Personal Challenge 2018 - Week 45

This is the 45th 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 45th one to attain statehood) is...

Utah

Date of Statehood: January 4, 1896

The name Utah comes from the Native American Ute tribe and means people of the mountains.

Utah has an average of only 32 people per square mile and is one of the most thinly populated states in the nation. 

According to Webster’s, “Utahans” is the grammatically correct way to refer to residents of Utah; however, most people from Utah stubbornly refer to themselves as “Utahns.” (Don't bash me... I'm just telling what I read.)

Utah is the only state whose capital's name is made of three words. All three words in Salt Lake City have four letters each.

Completion of the world's first transcontinental railroad was celebrated at Promontory where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met on May 20, 1869. It is now known as Golden Spike National Historic Site.

Rainbow Bridge, Nature's abstract sculpture carved of solid sandstone, is the world's largest natural-rock span. It stands 278 feet wide and 309 feet high.

Utah mountain peaks, on average, are the tallest in the country. The average elevation of the tallest peaks in each of Utah's counties is 11,222 ft.-higher than the same average in any other state.

The average snowfall in the mountains near Salt Lake City is 500 inches.

Because of the state of Utah’s high elevation and desert-like climate, its snow is dry and powdery. Hence, Utah claims to have the “Greatest Snow on Earth.”

In 1824, Jim Bridger was the first Caucasian person to see the Great Salt Lake. He initially thought he had found the Pacific Ocean because it was so salty, but soon realized it was a giant salt lake.

The Great Salt Lake, which is about 75 miles long and 35 miles wide, covers more than a million acres. It has an average depth of 13 feet. The deepest point is 34 feet.

Utah’s Great Salt Lake is about four times saltier than any of the world’s oceans. If a person boiled 1 quart of water from the saltiest part of the lake, a half cup of salt would remain. 

Utah has five national parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Bryce, and Capitol Reef.

The Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City took 40 years to complete.

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah all meet at four corners. This is the only place in the United States where four states come together.

Utah has the highest consumption of Jell-O in the United States. In fact, Jell-O is Utah’s state snack.

The largest public employer in Utah is the Utah State Government.

Salt Lake City, UT, has more plastic surgeons per capita than any other city in the United States.

Utah is home to the largest open-pit mine in the world, Brigham Canyon.

Lagoon—located in Farmington, Utah—is the oldest operating amusement park in the American West, and its original roller coaster, named “Old Woodie,” is the 3rd oldest in the nation.

A higher percentage of Utahans are married than in any other state in the United States.

Utah couples marry at a younger age than in any other state in the country. The median age for a first marriage in Utah is 26.2 for the groom and 24.1 for the bride. The average for the rest of the United States is 29.1 for the groom and 27.1 for the bride.

About 13% of Utah’s children live in households headed by a woman with no husband present, which is lower than the national average of 25%.

Utah has the highest literacy rate in the nation.

It is against the law to ride a bicycle or moped without at least one hand on the handlebars.

In Utah, it is illegal to hire trombone players to play on the street to advertise an auction. 

Additionally, it is illegal to fish while on horseback and to hunt whales. 

First cousins can marry in Utah, but only if they are past child-bearing age.

In Salt Lake City it is illegal to walk down the street carrying a paper bag containing a violin.

If you need some extra moisture on your crops, make sure you get your permit before doing the rain dance. To modify the weather in Utah, the law requires that you get a permit first.

It is slander - punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine - to falsely accuse a woman of being unchaste.

I decided to go with this bit of Utah information for my card's inspiration...  Utah is the second-driest state in the United States after Nevada. On average, Utah has about 300 sunny days a year.

See, I am still decorating the inside of my cards:

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: CC Designs Sunshine stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers and highlighted (on sun) with a white Gel Pen

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Summer Sun CS and DP from my scrap file

Embellishments: Flower and Brad from unknown vendors

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