1. Wyoming’s state dinosaur is the triceratops. It’s one of only six states with an official state dinosaur.
2. Earlier this year, a Frontier Airlines pilot became a small hero when his Washington, D.C., to Denver plane flight had to stop in Cheyenne due to storms. After two hours on the tarmac the pilot announced “I just ordered pizza for the entire plane.” Thirty-five pies arrived shortly after.
3. During the 1880s Cheyenne was the wealthiest city in the country, maybe the world, due to a booming cattle industry and the gold rush.
4. Wyoming is the only state in the union that’s home to just one four-year postgraduate university: the University of Wyoming. The next closest states are Alaska and Delaware with five.
5. The Wyoming Frontier Prison in Rawlins, which opened after thirteen years of construction 1901, was the state’s first. These days it’s much less intimidating: it’s a tourist attraction that hosts an annual Haunted Halloween House and 5k “Pen Fun Run.”
6. Wyoming stood in for the cold and desolate Soviet Union in Rocky IV (aka, the one where Rocky single handedly wins the Cold War). The farm where Rocky trained was located in Jackson Hole, and outdoor shots and sequences were taken at Grand Teton National Park.
7. Drinking and mining in Wyoming isn’t just dangerous: it’s illegal. If you’re caught drunk in a mine it could lead to a hefty fine or land you in jail for up to a year.
8. Charles Schwab, Tiger Woods, and Dick Cheney are among the famous folks who own prime property in Jackson, Wyoming. Jackson ranch owner Harrison Ford, however, is by far Wyoming’s most valuable celebrity asset. He’s used his helicopter in several search and rescue missions, in one case picking up a stranded climber in the Teton Range and returning her to safety.
9. If you’re ever using AP Style, never abbreviate the state as WY like you would when writing an address. Just as the proper AP abbreviation for California is Calif., not CA, the proper AP abbreviation for Wyoming is Wyo.
10. Big Horn, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Yellowstone were some of the suggested names for the Wyoming territory when the U.S. Senate named the territory in 1868.
11. With 550,000 total residents, the population of Wyoming is roughly the same as the population of Albuquerque, New Mexico and the small European nation of Luxembourg.
12. White Hall, on the University of Wyoming’s campus in Laramie, is the tallest building in the state. The 12-story dormitory is 200 feet high.
13. If you’re in Newcastle, Wyoming, and suddenly feel the urge to a have sex in a store’s walk-in meat freezer, for goodness sake, don’t do it: there’s a strict ordinance against the act. Ice cold.
14. While the popular folk rock group the Avett Brothers have their roots firmly planted in North Carolina, singer and multi-instrumentalist Scott Avett was born in Cheyenne, where he spent the first few years of his life.
15. For the 2008 presidential election Wyoming was the reddest state in the union, with a 32% margin for McCain. In 2012, the honor went to Utah, where Romney beat Obama by a 48% margin as compared to Wyoming’s 40%.
16. The above information might make you wonder how people from Wyoming feel about that fact that more than 48% of the land in Wyoming is owned by the U.S. Government, with the state government responsible for another 6%.
17. Throughout the 19th century, there was so much wagon traffic throughout Wyoming that wagon wheel ruts still exist all over the state today.
18. Wyoming was the last state to raise the legal drinking age back to 21 in 1988. Between 1973 and 1988, the legal drinking age was 19.
19. In 1991 Wyoming state government established a policy that “one percent of new state construction costs is allocated for acquisition of artwork, not to exceed $100,000.” The artist is selected by a committee, with preference going to artists with Wyoming ties.
20. Dating back to 1886, the Laramie County Library System is the oldest county library system in the country.
21. Cody, Wyoming is named after Wild West showman William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody. In fact, Cody helped found the city, imaging it would turn into a booming tourist destination.
22. In 1999, “Sports Illustrated” made a list of the “Greatest Sports Figures From Every State.” Wyoming’s representative was Green Bay Packers great and Cheyenne native Boyd Dowler, who played wide receiver on Vince Lombardi’s first two Super Bowl teams. Dowler is currently a scout with the Atlanta Falcons.
23. Wyoming is one of three states with a name that begins with two consonants. The other two states are Florida and Rhode Island.
24. In 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt made Devil’s Tower in Crook County the country’s first ever National Monument.
25. The Casper Star-Tribune is Wyoming biggest newspaper, with a Sunday circulation of 22,751. For comparison, the very average-sized state of South Carolina’s largest newspaper, the Post and Courier, has a Sunday circulation of 90,168.
