VACATION AND TRAVEL
“Michigan Fun Facts”
Article written by Michael Joseph Lynch
Years ago I wrote a book that contained fun facts in regards to 12 Midwestern states, even though it was not the main subject matter of my book. Every state has their claims to fame but did you know Michigan has a lot of great wonderful surprises of its own. You will see how much you even know about the state of Michigan, some of which you may already know, and some that will come as a complete surprise to you. Let’s get started!
The state of Michigan joined the union in 1837 after being a territory long before that. Although Michigan is often called the "Wolverine State" , there are no longer any wolverines in Michigan. The state Capitol with its majestic dome was built in Lansing in 1879. The oldest county (based on date of incorporation) is Wayne in 1815. Four flags have always flown over Michigan - French, English, Spanish and United States and by 2017 Michigan has a population of 9.96 million people.
Michigan also has more than 11,000 inland lakes even though it neighbors Minnesota which has on their license plates “land of 10,000 lakes”. Michigan has 36,000 miles of streams and 3,126 miles of shoreline along the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes alone contain more than 80 percent of North America’s, surface fresh water and more than 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water supply. Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world having more