Fun Facts about Vermont
1. While all other 12 senatorial districts have 1 to 3 senators, the Chittenden district (Burlington area) has 6.
2. Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S., producing over 500,000 gallons a year.
3. Dr. H. Nelson Jackson was the first to drive an automobile across the U.S. in 1903. He was from Burlington.
4. John Deere served his apprenticeship in VT.
5. Some philatelists credit Brattleboro with producing America's first postage stamp in 1846.
6. Coldest temperature recorded in VT: -47 F degrees. Hottest: 106 F.
7. VT was the first state to outlaw adult slavery.
8. Vermont has nearly one half of the dairy farms in New England.
9. About half the milk consumed in New England is produced in VT.
10. VT is the second-largest state in New England, with Maine the first.
11. Norwich University is the oldest private military college in the U.S.
12. More people live in a rural setting in VT than in an urban setting.
13. VT is 160 miles long and 80 miles wide.
14. VT is the second smallest state in population.
15. VT has the least amount of violent crimes out of all 50 states.
16. Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the U.S.
17. Until 1996, VT was the only state without a Wal-Mart.
18. Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonalds.
19. Vermont-born U.S. president Calvin Coolidge was the only president to be born on the 4th of July.
20. Until recently, the only way a Vermonter could get a photo driver's license was to drive to Montpelier.
21. Ben & Jerry's gives their ice cream waste to local farmers who feed it to their hogs. The hogs seem to like every flavor except Mint Oreo.
22. Each Vermonter's vote in the presidential elections counts 2.5 times more than someone from Ohio. Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming are the seven states with the smallest population. They each have 3 Electoral votes, giving them a combined total of 21 votes. Ohio alone has 21 Electoral votes, but it has 2.5 times the population of the combined population of the seven smallest states. Because Ohio has the same voting power as those seven states but has 2.5 times more people, a vote from someone from a small state like Vermont has 2.5 times the weight of a vote from an Ohioan.
23. Vermont was the first state admitted to the union after the first 13 colonies.
24. In 1886, Ebenezer J. Ormsbee and Levi K. Fuller ran for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Vermont. Each were one-armed amputees. Their campaign slogan was "two good arms between the two of us."
25. Matthew Lyon, nicknamed "Mad-Matt, the Democrat," and "Spitting Lyon, the Wild Irishman from Vermont," was re-elected to congress while in jail! Lyon was incarcerated for making defamatory statements about the president, which was in violation of the Sedition Act. The Sedition Act, which makes the criticism of the president by any American citizen illegal, was repealed in 1801.
26. In 1998, Fred Tuttle, a 79-year old Vermonter, ran for U.S. senate as a Republican. With a campaign budget of $201, Tuttle beat a millionaire from Massachusetts in the Republican primary. After winning the primary, Tuttle began publicly supporting his Democratic opponent, Patrick Leahy.
27. In 1980, Sergio Pasetto of Barre received the most votes in the race for House of Representatives - even though he had died a week before the general election.
28. A recent Vermont Auditor of Accounts named Alexander Acebo faced controversy about his campaign postcards. During one of his campaigns for re-election, Acebo attached a penny to his campaign cards. This was viewed by some as trying to buy people's votes. Surely someone's vote is worth more than a penny, but wouldn't you be more likely to read the card if you saw a free penny attached to it?
29. In the Vermont election of 1840, there was an 82% voter turnout among eligible voters. This is remarkably higher than it is today, especially considering the advances in transportation and communication through time.
