VACATION AND TRAVEL
shoreline than any other state except Alaska. Standing anywhere in the state a person is within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes.
Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie. Lake Michigan is the only lake entirely inside the United States; all others are shared by Canada. I found out if you take the first letter from each lake it spells out the name “HOMES”. If you were asked to names all the Great Lakes, you will recall the names much quicker by remembering them by their first letter.
Detroit is the birth place of Vernors ginger ale, America’s oldest ginger ale brand, created in 1866 by James Vernor. Legend has it that Vernors crafted a new drink just before the Civil War, but he never got to sell it. He was called into service in the Civil War by 1862, and he stored his drink in an oak cask while he was gone. When he came back after the war ended, he found that the keg had transformed his drink. The result was Vernors Ginger Ale. It was first serve to the country by 1866. He sold it in his drug store for 30 years before opening a factory to produce it on a larger scale.
The largest city in the state being Detroit has the distinction of being the Motor City capital of the world. Even though Henry Ford started the Detroit Motor company in 1899, it was changed to the Ford Motor Company in 1901 with the
first moving automobile assembly line which began operations in Henry Ford’s Highland Park plant by 1913, reducing chassis assembly from 12 ½ hours to 93 minutes within a year. The Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit manufactured the first air-conditioned car in 1939.
With more than 120 lighthouses, Michigan has more lighthouses than any of the other 37 states that have lighthouses. While only two dozen or so of these lighthouses are open for visits, there are many more still in service, providing warnings for more than 10,000 miles of coastline.
Here is something even I didn’t know about Michigan. Alpena is the home of the world's largest cement plant and Rogers City boasts the world's largest limestone quarry. Michigan also ranks first in state boat registrations. The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in America to feature cageless, open-exhibits that allowed the animals more freedom to roam. In 1929, the Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world, and many more things we were first to develop or have I could list.
In Michigan, you get 10 cents back for recycling a can, which is the highest payback rate in the country. While the state also has the nations highest recycling rate (no surprise there), they're also losing over $10 million a year due to out-of-staters fraudulently trying to cash in their cans. Blame the Border States: Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio which don't offer any can refunds at all, but they tote their cans to Michigan for a 10 cent refund.
Being from Michigan, we have two well-