississippi sees about 27 tornadoes a year.
Dr. James Hardy performed the procedure at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Sadly, the patient died 18 days later.
Established in 1884, it was originally called the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls. It changed its name to the Mississippi University for Women in 1920. In 1968, the first three black undergraduates enrolled as well as three black teachers became the first graduate students at the school, and are known as the Fabulous Six.
Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas make up the other 50%. Belzoni, Mississippi is known as the "Catfish Capital of the World," so if you find yourself in this little town, be sure to get some catfish!
This popular beverage may have been invented in Atlanta, but it was bottled up in Vicksburg in 1894.
The other three cities are Helsinki, Finland, Moscow, Russia, and Varna, Bulgaria.
Weird, right? Well, 21 other states all share milk as the state beverage, so maybe it’s not so weird after all!
According to the legend, Teddy Roosevelt was on a hunting expedition in Mississippi and someone had captured a bear and tied it to a tree. They offered it to Roosevelt to shoot, who vehemently refused. It became a bit of a joke in newspapers across the country, and one candy shop in Brooklyn decided to create a stuffed toy bear out of the whole ordeal and named it "Teddy’s Bear."
Only those who "believe in the existence of a Supreme Being" are allowed to run for office, according to Mississippi’s constitution, but another Supreme Being (the Supreme Court) ruled that unconstitutional in 1961, so it cannot be enforced.
How many of these facts about Mississippi did you already know? For more Magnolia State trivia, check out this list of weird Mississippi town names.
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Address: Mississippi, USA
