Personal Challenge 2018 - Week 30

This is the 30th 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 30th one to attain statehood) is...

Wisconsin

Date of Statehood: May 29, 1848

Wisconsin borders two Great Lakes: Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Although they don’t boast about it on license plates, the state also has at least as many inland lakes as Minnesota, if not more. All together, Wisconsin contains more than 11,188 square miles of water—a greater number than every other state apart from Alaska, Michigan, and Florida.

The Swiss Cheese Capitol of the World isn't in Switzerland; it's in Wisconsin!

Wisconsin is the only state to offer a Master Cheesemaker program. It takes three years to complete, and you need 10 years of cheese making experience before you can even apply as a candidate.

About 90 percent of the milk from Wisconsin cows is used to make cheese.

Thirty percent of the state’s population lives in the five-county metropolitan area around Milwaukee.

The coldest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin is -55 degrees Fahrenheit in Sawyer County in 1996. (That’s without wind chill, folks.)

Wisconsin’s state symbol, the badger, doesn’t refer to the animal but instead to the 1820s lead miners who traveled for work and dug tunnels to sleep in and keep warm, much like a badger.

Known for dairy production, Wisconsin actually leads the nation in exports of cranberries, whey, ginseng root, and sweet corn.

The first kindergarten classes in the U.S. were held in Watertown in 1856 at the home of a German couple.

The first ever Flag Day was celebrated in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin in 1785.

The term “cheesehead” actually started as a term the German soldiers used to insult the Dutch during World War II. These days, the term is used in a bit more endearing way to describe cheese-lovin’ Wisconsites. The first cheesehead was worn at a Brewers game, not a Packers game, and was a couch cushion with holes burned in the foam and painted yellow.

During the summer, the population of Door County reaches ten times the number of year-round residents. (28,000 vs. 250,000)

One of Wisconsin's most famous sons is Frank Lloyd Wright. The world-renowned architect was born in the small farming town of Richland Center, and later moved to Madison. Although Wright dropped out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue employment in Chicago, he never forgot his prairie roots. Mid-career, Wright fell in love with a client's wife, Mamah Borthwick, and the two fled to Germany. Unable to return to Wright's longtime home of Oak Park, Illinois—where Borthwick's husband also lived— Wright constructed himself and his lover a new residence near his maternal grandparents' homestead in Spring Green, Wisconsin. He named the hillside estate Taliesin, and the two lived there for three years until tragedy struck. A house servant set the residence on fire; the conflagration killed seven individuals, including Borthwick and her two children. Wright rebuilt Taliesin in Borthwick's memory. Despite threats of foreclosure and yet another fire, the architect lived and worked in the home for the remainder of his life. Today, it serves as a museum dedicated to Wright's life and career.

Green Bay is known as the "Toilet Paper Capital" of the world.

In 1979, students from the University of Wisconsin–Madison stuck 1008 plastic pink flamingos in the grass in front of the dean’s office. In honor of their prank, the city council made the popular lawn ornament Madison's official bird in 2009.

Nearly 21 million gallons of ice cream are consumed by Wisconsinites each year.

The first-ever ice cream sundae was served (on a Sunday) in 1881 at Edward C. Berner's soda fountain in Two Rivers, and it only cost a nickel.

The largest wooly mammoth ever excavated was found in Kenosha, and a replica can be viewed at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

According to the Guinness World Records, Summerfest—an annual, 11-day music festival held along Lake Michigan’s shoreline in Milwaukee—is the world’s largest music festival. In 2015, the event drew 772,652 people.

Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, is known as the "Troll Capital of the World." A large main street called the "Trollway" is peppered with large statues of the mythical creatures, and visitors can purchase troll memorabilia in gift stores. The unusual theme was inspired by Nordic folklore, as the town was once more than 75 percent Norwegian. 

The Wisconsin Dells has the world's largest concentration of water parks all in one area: eight indoor and three outdoor, with more than 200 water slides and 16 million gallons of water. The Noah's Ark Waterpark in the Dells is the largest outdoor water park in the U.S.

Wisconsin banned the sale and use of margarine from 1895 to 1967, and while the ban was lifted, some restrictions on margarine remain today. It’s still illegal for a restaurant to serve margarine as a butter substitute unless the customer specifically requests it.

Here are some other unique laws in Wisconsin...

It's against the law not to give livestock the right of way.

Wisconsin citizens may not legally murder their enemies.

It's against the law to kiss a train in Wisconsin.

Businesses may only base their business hours on central time (which is the time zone of Wisconsin).

It's a crime to harass a seeing eye dog in Wisconsin.

According to law, Wisconsin cheese must be highly pleasing.

While all cheese making requires a license, Limburger cheese making requires a master cheese maker's license.

It is against the law to blow up a muskrat house.

Car dealerships may not legally sell cars on Sundays in Wisconsin.

It is against the law to sell dyed chicks, ducklings, and/or rabbits.

I've decided to go with this bit of Wisconsin information for my card's inspiration... Bloomer Wisconsin bills itself as the jump rope capital of the world due to its annual jump rope contest that has been going on since 1960.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!


Supplies Used

Stamp Set: Peachy Keen Recess Jump Rope Girl stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Taken with Teal CS and DP from the American Crafts Yes Please Paper Pad

Embellishments: Paper Studio Enamel Dots