100 Fun Facts About Michigan

Which city is the capital of Michigan?

The capital moved there from Detroit in 1847 to put it somewhere more central and safer from British Canada.

Michigan is made up of two land masses. What are they called?

Upper Peninsula residents are Yoopers, and they call Lower Peninsula folk 'trolls' because they live under the bridge.

The Mackinac Bridge, which joins Michigan's two peninsulas, is roughly how long?

Nicknamed the Mighty Mac, it opened in 1957 and every Labor Day the governor leads thousands of walkers across it.

Michigan residents show where they live by holding up a hand because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like what?

The Upper Peninsula is sometimes shown with the other hand, turned sideways above the first.

How many of the five Great Lakes touch Michigan?

Only Lake Ontario misses it; the state also borders Lake St. Clair, giving it 3,288 miles of freshwater coastline.

Which of the five Great Lakes lies entirely inside the United States?

The other four are shared with Canada; Michigan alone touches four of the five.

Michigan's name most likely comes from an Ojibwe word, mishigami, meaning what?

The state has 11,037 inland lakes on top of its Great Lakes shoreline, so the name fits.

Michigan became a state in January 1837. Which number state was it?

It entered as a free state, and only after Congress made it give up the Toledo Strip to Ohio.

As a consolation for losing the Toledo Strip to Ohio in the 1830s, what did Michigan receive?

The 'worthless' land turned out to hold some of the richest mineral deposits in North America.

Roughly what share of Michigan's population lives in the Upper Peninsula?

Marquette is the UP's biggest city; the region supplied 90 percent of America's copper by the 1860s.

Residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula are known by what nickname?

It is simply 'U.P.-ers' said aloud; the word made it into Merriam-Webster in 2014.

Which handheld meat pie, brought by Cornish miners, is the Upper Peninsula's signature food?

Finnish immigrants adopted it because it resembled their own piirakka; Calumet holds an annual Pasty Fest.

What is Michigan's official state bird?

It was chosen in 1931; the rare Kirtland's warbler, which nests almost only in Michigan's jack pines, lost out.

Michigan's state flower, adopted in 1897, is the blossom of which fruit tree?

The state is one of the country's biggest apple growers, though Traverse City is better known for cherries.

What is the Petoskey stone, Michigan's official state stone?

The six-sided pattern only shows when the stone is wet or polished; it is 350 million years old and named for an Ottawa chief.

Which Ice Age animal is Michigan's official state fossil?

Mastodon bones turn up regularly in Michigan farm fields; the state adopted the fossil in 2002.

What is Michigan's official state tree?

Lumberjacks stripped most of the giant pines in the 1800s; the tree was made the state symbol in 1955.

Michigan's Latin motto translates as 'If you seek a pleasant peninsula...' — what?

Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice appears on the state seal and coat of arms.

Michigan's official state reptile, adopted in 1995 after a schoolchildren's campaign, is which animal?

Schoolchildren campaigned for it and the legislature agreed in 1995.

Detroit was founded in 1701 by which French officer, whose name later went on a luxury car?

He built Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit; the city's name is French for 'strait'.

Detroit is the only major US city from which you look in which direction to see Canada?

Windsor, Ontario sits directly across the Detroit River, and the Ambassador Bridge between them carries a quarter of US-Canada trade.

Why is the Ambassador Bridge from Detroit to Windsor unusual among major border crossings?

The Moroun family's company owns it; the publicly built Gordie Howe International Bridge, begun in 2018, was added downriver as a rival crossing.

Detroit's Big Three automakers are General Motors, Ford and which other?

Chrysler now sits inside Stellantis; all three keep their headquarters in Metro Detroit.

Ford's Model T was nicknamed what?

More than 15 million were built between 1908 and 1927, and from 1914 you really could only have it in black.

In 1914 Henry Ford stunned industry by paying his workers how much per day?

That more than doubled the going rate; Ford was born on a farm in what is now Dearborn, where the company is still based.

The world's first mile of concrete road was laid in 1909 on which Detroit thoroughfare?

It cost $14,000; the same avenue now hosts the Woodward Dream Cruise, a classic-car parade drawing a million spectators each August.

Berry Gordy Jr. founded which record label in Detroit in 1959?

The name is a mash-up of 'motor' and 'town'; its house band, the Funk Brothers, played on more number-ones than the Beatles, Elvis, the Stones and the Beach Boys combined.

