Personal Challenge 2018 - Week 6

NOTE #1: I have two blog posts today... this one and the Three Musketeer one that follows it.

NOTE #2: I don't know if you noticed or  not - did you notice? I'm squealing! I've been invited to serve on the Eyelet Outlet Design Team. WOW!!! I'm so excited. Beginning next Friday, I'll be posting Eyelet Outlet on my blog... therefore my personal 50-week States of the Union challenge will be moving to Tuesdays. Let's call it Traveling Tuesdays. If you've been enjoying these posts be sure to check back here on my blog next Tuesday.... AND of course come again on Friday to see my Eyelet Outlet post.

I am really enjoying my personal 50 States of the Union challenge. I hope you are, too.

Each week I research one of the 50 states (in the order they attained statehood) and share some facts about that state, including one that I use as the inspiration for a card.

This week's state is...

Massachusetts

Date of Statehood: February 6, 1788

Are you ready to read some of the things I discovered about the state of Massachusetts?

When you take a stroll on the Boston Common, you are visiting the nation's first public park, established in 1634. The park's original purpose was for military training grounds and a place for grazing cattle.

Rumors that Fig Newton cookies were named after Sir Isaac Newton are false. The Fig Newton was actually named after the town of Newton, Massachusetts. Located in Cambridge, the company that made the cookies—first called Kennedy Biscuits and later changed to Nabisco—named all of their products after nearby locales, such as the Shrewsbury, the Harvard, and the Beacon Hill. The Newton is the only one that has endured.

Rockport, Massachusetts, is home to a cottage built with approximately 100,000 newspapers. The house was constructed over the course of 20 years using newspapers, varnish, and homemade glue. Today it’s open to the public as a museum 

Agawam, Massachusetts received the first Zip Code in the United States. Agawam's ZIP code of 01001 is the lowest number in the continental United States (not counting codes used for specific government buildings. 

The birth control pill was invented at Clark University in Worcester.

The third Monday in April is a legal holiday in Massachusetts called Patriot's Day.

Whirlwind I, the world's first computer that operated in real-time, was invented at MIT. It was originally developed during World War II as part of a research project to design a universal flight simulator for the Navy. 

How about these crazy laws in Massachusetts...

... It is technically illegal to use tomatoes in the production of clam chowder (tomatoes are a key ingredient in the Manhattan-style version, not the classic New England dish.)

... At a wake, mourners may eat no more than three sandwiches.

... Snoring is prohibited unless all bedroom windows are closed and securely locked.

... It is against the law to give beer to hospital patients.

... Taxi drivers are prohibited from making love in the front seat of their taxi during their shifts.

... It is illegal to go to bed without first having a full bath.

... No gorilla is allowed in the back seat of any car.

In 1919, 26 million pounds of of molasses flooded Boston’s North End, killing 21 people and injuring another 150. Locals claimed that the scent of molasses could be smelled on warm days for decades to follow. 

The sweet treat Marshmallow Fluff was invented in Union Square, Somerville in 1917.

The first Dunkin Donuts ever was opened in Quincy, Massachusetts.

According to the US Census Bureau, Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country with 2.2 divorces per 1000 people.

The Boston Cream Pie, invented in the 19th century, was chosen as the official state dessert on December 12, 1996; a civics class from Norton High School sponsored the bill. The pie beat out other candidates including the Toll House cookie (named for the Toll House Inn and restaurant in Whitman) and Indian pudding.

The chocolate chip cookie was invented in Whitman, Massachusetts by a woman name Ruth Wakefield. One night, the the restaurant she and her husband Kenneth one called Toll House Inn. Ruth threw some semi-sweet chocolate pieces into her cookie recipe. The delectable treats - originally called "Toll House Crunch Cookies" - caught on locally, but grew in popularity once the recipe was printed in a Boston Newspaper.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie was designated the official cookie of the Commonwealth on July 9, 1997.  A third grade class from Somerset proposed the bill to honor the cookie invented by Ruth at the Toll House Inn.

I've decided to go with this bit of Massachusetts information for my card's inspiration... The oldest school in America, called Boston Latin, was established in 1635 - a year before Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher education in the U.S. was established.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Supplies Used

Stamp Set: My Favorite Things You Make the Grade stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Cherry Cobbler CS and DP from the Recollections All Occasions Paper Pad

Embellishment: Eyelet Outlet Apple Brad