Personal Challenge 2018 - Week 18

NOTE: This is my second post of the day. If you're here to see the card that I made using the same stamp set as Barb and Kelly - Spellbinders Cool Beans - please keep scrolling to the next post or go HERE.

This is the 18th week of my personal 50-week States of the Union Challenge. Each week I research one of the 50 United States (in the order they attained statehood). I share tidbits of information about the state here on my blog and I create a card that is inspired by something about that state.

This week's state (the 18th one to attain statehood) is...

Louisiana

Date of Statehood: April 30, 1812

Due to the amount of bays and sounds in Louisiana, the state actually has the longest coastline of any US state (15,000 miles) and makes up 41% of the nation’s wetlands.

Counties? Psh, please. Louisiana is all about its “parishes”. Louisiana is one of only two states in the U.S. that does not use the term “counties” to describe political subdivisions.

Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the US. It is 450 feet tall, with 34 stories.

Crawfish are so ubiquitous in Louisiana that the people of Louisiana even make Crawfish Jelly. And the Crawfish Capital of the World, Breaux Bridge, hosts an annual Crawfish festival to celebrate all things crawfish.

Speaking of seafood, more shrimp are caught in Louisiana waters than in any other place in America.

If you’re the kind of person who puts Tabasco sauce on everything, you have Louisiana to thank. It’s the birthplace of Tabasco sauce, first created in the 1860s on Avery Island, where it is still produced today.

In Louisiana, it’s not a BLT. It’s a BLFGT (Bacon, lettuce, and fried green tomatoes!) Emeril Laqasse’s famous restaurant in New Orleans has paved the way for this new and delicious sandwich creation.

In 2010, Chef Folse, a legendary Louisiana chef, broke the world record and made the largest pot of gumbo. The pot of gumbo served 10,000 people and contained 750 pounds of shrimp, 450 pounds of catfish, 100 pounds of crab claw meat, 50 pounds of white crab meat, 200 pounds of alligator meat, and 85 pounds of oysters.

Louisiana vending machines have been known to sell Big Az Burgers, boudin, and disposable bowls of shrimp stew.

The Louisiana Hayride stage show and broadcast helped support the career of such icons as Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash.

Louisiana produces 24% of the nation's salt, the most in the country.

More than one-half of the species of birds in North America are residents of Louisiana or spend a portion of their migration here.

There are almost half as many alligators as there are people in Louisiana.

When Nicolas Cage dies, he’ll be buried in a pyramid tomb that he had specially built for himself in a famous New Orleans graveyard.

An economic impact study released by the University of New Orleans estimates that Mardi Gras generates over $840 million annually. You might also be interested to know that 95% of hotels in New Orleans are at capacity during Mardi Gras and the largest Mardi Gras supply house in New Orleans sells an estimated one BILLION pairs of beads for Mardi Gras each year.

I also found quite a few unusual Louisiana laws...

A specific law was passed in Louisiana to penalize people who steal crawfish.

 In Louisiana, stealing an alligator could land a person in jail for up to ten years. 

In Louisiana, don’t ever try to surprise your friend with a pizza. It’s a $500 fine to instruct a pizza deliveryman to deliver a pizza to your friend without them knowing.

It is illegal to urinate in the water supply and an infraction may cost you up to 20 years in prison.

It is illegal to gargle in public places.

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

In New Orleans, you may not fall onto a sidewalk and block it while being drunk.

Mourners at a wake may not eat more than three sandwiches.

Goatees are illegal unless you first pay a special license fee for the privilege of wearing one in public.

It is illegal for a woman in New Orleans to drive a car unless her husband is waving a flag in front of it.

I've decided to go with this bit of Louisiana information for my card's inspiration... At night, the famous New Orlean's Jackson Square becomes a playground for hundreds of stray kittens and cats who roam the square each night.

I've  had that "Kitty" brad for a very long time - 8 years or more (I've moved twice since buying it) - and I finally have a reason to use it. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Supplies Used

Stamp Set: Inky Antics Wiggle & Purr stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and White and SU Cajun Craze CS and DP from my scrap file

Embellishments: Brads from an unknown vendor