26. in 1939, portions of northern Wyoming attempted to join portions of South Dakota and Montana in an attempt to form a new state called “Absaroka.” Sheridan, Wyoming was the planned capital, a state license plate was created, and a “Miss Absaroka” was even named.
27. People from Wyoming must have a thing for secession. In 2012, a petition circulated around the state calling for Wyoming’s peaceful secession from the United States was signed by nearly 10,000 residents.
28. Utah isn’t the only state in the union with a large Mormon population. In 2010, the LDS church (62,804 adherents) edged out the Catholic Church (61,222 adherents) as the largest church in the state.
29. Wyoming has earned its reputation as the “equality state.” The state (then territory) was the first to allow women to vote in 1869. The 69-year-old Louisa Ann Swain became the first woman in the United States to vote in a general election in 1870, after the homemaker rose early to buy yeast and stopped to vote on the way.
30. Wyoming has also by far and away sent the highest percentage of women to the house of representatives since 1989. Wyoming’s rate is 76.9%. The next closest state is South Dakota at 46.2%.
31. As if that wasn’t enough lady cred, Wyoming also had the United States’ first female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross, from 1925 to 1927. The outspoken Prohibition activist and former kindergarten teacher won an election after the sitting governor, her husband William Bradford Ross, died in office.
32. The state of Wyoming provides huge incentives for promising high school students to stay in-state for college. Through the Hathaway Scholarship program, Wyoming students get big money to attend either UW or one of the state’s community colleges. Completely free tuition isn’t unusual.
33. In Wyoming, it’s illegal to wear a hat that obstructs people’s view in a public theater or place of amusement. It’s also just poor manners.
34. It’s also illegal (and not very sporting) to use firearms to fish.
35. These days, the massive department store chain is headquartered in Plano, Texas, but the first J.C. Penney store opened in Kemmerer, Wyoming, by James Cash Penney in 1902.
36. Even though Kemmerer’s population is just a tick above 2,500, Penney might not even be its most famous former resident. Longtime Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who passed away last year, grew up in Kemmerer before attending the University of Wyoming.
37. The unincorporated community of Wolf is home to Eaton Ranch, the world’s first dude ranch. The Eatons moved the ranch to its current location in Wolf in 1904, where the family still operates it today.
38. Following the lynching of the outlaw Big Nose George Parrott in 1881, a twisted doctor named John Eugene Osborne had the criminal’s skin tanned and turned into shoes. That doctor would later become the Governor of Wyoming in 1893 and eventually serve as Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson.
39. In 1887, Harry Alonzo Longabaugh was caught stealing a gun, horse, and saddle from a Sundance, Wyoming ranch. While in jail for the crime, he took on the name the “Sundance Kid.”
40. Shoshone Forest become the country’s first National Forest in 1891, following a law signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
41. The archean granite Independence Rock in central Wyoming was a landmark for travelers to Utah, Oregon, and California during the 19th century. Weary travellers did their best to arrive at the rock by the 4th of July to make sure they were on pace to get through the Rockies before winter. They also probably didn’t want to miss the huge yearly party held there on the 4th each year.
42. Coal is the name of the economy in Wyoming. In 2010, the state produced a whopping 40% of the nation’s total coal supply.
43. The Black Thunder coal mine, located near Wright, is the largest in the country. The Mine is responsible for roughly 20% of Wyoming’s total coal production.
44. The town of Afton’s main street is home to a 75 foot arch made out of 3,011 elk antlers, which is either really cool or really morbid, depending on how you feel about elk.
45. Afton is also the hometown of Greco-Roman wrestler Rulon Gardner. Gardner became the United States’ first gold medalist in the sport at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
46. Wyoming accounted for two of the 530 Olympians at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. This made Wyoming the best represented state in the country per capita.
46. The word “Wyoming” comes from a Lenape word that roughly translate to “at the big river flat.” However, the word actually referred to what’s now known as the Wyoming Valley in northeast Pennsylvania.
47. The state’s oldest bar is Buckhorn Bar and Parlor in Laramie. It was established all the way back in 1900, just ten years after Wyoming became a state.
48. One of Wyoming’s most famous native sons, Dick Cheney, would eventually graduate with a B.A. and M.A. in political science from the University of Wyoming. Originally, however, he attended Yale on the recommendation of Casper oil man Tom Stroock, who helped him receive a full scholarship. Cheney would go on to fail out of the school twice and return to his home state after two years.
49. The University of Wyoming opened its doors in 1886, four years before Wyoming became a state.
50. Even though it’s a thoroughly landlocked state, Wyoming actually has 32 named islands within its state lines.
What’s your favorite Wyoming fun fact? Tell us in the comments below!