What is Berry Gordy's original Detroit label headquarters, now a museum, known as?

The label moved to Los Angeles in 1972 to get into film and television.

Which pop star, born in Bay City, Michigan in 1958, won a Michigan dance scholarship?

She grew up in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills before leaving for New York.

Eminem's 2002 film is named after which Detroit-area road?

Its song 'Lose Yourself' made him the first hip-hop act to win the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Battle Creek, Michigan is nicknamed 'Cereal City' as the home of which company?

Corn flakes were born when W. K. Kellogg spilled cooked cornmeal on a heater at the Battle Creek Sanitarium; C. W. Post set up across town.

Vernors, created by a Detroit pharmacist in 1866, claims to be America's oldest surviving what?

It is aged in oak barrels, and a Detroit 'Boston cooler' is Vernors blended with vanilla ice cream.

Detroit-style pizza is baked in rectangular steel pans that were originally made for what?

Buddy's Rendezvous started it in 1946; the cheese runs to the edge and caramelises into a crispy 'frico' crust.

Faygo, the Detroit soda founded in 1907, based its first flavours on what?

The Feigenson brothers were Russian immigrant bakers; Redpop and Rock & Rye came later.

Gerber has been headquartered since 1927 in which small Michigan town?

Founder Daniel Gerber ran a cannery there and started straining peas after his wife did it by hand for their daughter.

On the resort island in the Straits of Mackinac, what has been banned since 1898?

Visitors get around by horse, carriage or bike, and are called 'fudgies' for the sweet they come to buy.

The 1980 romance 'Somewhere in Time' was filmed at which Michigan resort spot?

Its Grand Hotel dates from 1887; the island's Fort Mackinac was built by the British in 1780.

Traverse City calls itself the world capital of which fruit?

Its National Cherry Festival each July swells a town of 15,000 to about half a million people.

In the Ojibwe legend behind Sleeping Bear Dunes, what did the bear's two cubs become?

Good Morning America viewers voted it the most beautiful place in America in 2011; the dunes rise 450 feet above the lake.

Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior is famous for a decades-long study of which two animals?

It is the only place known where wolves and moose live together without bears, and the only US national park that shuts completely for winter.

Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior was the first area in the US to receive which designation, in 1966?

Its 200-foot sandstone cliffs get their colours from iron, manganese, copper and limonite leaching out of the rock.

Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula is nicknamed 'Root Beer Falls' because of what?

The Upper Falls drop about 48 feet across a river 200 feet wide, one of the biggest falls east of the Mississippi.

The Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie let ships move between Lake Superior and which other Great Lake?

The St. Marys River drops 21 feet there; the first locks opened in 1855 and about 10,000 ships pass each year.

The freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior in November 1975. How many crew were lost?

No bodies were ever recovered; the ship's bell was raised in 1995 and hangs in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point.

The Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan's northern tip, boomed in the 1840s on which metal?

It is the only place on Earth with large workable deposits of 97-percent-pure native copper; it also averages about 220 inches of snow a year.

Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, the largest stadium in the United States, is nicknamed what?

It holds 107,601, and Michigan has more wins than any other programme in college football history.

Which future president played centre on Michigan's undefeated 1932 and 1933 football teams?

Born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, he grew up in Grand Rapids and is the only president never elected president or vice president.

Michigan State University, founded in 1855, was the country's first college of what kind?

It became the model for the land-grant universities created by the 1862 Morrill Act; its teams are the Spartans.

Since 1934 the Detroit Lions have hosted an NFL game every year on which holiday?

The Lions are the only team around for the whole Super Bowl era never to have played in one.

Detroit Red Wings fans throw which sea creature onto the ice during the playoffs?

The tradition began in 1952 when eight wins were needed for the Cup, one for each leg; the Wings' 11 Cups are the most of any US team.

The Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s, who won back-to-back NBA titles, were known by what nickname?

Isiah Thomas led them; the franchise started life in Fort Wayne, Indiana, sponsored by a piston factory.

Which baseball legend, acquired in 1905, starred for the Detroit Tigers?

The Tigers' Old English 'D' has been on the uniform since 1904; their last World Series win came in 1984.

Holland, Michigan, founded by Dutch settlers in 1847, is famous for which May festival?

