This informative post will be published on Saturday in place of my regular one.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

What is always in front of you but cannot be seen?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Granted statehood on April 30, 1812, Louisiana  becomes the 18th state of the United States.

Here are a few interesting facts about Louisiana:

• Capital City:  Baton Rouge
• Most Populous City:  New Orleans (362,701 in 2024)
• Nickname:  Pelican State
• State Bird:  Eastern Brown Pelican
• State Flower:  Magnolia
• State Motto:  Union, Justice, and Confidence

The origin of Louisiana’s name honors French King Louis XIV.  The city of New Orleans remains the center of Louisiana culture.  It features a richness of French and Spanish heritage along with the influences of Cajun and Creole traditions.  At its heart lies unique cuisine, jazz music, and the annual Mardi Gras.  These contrast with man-made elements of poverty and racial strife; and natural challenges of hurricanes, floods, and a slowly sinking land.

Louisiana offers a rich history to study.  The influence of Spanish and French footprints arrives through the interior waterway of the Mississippi River.  In 1541, Spaniard Hernando de Soto explores the region.  In 1682, Frenchman Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle travels into the territory.

Before its statehood, history pivots frequently during the Louisiana’s chapters of time.  In 1755, French Acadians are forced out of Canada by the British.  Known today as Cajuns, they settle in Louisiana.  Throughout the early decades of the 1700s, Native Americans ally with either the French or the British as European military conflicts spill over into North America.

In 1803, the United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million.  America’s land size doubles with this transaction.  During the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson leads a small army to victory at the Battle of New Orleans.  Due to the slow communications of this era, this final battle of the war takes place after a peace treaty is signed.

top left and MOVING clockwise: current state capitol building in baton rouge, french quarter of new orleans, map showing the land size of the louisiana purchase, Magnolia flower, scene from kisatchi national forest, eastern brown pelican, mardi Gras, old state capitol building.  (Courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

Your future.