#FunFactFriday – Arizona
Happy #FunFactFriday! Since it is February, which happens to be the month of Arizona’s birthday, we thought it would be nice to share some fun facts about the great state we live in! To start, William Howard Taft was ready to make Arizona a state on Feb. 12, but it was Lincoln’s birthday; Feb. 13 was considered bad luck, so Feb. 14 it was, which is how Arizona became known as the “Valentine State.”
- Arizona has more national monuments than any other state. You can see them and all the other national parks and memorials here. How many have you been to?
- Arizona may be known in the flora world mostly for its cacti, but Tombstone in Cochise County is actually home to the world’s largest rosebush, which covers 9,000 square feet and has a trunk 12 feet around. It was planted back in 1885. This might be the perfect destination to celebrate Arizona’s birthday AND Valentine’s Day!
- Arizona has the largest percentage of land designated as Indian lands and Arizona is home to the majority of the Navajo Nation, which is also the largest Native American reservation in the United States.
- Oraibi is a Hopi village in Navajo County, dating back before 1000 A.D., and is considered the oldest continuously inhabited community in the U.S.
- Since I love cacti, I had to throw in a fact about them—the saguaro cactus can grow as high as a five-story building and when fully grown, can store up to nine tons of water.
- We elect a wide variety of state officials here…like state mine inspector?
- Ernesto Miranda, who we get our Miranda Rights from, was from Arizona.
- Although Florida is known as the “Sunshine State,” the sun actually shines more in Phoenix and Tucson—85 percent of the year.
- Did you know we have official state neckwear? The bola tie was designated this status in 1973.
- The Federal Aviation Administration was created partially because of a mid-air crash between two planes that collided while flying over the Grand Canyon in 1956, killing 100s of people.
Happy birthday, Arizona! And we also want to wish a happy birthday to Aiden, our senior account executive Rachel Brockway’s son!
