28 Kentucky Facts to Start your Friday

Kentucky:

  1. Officially not a state but a commonwealth

    1. Much like Massachusetts and other states created during the colonial period

  • Split from Virginia because hard for Kentuckians to get to Richmond, Virginia capital.

  • Lexington is considered the “Athens of the west”

  • Daniel Boone discovered Kentucky

    1. Certified Badass 

  • Kentucky Bluegrass

    1. A Species of grass with the Latin name “Poa pratensis”

    2. Originally from Spain, this grass is an invasive but welcome addition to Kentucky as it supports thoroughbred horse racing. Lowkey Fraud grasses it’s Spanish not Kentuckian

  • Kentucky was the largest producer of Hemp in the United States in the 18th and 19th century

    1. Senator Henry Clay was considered the “Hemp pioneer”

    2. Declined due to war on drugs and tobacco becoming a bigger cash crop 

    3. Is the #1 grass in Kentucky really blue?

  • Kentucky was technically neutral during the Civil War

  • There is an “Exclave” of Kentucky that lies between Tennessee and Missouri called “Bubbleland” that needs to drive 40 miles back into Kentucky to vote. (would be cool to see if we could get any callers from Bubbleland)

  • There has been serious beef regarding Kentucky’s state tree

    1. The Tulip tree was the OG state tree but due to a clerical error was never an official state tree

    2. Changed to Kentucky coffee tree in 1976 but the Tulip fans persevered and in 1994 it was reversed back to tulip tree (Major Arboreal beef)

  • Kentucky’s most original BBQ is mutton. Unlike any other place in the south they BBQ mutton.

  • The Kentucky Derby origins lie in Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. the Grandson of William Clark with the middle name of his partner Lewis. He saw England’s Epsom derby and recreated the track to show what he thought was Kentucky’s superior horse. By building Churchill downs he hosted its first event “The Kentucky Derby” in May 17, 1875.

  • Daniel Boone and Henry Clay are not the individuals in the Kentucky state flag

  • Kentucky’s state beverage is milk.

    1. Mint Julep is the classic state alcoholic beverage primarily drank at Kentucky derby.

    2. Pikeville residents consume the largest amount of Pepsi anywhere in the world

  • JIF peanut butter produces the largest amount of peanut butter in the world in Lexington.

  • Frank and Jesse James were born in the state and committed two bank robberies in the state killing 2 people.

  • Lexington had a town dog named Smiley in the mid-20th century that all the residents fed and took care of. It would have a routine every morning where it would stop by various businesses at the same time each day and receive waffles in the morning at the diner, a burger for lunch at the inn, and a bowl of draft beer from the tavern at dinner.

  • A Kentucky Lt governor was arrested in 2015 for an 11-year-old overdue library book.

  • The queen of England vacationed in Kentucky several times.

  •  In 1947 2,000 people attended Man O’ War’s funeral, he was a 30-year-old thoroughbred.

  • 95% of the bourbon in the world is aged in Kentucky

  • Lexington is titled “Horse capital of the world” by many and holds the Jockey club that does things like approve names for horses.

  • The State is home to Mammoth Cave one of the longest cave systems in the world.

  • Half of the Americans killed in the war of 1812 were from Kentucky 

  • In 1888 the Hatfields and McCoy’s feud started and in 2003 the family finally signed a truce.

  • Good First Knox has the largest gold reserve in the world.

  • Lincoln was born in Kentucky.

  • Middlesboro is built in a crater of a meteor

  • Governor Goebel is the only governor to be assassinated 

  • The highest population of Elk in the eastern U.S

  • Home state of Muhammed Ali

  • Today on Pardon My Take we have Kentucky Sports Radio, NBA finals, Bryson is a Bitch, Fyre fest, and more.

    Start your weekend out with an amazing Pardon My Take.