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Discover Indiana’s rich history with these fascinating facts!

From being the birthplace of Michael Jackson to having the most covered bridges in the US, Indiana has a lot to offer. Learn more about the Hoosier state with these interesting facts.

👉Corn! Indiana has lots and lots of farmland, and it’s known for being a top producer and supplier of both corn and popcorn. Pretty much half of all the cropland in Indiana is dedicated to corn. Corn is so important that the mechanical corn picker was invented by John Powell in Kokomo, Indiana in 1920. Believe it or not, there is even a town called Popcorn, Indiana. And if that were not enough, Brazil, Indiana is the birthplace of popcorn maven Orville Redenbacher.

👉There is a Santa Claus, Indiana — and it’s exactly what you’d hope to expect from a town called Santa Claus. There’s a big 22-feet tall statue of Santa Claus and they also have the Santa Claus Museum & Village. There is even a Santa Claus Post Office that hosts letter-writing events for children in December. The town is definitely big on celebrating Christmas.

👉Having goldfish for pets weren’t always a thing. They certainly weren’t really a thing when the first goldfish farm was started in Martinsville, Indiana over 100 years ago in 1899 by the Grassyfork Fishery. They expanded over the next few years as goldfish caught on, and eventually Martinsville became known as the Goldfish Capital of the World.

👉Not everyone loves tomato juice, but we have Indiana to thank for the Bloody Mary. In 1971, a bartender named Louis Perrin was working at the French Lick Springs Hotel the place ran out of orange juice. He squeezed some tomatoes and made a cocktail out of it, and a new thing became a thing.

👉Fort Wayne, Indiana is the birthplace of the invention of the gasoline pump, over 135 years ago in 1885. It was invented by a dude named Sylvanus Freelove Bowser. That is his real name.

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