If you live here, you know.

You know why we love California.

And since this week marks our state’s 161st birthday, we’re celebrating with 40 reasons we love living here — despite the smog, the traffic and, yeah, earthquakes.

Click the photo to start the slide show of 40 reasons we love California.

Here are a few tidbits from our research:

The Beach Boys started as the Pendletones.

The Golden Gate Bridge has 1.2 million rivets.

Laker Girl wanna-bes must weigh less than 130 pounds.

The US paid $15 million for the state of California.

The Rose Parade was once followed by an ostrich race.

Baywatch attracted more than 1 billion TV viewers a week in its heyday.

The California Gold Rush drew more than 300,000 people to the state.

On Sept. 9, 1850, California became the 31st state.

So take a look at our slide show and see what you think. If you agree, disagree or want to add to our list, do so in the comments below. Thanks, and Happy Birthday California.

contact the writer: tberg@ocregister.com