70 Fun Facts About Michigan: How Much Do You Know About The Wolverine State?

The Wolverine State (which isn't actually home to any wolverines) is a unique part of the United States with a cool history.

We've put together some cool Michigan facts and trivia, as well as some totally weird facts about Michigan too so that you can find out all you need to know about the very watery state. There are loads of interesting facts about Michigan that make it a one of a kind place to visit.

If you're wondering more about the state's history these interesting Michigan facts are a fun and fast way to get all the info.

If you love learning about the states, why not check out these fun facts about Minnesota, or learn about the desert state of Nevada with these fun facts?

Get to know the important facts about Michigan so that you can impress your friends and teachers with the cold hard Michigan facts.

1. The capital of Michigan is Lansing.

2. It is the 26th state in the United States.

3. The state motto of Michigan state is "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice".

4. This translates to "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you".

5. The population of Michigan is around ten million people.

6. There are a few nicknames that are given to Michigan state. One is The Wolverine State, and the other is The Great Lake State.

7. Some key cities you will find in Michigan are Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit and the Grand Rapids.

8. The biggest city in Michigan is Detroit.

9. Michigan is known for its education industry, agriculture and automobile industry.

10. The postal abbreviation of the state of Michigan is MI.

11. There are 83 counties in Michigan.

12. Michigan is the tenth largest state in the United States if you count the Great Lakes.

13. If you don't count the lakes, then Michigan is only the 22nd largest state in the United States.

14. States that border Michigan are Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio. Canada is also a bordering country.

15. The Michigan state bird and flower are the robin and the apple blossom.

16. The state tree of Michigan is the White Pine.

17. The state fish of Michigan is the Brook Trout.
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The towns and cities here have made their name with their rich history, and we are about to tell you why.

18. Michigan joined the Union in 1837, on Thursday 26 January.

19. The name Michigan came from an Ojibwe word, 'Mishigamaa'.

20. 'Mishigamaa' means "large water" or "large lake".

21. At the beginning, the name Michigan was only given to the Lower Peninsula, but later Michigan became the name of the Upper Peninsula too.

22. In the year 1879, the city of Detroit in Michigan became the first ever city to use phone numbers. Everywhere else you would call someone using their name.

23. This was because Detroit had such a big population.

24. Henry Ford invented the assembly line in Michigan, which meant that lots of cars could be made very quickly.

25. The first air conditioned car was invented in Michigan in the year 1939.

26. In the year 1622, two French explorers were probably the first men ever to see Lake Superior in Michigan.

27. The original residents of Michigan were the tribal groups of the Ottawa people, the Ojibwa people and the Potawatomi Native Americans.

These cool facts about Michigan culture will help you get to know what things are really like in the state.

28. Detroit was nicknamed Motor City, and has been described as the car capital of the world because there are so many cars made there.

29. The Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan was named the world's second best brewery in the year 2012.

30. Michigan is a very popular place to go fishing, which is not a surprise considering the amount of water in the state.

31. The Henry Ford Museum is one of the things Michigan is known for. It has lots of cool displays like Thomas Edison's laboratory and the bus that Rosa Parks rode on.

32. Motown Records was founded in Detroit in the year 1959. The name of the record company came from putting the words 'motor' and 'town' together.

33. Motown Records produced music by lots of famous acts like the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and The Temptations.

34. There is a Motown Museum that is open to visitors in Detroit.

35. Corn Flakes were founded by the Kellogg brothers in Battle Creek in the year 1898. The flakes were created by accident when the brothers were trying to make granola.

Get to know the landscape of the watery state, including some of the geographic things that Michigan is famous for all over the world.

36. The Great Lakes on the borders of Michigan split the state into the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula.

37. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake that is fully in North America.

38. Lake Michigan is the third largest of the Great Lakes.

39. Michigan has over 36,000 miles of streams.

40. The state also has over 11,000 inland lakes.

41. Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes.

42. Michigan is 96,716 square miles in size.

43. The highest point in Michigan is Arvon, which is 1,979 feet tall.

44. The lowest point in Michigan is Lake Erie, which is 571 feet tall.

45. At any point in Michigan, you will be within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes.

46. There are more shorelines in Michigan than in any other state except from Alaska.

47. Michigan is home to 3,288 miles of freshwater coastline, which is the longest freshwater coastline in the world.

48. About half of the land in the state of Michigan is covered with forests.

49. The common trees you will find in the state are maple, beech, aspen, birch, elm, maple and pine.

50. The state has a lot of birds. It is home to over 260 different species of bird, including the rare Kirtland's Warbler.

51. Bird watchers might also see raptors like short eared owls, peregrine falcons and osprey.

52. If you visit the water, you might spot a great blue heron, a piping plover or a trumpeter swan.

53. Some amphibians that live on the land are five-lined skinks, red bellied snakes and spiny soft-shell turtles.

We've compiled some cool things about Michigan and some Michigan fun facts that really show why Michigan is unique to let you know a few of the crazy things that Michigan is famous for. If you're looking for Michigan trivia, you've come to the right place.

54. The world's longest suspension bridge is the Mackinac Bridge, which connects the different peninsulas together.

55. The bridge is five miles long and took three whole years to build.

56. The model and actress Christie Brinkley was born in Michigan.

57. People from the Upper Peninsula sometimes call the people from the Lower Peninsula trolls because they live "under the bridge", meaning the Mackinac Bridge.

58. Michigan is home to actor Taylor Lautner.

59. The basketball player Al Horford is also from Michigan.

60. The football player and coach Tony Dungy is from Michigan.

61. The first wolverine that was spotted in 200 years in Michigan was in 2004.

If you just want to know some strange facts about Michigan and random cool things that make Michigan unique, then these unique facts about Michigan will be right up your street.

62. Even though Michigan's state nickname would lead you to believe otherwise, you can't find any wolverines in Michigan anymore.

63. A weird law in Michigan prevents pigs from running free in the downtown area of Detroit. This is,of course, unless they have a ring in their nose, in which case they are free to run!

64. There are nineteen chandeliers in the Capitol building in Lansing. All of them were designed by Tiffany's of New York for the building and weigh 900 pounds each.

65. Michigan is the only state in the United States that is divided by two peninsulas.

66. It is illegal to sell or buy a car on a Sunday in Michigan.

67. Michigan is the only place in the entire world that has a floating post office. The J.W. Westcott II is a boat that delivers mail to ships, and has been in action for over a hundred years.

68. Michigan is home to the sport "snurfing." It is the earliest version of snowboarding.

69. One of the weirdest laws in Michigan is a law declaring that a woman is not allowed to cut her own hair unless her husband tells her that she is allowed.

70. Another law is that men are not allowed to scowl at their wives in the city of Detroit!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our fun facts about Michigan, then why not take a look at these fun facts about the state of Arizona, or some awesome facts about Maine?