Something New Every Day

It's true, you can learn something new every day. Even new things about something you already know a lot about.

I've lived in the middle of the mitten my entire life. We studied Michigan history in 6th grade, an entire textbook devoted to the subject. We had to write reports back then - you know, based on actual RESEARCH. My great-grandpa lived in this area for ages, a fountain of knowledge, willing to share. From him I learned about odd tidbits like the canal (a series of locks for shipping, similar to those in S.S. Marie) and rail line being built east-west across the mitten; a project that ended up bankrupting. Part of the canal runs through my own "backyard" and you can see remnants of the site where Potato Creek joins the Bad River. Unfortunately, history is scarce. It is little more than a curiosity and something most people have never heard of, even here in our local area.

I don't know why, but I have never visited the Michigan Wiki page. It's odd, since I have used Wiki to look up many things. It is pretty cool, though, with facts about Michigan I never knew!

I knew, from a postcard I once had (I used to collect Michigan postcards, but I haven't a clue where they ever got off to), that at any point in Michigan, you are never more than 6 miles from any lake, river, or stream. I did NOT know that Mackinac Island never became a part of Michigan until 10 years after statehood,transferred to Michigan in 1847.

I knew, from many visits throughout my lifetime to the area, that there are mountains in Michigan's western upper peninsula (Porcupine Mountains). I did NOT know they are the oldest mountains in North America. How cool is that?

I knew about the Toledo War and Michigan being given the upper peninsula as a sort of "consolation prize" for giving up the Toledo strip to Ohio. I did NOT know that Michigan is the largest state east of the Mississippi River.

I new that Michigan was the only state to touch 4 of the 5 Great Lakes, and I knew that Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, coldest body of fresh water on the planet. I did NOT know that the length of Michigan's shoreline is second only to Alaska, and that its entire combined length is roughly equal to that of the Atlantic Coast.

I knew that Michigan has the most lighthouses of any other state. I did NOT know that Michigan has the "largest state park and forest system of any state."

I knew that Michigan has a predominantly German population (that's ME!). I did NOT know that "Michigan has the largest Dutch-American, Finnish-American and Macedonian-American populations in the United States."

I knew the International and Ambassador bridges and several tunnels connect us to Canada. I did NOT know there is another bridge being built between Detroit and Windsor.

There's so much more, but... WOW. I love the Internet.