Again, we present a random assembly of little-known data, some surprising, some comical, some here just to fill space. Guess which is which.
This edition, though, will deal with our home here in the Midwest. So lift with your knees, not your back, and let’s begin.
-- The actual state song of Indiana is not “Back Home Again in Indiana,” but rather “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away.”
-- The state pie, sugar cream, was once known as “Desperation Pie.”
-- Hockey great Wayne Gretzky started his career playing for the Indianapolis Racers in the late ’70s.
-- The state beverage of Indiana is water.
-- The name of our state comes from the Greek meaning “of Diana” or “from Diana.”
-- The state seal originally was designed as a tattoo.
-- The formations in Mounds State Park are actually Braille for ancient astronauts.
-- When Hoosiers are not looking, natives of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky point at them and laugh.
-- “Garfield” creator Jim Davis is himself a character created by Muncie native Kim Campbell.
-- The 1876 “discovery” of natural gas in Indiana was an excuse given by Gov. Thomas A. Hendricks, right after “The dog did it.”
-- Former Hoosiers Abraham Lincoln, Wilbur Wright and James Dean were all born in the same log cabin.
-- A line of personal-care products for men was developed by savvy Mennonites.
-- The letters of the words “Anderson, Indiana” can be scrambled to spell “In a sedan, no nadir.”
-- The reasons are unclear, but the first constitution of Indiana was written phonetically.
-- Most scientists agree that, when climate change strikes Indiana, few Hoosiers will notice the difference.
-- In the early days of the Civil War, Indiana’s troops mistakenly fought each other, out of habit.
-- Few Hoosiers know that one of the state’s former tourism slogans, “Wander Indiana,” was edited down from the first version, which ended “ ... and make it look crowded.”
-- The breaded tenderloin sandwich was pounded out flat to make it look like road kill.
-- Madison County was named for actor Guy Madison.
-- Gov. Daniels is the only head of state in the world to ride a motorcycle with a booster seat.
-- During one 7-year period in the 1980s, the official haircut of Indiana was the mullet.
-- When the 2002 U.S. quarter representing the state was first designed, the Indy car was on blocks in someone’s yard.
-- Contrary to popular belief, in the 1990s, the corporate slogan of Eli Lilly was not changed from “making medicines as if people’s lives depended on it” to “the first one’s always free.”
-- WISH-TV anchor Eric Halvorson is not the illegitimate love child of Debby Knox and Mike Ahern.
-- The state flag originally displayed, not 19 stars, but 400, mostly rhinestones, because they “looked cool.”
-- Up until the 1940s, Anderson and Muncie were technically at war.
Contact Rodney Richey, 640-4861, rodney.richey@heraldbulletin.com. He is not, however, accepting new clients at this time.
