Quick Facts Essential Facts Interesting Details Capital: Olympia Population: 7,061,531 (as of 2014) Area: 13th largest state Largest City: Seattle Highest Point: Mount Rainier Lowest point: Pacific Ocean Currency: US Dollar Demonym: Washingtonian Industry: Lumber, Aircraft and Missiles Nickname: Evergreen State History: It Is the Only State Named After a President – George Washington Health: Washington Is a Great Place to Live if You Like Healthy Food Popular culture: Washington Is Home to 5 of the World’s Greatest Bands and Musicians Science: If You Don’t like Rain, Come to Seattle Science: Washington Has an Interesting Choice of “State Gem” Washington: A Pioneering State of Innovation and Big Business If You Like Beer and Wine, You’ll Love Washington! Why Every Father Should Love Washington It Holds the World Record for Floating Bridges Washington State Has Strange Laws That Have Never Been Repealed Washington’s Banana Slug Is 9 Inches Long

Table of Contents 01 It Is the Only State Named After a President – George Washington 02 Washington Is a Great Place to Live if You Like Healthy Food 03 Music Fans: It’s Home to 5 of the World’s Greatest Bands and Musicians 04 If You Don’t like Rain, Come to Seattle 05 Washington Has an Interesting Choice of “State Gem” 06 Washington: A Pioneering State of Innovation and Big Business 07 If You Like Beer and Wine, You’ll Love Washington! 08 Origins of Father’s Day – Why Every Father Should Love Washington 09 Amazing! It Holds the World Record for Floating Bridges 10 Washington State Has Strange Laws That Have Never Been Repealed 11 The 9-inch Long Banana Slug – Something Fishy to Finish With 12 Washington Fact – Facts about Washington Summary

It Is the Only State Named After a President – George Washington George Washington was born in 1732 and was one of the founding fathers of the USA. He was elected unanimously in 1788, 1789 and 1792, and is so far the only President to have had an entire state named after him. He wasn’t actually born in the state which would later bear his name, though; he was born and raised in Colonial Virginia and his family owned a plantation. Of all the states, Washington was the 42nd to join the United States of America

Washington Is a Great Place to Live if You Like Healthy Food There are 3 interesting food related Washington Facts. Washington State holds the honor of producing the largest number of apples in the entire USA (10-12 billion each year!). It also produces the largest quantity of raspberries, with 57 million per annum. Great for anyone who wants to get their nine portions a day! In addition, the state produces the largest quantity of the herb mint – more than any other state in the country. So not only will you be healthy, but you’ll have the sweetest smelling breath too!

Music Fans: It’s Home to 5 of the World’s Greatest Bands and Musicians Washington Facts relating to music tell us that if you’re a fan of rock music, or just music in general, Washington is the place to visit to fulfil your musical dreams. Jimi Hendrix was born there, and bands like Nirvana were formed in the state. If grunge isn’t your thing, you’re still in luck – Pat Boone, Bing Crosby and Quincy Jones all hail from Washington, too. It’s a state of immense creative and cultural talent, both past and present.

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If You Don’t like Rain, Come to Seattle Washington Facts surrounding the weather tell us that Seattle experiences considerably less rainfall than many other places in the USA, despite what residents might say when there’s a sudden downpour. On average, per annum, it has 37 inches of rain. That’s much less precipitation than places such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Put your umbrella away and get your sun shades out instead!

Washington Has an Interesting Choice of “State Gem” Many states have a gem as their emblem. For instance, Arizona has Turquoise and Montana has Agate and Sapphire. Washington’s is slightly less recognizable, however, for it’s not even something that registers on the Mohs scale (the scale of mineral hardness). The state has Petrified Wood as its gem, and also contains one of the most unusual fossil forests in the entire world. Diamonds aren’t always a girl’s best friend – sometimes a splinter is!

Washington: A Pioneering State of Innovation and Big Business There are some fascinating Washington Facts that tell us about the innovators who call the state home. The pioneering Boeing family, Bill Gates, and Starbucks founder Howard Schulz all live in Washington. In fact, Washington has the distinction of being the state that employs the highest number of people in technology-based jobs. Amazon, Nordstrom and Costco all have bases there, too. Coincidentally, if you like your Starbucks, you might be pleased to know that Washington is also the coffee capital of the USA. There are more coffee bean roasters per capita than anywhere else in the country!

If You Like Beer and Wine, You’ll Love Washington! If you love a nice cold glass of beer, Washington is the place to go. It grows over 70% of the hops used to brew the USA’s amber nectar. You could say it was…top of the hops! Don’t like beer? Don’t fret. The state has 350 wineries, making it the second largest producer of wine in the country. It has now gained international acclaim as a major contender as producer of some of the world’s finest wines

Origins of Father’s Day – Why Every Father Should Love Washington We’re all familiar with the idea of Father’s Day, but how many of us know how far it goes back and exactly where it started? Well, believe it or not, Washington State is responsible for starting this celebration of all things paternal, and it did so right at the start of the last century – in 1910. Fathers all over the world are thankful to the state for letting them receive the gift of socks from their offspring every year!

Amazing! It Holds the World Record for Floating Bridges Washington Facts show us that the engineers there knows a thing or two about building floating bridges. There are currently only five floating bridges in the world, and four of them are in Washington State. They are the Murrow Memorial Bridge, The Homer M Hadley Bridge, the Hood Canal Bridge and finally the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge.

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Washington State Has Strange Laws That Have Never Been Repealed If you live in Everett, it is totally illegal for you to display a hypnotized person in a shop window! If you live in Wilbur and you own a horse, it is illegal to ride it out in the street if it is deemed ugly. Finally, it is also illegal to walk out on the street if you’re suffering from a cold.

The 9-inch Long Banana Slug – Something Fishy to Finish With …and not one for the squeamish. Did you know that Washington has the largest variety of land living mollusk in North America? Coming in at a whopping 9 inches long, the Banana Slug holds this dubious honor. They get their name because they are yellow in color and look bizarrely like curled up bananas. These creatures like to forage on the forest floor for food to eat. Not one for the faint hearted, they are rather curious in appearance!