About six million tulips bloom for it; the town's De Zwaan is the only authentic working Dutch windmill in the US.

Bronner's in Frankenmuth, Michigan, is billed as the world's largest store selling what?

The town was settled by Franconian Lutherans in 1845 and is equally famous for its family-style chicken dinners.

Grand Rapids, Michigan was in 1945 the first US city to add what to its drinking water?

Once 'Furniture City', it now goes by 'Beer City USA' and hosts the ArtPrize competition and Gerald Ford's presidential museum.

Gibson guitars was founded in 1902 in which Michigan city, also once home to Checker cabs and Upjohn?

The city's Kalamazoo Promise pays public-school graduates' tuition at any Michigan public college.

The 2014 water crisis in Flint, Michigan began when the city switched its water supply to which source?

Officials skipped corrosion control, so lead leached from old pipes; a federal emergency was declared in January 2016.

Ransom E. Olds founded his Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897 in which Michigan city?

Oldsmobile therefore predates Ford; REO built cars and trucks in the capital for about 70 years.

Where does Michigan rank among US states by population, with about 10.1 million people?

By total area it is the biggest state east of the Mississippi River, thanks to the water it claims in the Great Lakes.

Which US state borders Michigan's Upper Peninsula by land?

The Lower Peninsula's land neighbours are Ohio and Indiana; Minnesota is only reachable across Lake Superior.

How many inland lakes does Michigan have, according to the state's count?

No point in the state is more than six miles from an inland lake or 85 miles from a Great Lake.

Detroit's rival coney-dog stands American and Lafayette were both founded by immigrants from which country?

American opened in 1917 and Lafayette next door in 1924; the dog comes with beef-heart chili, mustard and onions.

The technological university in Houghton, in the Keweenaw, was founded in 1885 under what name?

The Keweenaw set Michigan's snow record with 390 inches in the winter of 1978-79.

Michigan's state capital is unusual among US state capitals for what reason?

Nearby Mason is the seat of Ingham County; the Michigan State Capitol itself was finished in 1878.

The Mackinac Bridge was designed by which engineer, applying lessons from the Tacoma Narrows collapse?

Its 3,800-foot main span makes it the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere.

Michigan's official state gem, chlorastrolite, is better known by what name?

It is found mainly on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw, and was adopted in 1972.

The University of Michigan was founded in 1817 in which city, before moving to Ann Arbor?

It began as the grandly named Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, and is the oldest higher-education institution in the state.

How many students took the University of Michigan's first classes in Ann Arbor in 1841?

Six freshmen and one sophomore were taught by two professors in the newly finished Mason Hall.

What is the official capacity of Michigan Stadium, the largest stadium in the United States?

Built in 1927 for $950,000 with 72,000 seats, 'the Big House' has hosted crowds over 115,000.

Which broadcaster is credited with popularising the nickname 'The Big House' for Michigan Stadium?

The nickname took hold in the mid-1980s.

Which Michigan student wrote the fight song 'The Victors' in 1898?

Sousa called it the greatest college fight song ever written, and President Ford used it instead of 'Hail to the Chief'.

How many Heisman Trophy winners has Michigan football produced?

Tom Harmon in 1940, Desmond Howard in 1991 and Charles Woodson in 1997.

Coach Fritz Crisler brought Michigan's famous winged helmet design in 1938 from which university?

He led the 1947 Wolverines to a national title and Michigan's second Rose Bowl win.

The Little Brown Jug, college football's oldest rivalry trophy, is contested between Michigan and which team?

The rivalry for the jug started with a 1903 game; Michigan first played Minnesota in 1892.

The 'Ten Year War' of 1969 to 1978 pitted Michigan coach Bo Schembechler against which Ohio State coach?

Both teams were ranked in the AP top 10 for seven of those meetings; the two schools first met in 1897.

Which future NFL quarterback played for Michigan from 1995 to 1999 before going 199th in the draft?

The New England Patriots took him in the sixth round in 2000, the NFL's most famous draft steal.

In 1871 Michigan law graduate Sarah Killgore became the first US woman to do what?

Michigan's law school was later where the case method of teaching was introduced by dean Harry Hutchins.

How many Big Ten championships have the Wolverines won across all sports, a conference record?

Michigan fields 13 men's and 14 women's teams.

In which Michigan city did the Republican Party hold its first statewide meeting in 1854?

