Kentucky pride stems from more than just our friendly people, beautiful land, great bourbon, and college sports. And there are plenty of things invented in Kentucky that we should be proud of. The people of our state have not always done historically great things, but each action has helped us grow into what we are today. We may not be the first in everything, but we have a healthy abundance of groundbreaking history thanks to all of the things that were invented in Kentucky. So come along as we share with you the 10 things Kentucky was the first to do:
1. Appalachians
In 1792, Kentucky became the first state west of the Appalachians adopted into the U.S.
2. Enamel Tub
The very first enamel tub was created in Louisville in 1856. The original designs were much different than modern-day plastic and fiberglass tubs.
3. Common Core Standard
We were the first out of 45 states to adopt this style of education in 2010.
4. Education
Kentucky was the first state to raise the legal high school dropout age to 18 in 2013.
5. Obamacare
We were the very first "southern" state to embrace Obamacare.
6. Hemp
On April 19, 2013, Kentucky was the first state to adopt hemp legally into the pilot hemp research project for the Agricultural Act of 2014.
7. Mother's Day
A teacher, Mary S Wilson, held the first observance of Mother’s Day in 1887 so her class could honor their moms. It was made into an actual holiday to celebrate mothers everywhere in 1916.
8. Kentucky Fried Chicken
Although the first KFC was opened in Utah, its founder, the great Colonel Harland David Sanders, got the idea for the franchise from selling fried chicken in his Depression-era diner in Corbin, Kentucky. Of all the inventions from Kentucky, we have a feeling the world is especially thankful for this one.
9. The First Cheeseburger
The first-ever cheeseburger was sold at Kaelin's Restaurant in Louisville. Unfortunately, it is now Kaelin’s Coffeehouse and no longer serves its incredible cheeseburgers.
10. Thunder Over Louisville
Kentucky kicks off its Derby celebration with Thunder Over Louisville, the largest fireworks display in the United States.
There are some other great Kentucky firsts; things like Edison showing his light bulb creation at the Southern Exposition in Louisville - however, that was recently featured in another article. The Bluegrass State has more unique first-time events than this list, all swelling with pride.
Did you know about these inventions from Kentucky? Are there any other Kentucky inventions we should know about and share? Please share your opinions or knowledge of things Kentucky was the first to do in the comments.
Thinking about taking a Kentucky vacation soon? Then consider booking your flight via the Dollar Flight Club.
As if we didn't highlight enough reasons to love Kentucky, our state also has one of the best hiking trails in the nation. Learn about the Cumberland Falls via Eagle Falls Trail (and lots of other incredible hikes across the U.S.) in this video by us at OnlyInYourState:
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