1. Pineapples are a symbol of hospitality in Charleston. Back in the day, sea captains would announce their arrival and invite people to hear their stories by sticking a pineapple prominently outside their homes.
2. If the fire department comes around in Charleston saying they need to blow up your house—guess what? They totally can.
3. That policy is pretty ironic, considering the motto of the city is “Aedes mores juraque curat” which is Fancy for “She guards her buildings, customs and laws.”
4. All of American theatre history began in Charleston at the Dock Street Theatre, the very first one built in the country.
5. The indomitable Stephen Colbert lived on James Island as a boy. Does that make his first friends the original members of the Colbert Nation?
6. In a city of firsts, one that most people remember is Noah and Allie’s first date to the movies was filmed at the American Theatre.
7. Everyone’s favorite corrupt politician from “House of Cards,” Frank Underwood, attended a fictionalized version of the Citadel, a renowned military college.
8. Local minor league team the Sea of Dogs have a Director of Fun. And their Director of Fun is Bill Murray. This guy is everywhere.
9. The modern Othello adaptation, “O,” was filmed entirely in Charleston.
10. George Gershwin’s celebrated folk opera, “Porgy and Bess,” is set in Catfish Row (modeled after Cabbage Row) right in Charleston.
11. Gershwin himself wrote the opera while staying on Folly’s Island.
12. The very man who inspired the character of Porgy, a goat-holding vegetable merchant by the name of Samuel Smalls, is buried in the graveyard next to James Island Presbyterian.
13. Arguably the oldest Youtube sensation, Angry Grandpa gets up to his hijinx at his home in Charleston.
Source: TheAngryGrandpaShow
14. The traditional Irish sport of hurling—HURLING—is alive and well in Charleston. If you like, you can go out for the Gaelic and play what can only be described as Super-Lacrosse.
15. While Zumiez customers already knew about Shepard Fairey’s work (the Andre the Giant OBEY logo), this Charleston native’s work was made famous in the Banksy doc, “Exit Through The Gift Shop”.
16. The Washington Monument, one of the most recognizable architectural triumphs in D.C., was designed by Charleston native Robert Mills, who had already made a steady career for himself commemorating our first commander-in-chief.
17. What kept Charleston standing during the Revolutionary War? Turns out the battlements of Fort Moultrie were built of the spongy, cannonball-bouncing logs of the Palmetto tree. No wonder it’s the state tree!
18. Did you know that there was no red on the first flag considered to be an American flag? The Moultrie flag, flown at the battle on Sullivan’s Island, is a navy blue with a white crescent emblazoned with the words “Liberty.”
19. Even though it was supposed to be happening up in Connecticut, the scene in “Die Hard With A Vengeance” where McClane and Zeus jump onto the container ship was filmed on Grace Memorial Bridge over the Cooper River.
20. One of the last major events of the Civil Rights movement was the 1969 Charleston Hospital Strike, led by Mary Moultrie, who led a march with other civil rights luminaries such as Coretta Scott King and Ralph Abernathy.
21. While we’re doing the whole American history thing, the very first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter, which fell to Confederate forces at the close of that battle.
22. Another Civil War factoid: the little document that started the whole shebang was the Ordinance of Secession, signed right here in Charleston.
23. Andy Dick, improv wiz and star of NewsRadio was born in Charleston.
24. The oldest city-sponsored college in the country, the College of Charleston, is located in—oh wait, I guess I already spoiled it.
25. By the way, that college is also the 13th oldest in the country. 13th oldest, 13 colonies? Conspiracy? Probably not.
26. Except maybe because three of the founders of the college also helped
found our country. Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Heyward
27. Before he was doing the whole “designing a means of instant communication with dots and dashes” thing, Samuel Morse was painting portraits in Charleston. Glad the day job panned out!
28. The show “Army Wives” had an actual fake town constructed in North Charleston for filming purposes.
29. Charleston likes to call itself the “Holy City,” what with the crazy number of steeples making up most of the skyline.
30. “The Wheel of Time” author, Robert Jordan, is from Charleston. Perhaps it was the beautiful greenery all around him that inspired his world of fantasy?
31. The Arthur J. Ravenel bridge is not only the most EXPENSIVE structure in Charleston (at nearly $700,000,000) but it’s also the longest cable-sustained bridge in the entire country (at precisely 1,546 feet).
32. Believe it or not, Charleston Green has an origin story: when the North donated black paint to spruce up the city, there was a backlash against the “Yankee color.” Quick fix: mix it with some good ol’ Confederate yellow, a dash of blue and you get Charleston Green!
33. The very first time anyone ever played a game of golf in America was in Charleston!
34. Ever seen a Charleston Eagle? Sure you have—they were buzzards that cleaned up the meat scraps at the city market way back in the day (they were even protected by police).
35. The Nicole Kidman Civil War epic, “Cold Mountain,” famous for being filmed primarily in Romania, did have some scenes in Charleston, notably where Inman makes conversation with the blind man.
36. Charleston has been the victim of nearly every natural disaster imaginable: Hurricane Hugo, the earthquake that nearly destroyed the city in 1886, the decade of fires at the turn of the century and an actual tornado in 1938.
37. All the homes in Charleston have verandahs that face south or west. Know why? Because this was the direction of prevailing wind, and if you were in the South without any AC in the summer, you needed it!
38. The official craft of the state, and one that Charleston is known for, is the art of sweetgrass basket weaving.
39. Nobel Prize science laureate Robert Furchgott is a Charleston native, and also found out a way to explain why Viagra works (as well as explain other cardiovascular things). That’s why he won the Nobel Prize.
40. You know how we know Charleston is all that? Travel & Leisure named it the Friendliest City in America back in 2011, and Conde Nast Traveler bequeathed the same honor the two following years.
42. The Seal of Charleston (which also makes up the flag of the city) features the Latin name of Charleston, “Carolopolis”, the motto mentioned before, as well as the phrase “Civitatis Regimine Donata”—basically, “We let the people take over.”
43. And because it would be impolite to omit, Southern Traveler named Charleston the city with the best manners, too.
44. It wasn’t always Charles-TON. It was originally Charles Towne, named for King Charles II, but they dropped the “w” and fancy “e” in 1783 (it wasn’t popular to have cities named directly after British royalty then).
45. Rough and tough Bumpy Johnson, who has been portrayed by the likes of Laurence Fishburne and Clarence Williams III, was a noted African-American Harlem mob boss. He even did time on Alcatraz.
46. As the crow flies, Charleston is located exactly halfway down the South Carolina coast.
47. In a country where our museums rank #1 consistently, it should be noted the very first one instituted was The Charleston Museum, in 1773.
48. When the British first laid eyes on what would be Charleston, a mess of white oysters were seen where the Battery now runs, hence the name White Point.
49. Another very notorious movie that brought Charleston to the Big Screen? Drum roll…. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.
50. Darius Rucker, the lead singer of Hootie & The Blowfish, is from Charleston, too.
Featured Image Source: eagleedition.com
What’s your favorite Charleston fun fact? Tell us in the comments below!
