41 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Colorado

1. The first ever car license plate in the United States was issued in Denver, Colorado in 1908. 2. In Fruita, the town folk celebrate 'Mike the Headless Chicken' with his own day, festival and sculpture. Seems that a farmer named L.A. Olsen cut off the head of one of his chickens, named Mike, in 1945 with the thought he could have the bird for dinner. Turns out that Mike lived for another 4 years without a head! 3. “SuperMax,” aka the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum (ADX), is the highest-security federal prison in the country, and is located in the small town of Florence, only two hours south of Denver. 4. The largest ice building in North America was built in 1895 in Leadville, named Leadville’s Ice Palace. It was shaped like a medieval castle, covered more than 3 acres and had towers 90-feet high. It was forced to close after 2 months though, due to warm weather. 5. Leadville, CO is also the highest incorporated city in the United States, at an elevation of 10,430 feet. 6. The very first liquor license after prohibition in Colorado was given in Denver to the The Buckhorn Saloon. The Saloon is still open, except now it’s called The Buckhorn Exchange Restaurant and is filled to the brim with taxidermy. 7. Pueblo, CA is the only city in America with four living recipients of the Medal of Honor. 8. If your idea of fun is being chased by an angry phantom with an axe in his forehead, then head to Dead Man’s Canyon. It’s about 10 miles from Colorado Springs and plenty of people have reported being chased by the ghost of William Harkins. It’s been told that he’s been hanging around his cabin on Little Fountain Creek since he was murdered in 1863. 9. There’s never been a U.S. President or Vice-President from Colorado. 10. Trinidad, CA is known as the ‘Sex Change Capital of the World’ due to the many sex changes performed by Dr. Stanley Biber during 1969 to 2003. It has been estimated that he performed 65 percent of the world’s gender-reassignment surgeries during these years. 11. Katherine Lee Bates wrote “America the Beautiful” after being inspired by the view from Pikes Peak, Colorado. 12. Loveland is known as ‘The Sweetheart City’. Every year thousands of Valentine’s Day cards are mailed from or mailed to Loveland, where a staff on volunteers stamps them with a personal Loveland stamp and re-sends them out to their recipients. 13. In Pueblo, it is illegal to let a dandelion grow within the city limits. 14. Mesa Verde National Park features an elaborate four-story city carved in the cliffs by the Ancestral Pueblo people between 600 and 1300 A.D. It is one of the richest archaeological preserves with amazing cliff dwellings and more than 4,000 ancient sites. 15. In Aspen, CO it is illegal to throw a snowball at a person or a building. Too bad. 16. Rocky Ford has been dubbed the "Melon Capital of the World". 17. The first rodeo in the United States was on July 4th, 1869 in Deer Trail. 18. A 28.3-carat diamond, the largest ever found in Colorado and the fifth largest in the United States, was found at the Kelsey Lake Mine. It was sold as a beautiful 5.39-carat faceted stone for $87,000. 19. Want to wine and dine at the highest elevation in the country? You can do both at Alpino Vino at Telluride Ski Resort, the highest fine dining restaurant and wine bar in the country. 20. The 13th step of the state capital building in Denver is exactly 1 mile high above sea level. There’s a little gold medallion telling you so, but it’s easy to miss. 21. There are almost as many dead towns in Colorado as there are live ones. There are around 500 estimated ghost towns, as opposed to the 650 that are occupied. 22. The world's largest flat-top mountain is in Grand Mesa. 23. The Road to Mt. Evans off of I-70 from Idaho Springs is the highest paved road in North America. 24. The United States federal government owns more than 1/3 of the land in Colorado. Yep, it’s true. 25. The town of Dove Creek - population around 700 - has deemed itself the ‘Pinto Bean Capital of the World’. 26. The world’s first Stegosaurus ever found was found in Grand Junction. 27. The tallest sand dune in America is in Great Sand Dunes National Monument outside of Alamosa. This bizarre 46,000-acre landscape of 700-foot sand peaks was the creation of ocean waters and wind more than one million years ago. 28. You probably wouldn’t expect it, but Colorado is home to the world’s largest alligator farm. It’s called ‘Colorado Gators Reptile Park’ and a geothermal well on the property gives the gators the perfect year-round temperature of 87 degrees. 29. Everyone knows about the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, but not everyone knows that this concert venue actually took 300 million years to create. Think about that. 30. Colorado contains 75 percent of the land area of the U.S. with an altitude over 10,000 feet. 31. If your dream is to one day climb a ‘fourteener’ (peak over 14,000 ft.), you should head to Colorida. There are 52 Fourteeners in the state, but Mt. Elbert is the highest. 32. Glenwood Hot Springs in Glenwood Springs is the world’s largest hot springs pool, and it is amazing. 34. If you drive through Alma, CO, you might see an officer sitting in a cop car on the north end of town. If you look closer, you might notice he’s not actually an officer, but a mannequin outfitted in a cop uniform. He’s there to encourage you to slow down. 34. You can see Mork & Mindy's house from the 70’s American sitcom in Boulder. It’s a private residence, but was used for all the exterior home shots in the series. 35. It is illegal to mistreat rats in Denver, Colorado. 36. In Vail, it is illegal to crash into obstacles on a ski slope, but it happens all the time. 37. In Sterling, it is illegal for cats to run loose without having been fit with a taillight. Wonder how that’s working out. 38. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has shown up in more than a dozen movies including “How the West Was Won” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” 39. The highest suspension bridge in the nation is the Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City with a height of 956 ft. It held the record of highest bridge in the world from 1929 to 2003, but is still the highest in the United States. 40. In Boulder it is illegal to herd pigs in public without prior permission. 41. The Imperial Express Superchair at Breckenridge Ski Resort is the highest chairlift in North America, at an elevation just shy of 13,000 feet. It’s not slow either; it’s a high-speed quad lift. What's your favorite fun Colorado fact? Tell us in the comments below!