Facts About Some Of The States In The United States That Sound Made Up But Aren't

In the 1980s, many states began to enact laws requiring people in cars to wear seat belts. After all, the evidence is overwhelming: Seat belts reduce fatalies in crashes.

Though 49 states got on board, a single holdout remains: New Hampshire. To be fair, the Granite State requires people under the age of 18 to buckle up. But adults are exempt.

More honey comes from North Dakota than any other state. In fact, 20% of all American bee colonies are in North Dakota, which produced more than 38 million pounds of honey in 2018.

Why is honey so big in North Dakota? Its climate in summer is conducive to flowers that attract bees. 

Portland, OR, is named after Portland, ME - but it almost wasn't.

When settlers founded the Oregon city, they couldn't decide if they should name it Boston or Portland. So they let fate decide for them: In 1845, they flipped a coin, and Portland won. The so-called "Portland Penny" remains a cherished artifact of the city's founding.

The United States Postal Service prides itself on being a hardy institution. Though it's not the official motto of the USPS, these words nonetheless capture the post office's historic ethos:

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

One post office stands out from others. In Detroit, the J.W. Westcott II tugboat operates as the country's "only floating post office."

South Carolina is home to several Christian megachurches, but that doesn't reflect the religious diversity of the state. In fact, South Carolinians' second most commonly practiced faith is Bahá'í, a religion with roots in the 19th century Middle East.

South Carolina isn't the only state with connections to the Bahá'í faith. The Bahá'í temple in Wilmette, IL, is the only Bahá'í house of worship in North America.

Maryland is named after Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife and consort of England's King Charles I. Even centuries later, Maryland maintains a unique connection to the old country: Its state sport is jousting. 

Though associated with medieval aristocrats, jousting had a revival in Maryland in the 19th century. It became the official state sport in 1962. The sport mainly takes the form of ring jousting these days, in which a rider tilts their lance at a ring.