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

A butcher stands six feet and one inch tall and wears size 12 shoes.  What does he weigh?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Wisconsin enters the American Union as the 30th state on May 29, 1848.  There is much to embrace from the heart of “America’s Dairyland.”

Here are a few interesting facts about Wisconsin:

• Capital city:  Madison
• Most populated city:  Milwaukee (550,857)
• Nickname:  Badger State
• State flower:  Wood violet
• State Motto:  Forward

Wisconsin’s nickname is not related to the animal.  Rather, early prospectors find shelter in a mine’s tunnels much like badgers.  The oldest city is Green Bay, which is settled in 1634 by French explorer Jean Nicolet.  He establishes a small trading post along Lake Michigan.

Wisconsin’s land size is similar to the American state of Georgia as well as the country of Tunisia.  As evidence of the most recent period of glacial activity, the state’s land area features over 15,000 lakes.  Lake Winnebago is the largest while the Wisconsin River flows as the state’s longest.  Natural borders include Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and the Mississippi River.

Visitors to the Badger State have been fascinated with many attractions.  The Wisconsin Dells is a popular themed water park.  Belmount Mound State Park is home to the Council House, which serves as the first territorial capitol in Belmont in 1836.  Baraboo Ridge offers a 25-mile long mountain-like Precambrian rock.  Untouched by the last glacial period, the Driftless Area plateau offers rugged hills and deep river valleys.

The topography of Wisconsin highlights its plains, forested areas, and rolling hills.  With an additional nickname as the “Cheese State,” the state leads the nation in cheese production.  The region exports from its substantial harvests of cranberries, sweet corn, and ginseng.

Many “firsts” have been recorded in Wisconsin’s history over the years.  Here is a quick summary of a few.

• First commercially viable typewriter is invented by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1868.
• Les Paul, nicknamed the “Wizard of Waukesha”, invents the electric guitar.
• In 1873, Racine’s William and James Horlick invent malted milk.
• Childhood friends Arthur Davidson and William Harley open up Harley-Davidson motorcycle manufacturing in Milwaukee in 1903.
• In 1856 the first kindergarten class starts up in Watertown under the supervision of Margarethe Schurz.

top left and moving clockwise:  state capitol building in madison, state flower wood violet, historical marker for first KINDERGARTEN class, milwaukee skyline, christopher latham sholes typewriter, lake winnebago at miller’s bay, wisconsin dells tour boat, driftless area’s scenery.  (Courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

Meat.