The party adopted its platform there on July 6, 1854, and Michigan stayed predominantly Republican until the 1930s.

Roughly how many lighthouses does Michigan have, more than any other US state?

With shoreline on four Great Lakes, the state needed a lot of them; the count is the most of any state.

Which Grand Rapids retailer opened what is called America's first hypermarket in 1962?

Thrifty Acres put groceries and a department store under one roof, with floors built so the non-grocery half could become a car dealership if the idea flopped.

Tom Monaghan founded Domino's Pizza in 1960 in which Michigan city?

He and his brother Jim took over a shop called DomiNick's with a $500 down payment; within eight months Jim swapped his half for the delivery Volkswagen Beetle.

Which Lansing-born guard led Michigan State to the 1979 NCAA title over Larry Bird?

A Lansing sportswriter coined his nickname after a 36-point, 18-rebound, 16-assist game when he was 15; his devout mother thought it was sacrilegious.

Stevie Wonder was born in 1950 in which Michigan city?

Born six weeks premature as Stevland Judkins, he lost his sight to retinopathy of prematurity, made worse by the oxygen-rich air of the incubator.

Which Odawa war chief laid siege to Fort Detroit for five months in 1763?

His plan to take the fort by surprise was foiled by an informer; the uprising helped prompt the Proclamation of 1763 banning settlement west of the Appalachians.

Which city, nearly surrounded by Detroit, is the only Muslim-majority city in the US?

Once the heart of Polish Detroit, it elected an all-Muslim city council and mayor in 2021; a 2018 survey found its schoolchildren spoke 16 native languages.

Diego Rivera's 1932-33 frescoes of the River Rouge plant fill a court at which museum?

Edsel Ford put up $20,000 for the commission and Rivera spent three months sketching in the plants; the murals became a National Historic Landmark in 2014.

In which Michigan city did Herbert Dow found his bromine-from-brine chemical firm in 1897?

British makers tried to price him out of bleach; Dow undercut them, lost about $90,000 and diversified. The company is still run from the same town.

The bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat sits in which Michigan museum?

The Dearborn complex also holds JFK's presidential limousine and the chair Lincoln was sitting in at Ford's Theatre; it opened to the public in 1933.

Ford's mile-long Willow Run assembly line built which heavy bomber during World War II?

Albert Kahn's plant was billed as the world's largest room; legend says the line turned 90 degrees to keep the factory inside lower-tax Washtenaw County.

Little Caesars in 1959 and Kmart in 1962 were both founded in which Detroit suburb?

The original Kmart there closed in 2017 and was demolished in 2020; the chain shut its last Michigan store, in Marshall, in 2021.

In 1846 Michigan became the first English-speaking government to abolish what?

Treason nominally stayed a capital crime until 1963, but nobody was ever tried for it; the only execution since has been a federal one, at Milan in 1938.

Which species did Michigan specify in 1988 as its official state fish?

Lawmakers had named just 'the trout' in 1965 and left the species open for 23 years.

Settled by the French in 1668, which is the oldest city in Michigan?

Jesuits Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette founded the mission; its Catholic parish is said to trail only St. Augustine and Santa Fe in age among US parishes.

Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, the Belleville Three, invented which genre?

High-school friends in a town 30 miles from Detroit, they fused Kraftwerk with Parliament-style funk; Atkins is hailed as the genre's 'Godfather'.

The Michigan–Michigan State football winner takes home a statue of which folk figure?

Governor G. Mennen Williams presented the four-foot lumberjack in 1953, when the Spartans joined the Big Ten; Michigan's Fritz Crisler reportedly planned to refuse it.

Which Michigan spot became the second US national park, after Yellowstone, in 1875?

Congress reasoned the soldiers at Fort Mackinac could double as caretakers; the land went to the state in 1895 and became Michigan's first state park.

Since 1976, Lake Superior State University has published a New Year's list of what?

The campus Unicorn Hunters started it, along with an annual snowman burning and stone-skipping tournaments.

Where in Lake Michigan did James Strang reign as crowned 'king' of a Mormon sect?

About 12,000 Latter Day Saints accepted his claims; he also served in the Michigan House and founded northern Michigan's first newspaper on the island.

Michigan's official state soil, designated in 1990, is a sand named after which county?

Identified in 1927, it covers nearly a million acres across 29 counties and filters water so well it gets credit for the clarity of the region's lakes.