1. The Home Insurance Building in Chicago was the world’s first skyscraper when it was built in 1885.
2. The Sears Tower in Chicago is the tallest building in North America.
3. Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.
4. The space chosen for the first nuclear fission reactor was a squash court under the football stadium at the University of Chicago.
5. Illinois has 102 counties.
6. The ice cream "sundae" was named in Evanston, Ill.
7. Illinois boasts the highest number of personalized license plates, more than any other state.
8. The trains that pass through Chicago's underground freight tunnels daily would extend over 10 miles total in length.
9. The Illinois state dance is square dancing.
10. In Mount Pulaski, Illinois, it is illegal for boys (and only boys) to hurl snowballs at trees.
11. The Chicago Public Library is the world's largest public library with a collection of more than 2 million books.
12. The Chicago Post Office at 433 West Van Buren is the only postal facility in the world you can drive a car through.
13. Nabisco made 16 billion Oreo cookies in 1995 at its Chicago factory.
14. Only two buildings survived the great Chicago fire, the Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station.
15. The Chicago River is dyed green on Saint Patrick's Day.
16. The Nabisco factory in Chicago is the world’s largest bakery at 1,800,000 square feet.
17. Elzie Crisler Segar, the creator of “Popeye the Sailorman” cartoon, was born in Chester, Ill.
18. Illinois is home to the world’s largest bottle of catsup.
19. Illinois generates more nuclear power than any other state.
20. Illinois is home to the world's only river that flows backward, the Chicago River.
21. Aurora is known as the City of Lights because it was the first U.S. city to use electric street lighting throughout the entire city.
22. There is a fire-breathing “dragon” in Vandalia, Ill. known as the Kaskaskia Dragon.
23. The term "jazz" was coined in Chicago in 1914 by Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa.
24. Twinkies were invented on April 6, 1930 in River Forest, Ill.
25. Morton, Ill. is the "pumpkin capital of the world." More than 85 percent of packaged pumpkin comes from here.
26. The world's tallest man was born in Alton, Ill. Robert Pershing Wadlow was 8'11", weight 491 lbs and wore a size 37 shoe.
27. The first all-color TV station debuted in Chicago.
28. Nearly 80 percent of the state's land area is farmland.
29. April 1st was officially named "Cheap Trick Day" in Illinois.
30. The world's first Ferris Wheel was at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
31. Walt Disney was born in Chicago.
32. The state snack of Illinois is popcorn.
33. Chicago is known as the "Candy Capital of the World".
34. All three “Home Alone” movies were filmed in Chicago.
35. The Willis Towers elevators are the fastest in the world: 1,600 ft. per minute.
36. Roller skates, spray paint and pinball games were invented in Illinois.
37. Illinois is the fifth most populous state with almost 11.5 million people.
38. Boeing airplanes are manufactured in Illinois.
39. The Alder Planetarium in Chicago was the first planetarium in the western hemisphere.
40. Chicago is the sixth largest city in the state with a land size of 10,857 square miles.
41. The name Illinois originates from an Algonquin Indian word that is literally translated as “Warriors”.
42. A law in Illinois gives any person under the age of 21 legal permission to consume alcohol if they are enrolled in a culinary school or program.
43. Inventors John Deere and Cyrus McCormick made their fortunes in Illinois by improving farm machinery.
44. The first aquarium opened in Chicago in 1893.
45. Illinois is home to Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, which is the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico.
46. The Illinois state reptile is the painted turtle.
47. Metropolis, the home of Superman, really exists in Southern Illinois.
48. Abraham Lincoln’s first public office was as postmaster of New Salem, Ill.
49. In 1973, a special poll of 900,000 school children changed the state tree from the Native Oak to the White Oak.
50. The NFL's Chicago Bears were first known as the “Staley Bears”
Feature Image Source: Flickr user TheeErin
