Alabama is home to football rivalries, rockets and hundred year old traditions that will live on until the end of time. All of these things are what make this great state what it is and give outsiders a small taste of why we refer to it as “sweet home Alabama.” The brave souls who venture from home and decide to come to Alabama for their education may have come for a change in scenery or a new adventure, but, little did they know, they chose one of the most historic and unique states in the South. With it’s unique history and timeless attractions, Alabama is undoubtedly one of the south’s treasures. Here are just a few facts that make Alabama natives so proud call this state home:
- On Feb. 8, 2002, War Eagle VI, a golden eagle who flew for Auburn University football games from 1986 to 2006 made a special flight during the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
- The first rocket to put man on the moon, Saturn V rocket, was built in NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Marshall Space Flight Center contains one of the greatest collections of rockets and space memorabilia in the world.
- Alabama became the 22nd state of the United States of America on Dec. 14, 1819, and has over 775 amendments, making it the longest, most amended state constitution in the world.
- Shelby County Habitat for Humanity holds the record for the world’s fastest home building. The house is located in Montevallo, Alabama and took only 3 hours, 26 minutes and 34 seconds to complete from start to finish.
- In 1836, Alabama one-upped every state in the nation and was the first U.S. state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. The U.S. as a whole acknowledged it as such until 1870.
- The Black Pearl, featured in Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean,” was built in Alabama at Steiner Shipyard in Bayou La Batre. The ship has been used for all of the movies that have been filmed.
- Forget a groundhog predicting the start of spring, Alabama has a weather forecasting possum named Sand Mountain Sam.
- A resolution was passed by the Alabama Legislature when Fob James was governor naming Eunice Merrill’s biscuits the Official Biscuit of Alabama. Merrill was known for her biscuits and home-style cooking at Aunt Eunice’s Country Kitchen in Huntsville.
- One of the first commercial peanut butter mills was located in the Pike County town of Brundidge, Alabama. This town still celebrates its role in the peanut butter industry every year with a Peanut Butter Festival.
- The telegram that started the Civil War was sent from Montgomery by Huntsville native Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Pope Walker, first Confederate States Secretary of War on April 11, 1861.
- There really is a place named Sweet Home Alabama; it is a historic house in Bessemer. It was built on Arlington Avenue in 1906 by architect William E. Benns for H.W. Sweet.
- Montgomery’s Lightning Route, established in 1886, was the first-ever electric streetcar system.
- Alabama is home to the World’s Largest Catfish, located between Brundidge and Troy. This 28-foot whiskery whopper is animated with rolling eyes, flapping gills and a swishing tail.
- For a fun road trip there is a store in Scottsboro called the Unclaimed Baggage Center that buys lost luggage from airlines. The store sells items three months after not being able to make contact with the owners.
- Mobile, Alabama became the first city in America to celebrate Mardi Gras in 1703. Later, New Orleans, Louisiana became synonymous with Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States and, unlike Mobile where moon pies are thrown, New Orleans throws beads.
- Alabama has had five state capitols. Beginning with Saint Stephens, then Huntsville, followed by Cahaba, Tuscaloosa and finally Montgomery in 1846 to present.
- Birmingham, Alabama, which is known for its natural resource of iron, is home to the Vulcan, the world’s largest cast iron statue coming in at 120,000 pounds and 56 feet tall.
- Alabama is named after the Alabama River named after a Native American tribe called Alabama, which is derived from a Choctaw language meaning “vegetation gatherer," referring to the tribe’s ability to gather herbs and use them as medicine.
- There are many famous Alabamians including Helen Keller, who was an author and educator about blindness, Coretta Scott King, who was a civil rights leader with her husband, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks who famously did not give up her bus seat to a white man and Hank Aaron, who was an American baseball player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and record holder for most home runs in a career.
- Although many have referred to Alabama as “Heart of Dixie” or the “cotton state,” there is no officially-recognized nickname. (No, ‘Bama’ does not count.)
- The efficiency of submarines in war was the subject of some debate until one built in Mobile put the matter to rest. The Confederate-operated H.L. Hanley torpedoed the Union’s USS Housatonic in February 1864, the first time in history a submersible had successfully downed an enemy ship.
- Alabama is the only state that requires you to be a legal adult to enjoy its official drink. In 2004, the state recognized Conecuh Ridge Whiskey as the beverage of Alabama.
- Enjoying the standard features in your car? You have Alabamians to thank. Auburn University grad George Kirchoff spent nearly four decades working on refining the airbag. Also, Mary Anderson invented the windshield wipers in 1903 after seeing people lean out of their cars to wipe rain off of their windshields.
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