Connecticut: Facts & Fun

Connecticut is super fun because many of my favorite candies and toys were invented or made there!

Facts about Connecticut:

• Capital: Hartford
• Nicknames: The Constitution State and The Nutmeg State
• Statehood: Jan. 9, 1788 (5th)
• Motto: He who transplanted still sustains
• Bird: Robin
• Highest Point: Mt. Frissell

Children’s Books by Connecticut authors that we read:

• Yankee Doodle Numbers by Elissa D. Groden is a Connecticut counting book filled with very interesting facts about Connecticut…. my favorite was the invention of the lollipop.
• Solomon Grundy by Susan Ramsay Hoguet this book is a poem about an early colonist.

Fun things I learned about Connecticut:

• Yankee Doodle is the state song.
• President George H.W. Bush was born in Connecticut.
• The lollipop was invented in Connecticut. According to the story, George Smith had the idea to put hard candy on a stick when he watched a horse named Lolly Pop race. He and Andrew Bradley founded the Bradley Smith Company in New Haven and made the candy. In 1913, they patented the name lollipop.
• Pez candy and dispensers are made in Orange, Ct.
• Enfield is the U.S. headquarters for LEGO.
• Silly Putty was invented in Connecticut when researchers were developing products for WWII soldiers. For fun, we made some homemade silly putty (a.k.a. flubber) – it was definitely more like Flubber or Goop than Silly Putty, but it was still a lot of fun. The recipe is at: http://www.greensim.com/lemonade/concoctions.html
• Bridgeport is home of P.T. Barnum, founder of the “Greatest Show on Earth” circus…. one of my favorite family traditions every year.
• The Frisbee was invented in New Haven. According to the story, Yale college students would eat pies from Frisbee Pie Baking Company, then they’d practice flying the empty pie tins. Wham-O Corporation (a toy company) noticed this and used the idea to rename their “Pluto Platters” “Frisbees.”
• There are six lighthouses in Connecticut.
• The Beecher sisters are from Connecticut. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” a famous book about slavery, and her sisters helped start schools for women and fight for women’s right to vote.
• Adeline Gray was a girl from Connecticut. She used to jump off the roof of her house with an umbrella! When she grew up she tested parachutes for the military for WWII.
• There are three main rivers in Connecticut: Housatonic River, Connecticut River, and Thames River.
• Louis’ Lunch (opened in 1895) in New Haven, Connecticut, is the first restaurant to serve hamburgers in the United States and it is still in business!
• Some inventors from Connecticut include: Eli Terry (clockmaker), Eli Whitney (cotton gin), and Charles Goodyear (rubber manufacturer; tires).

Emily's drawing: Sperm Whale of Connecticut

The State Animal of Connecticut:

• We also learned about the state animal of Connecticut, the Sperm Whale. The Sperm Whale is the largest toothed whale in the world. We read books about it and watched videos, like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djckNIMEwQo
  
• Baby whales are called calves, their mothers nurse them. Sperm Whales make clicking sounds that echo off the water so they can learn about the things around them. Whales look like big fish, but they are really mammals. Whales have blubber that keeps them warm and helps them to float. Sperm Whales are toothed whales. Whales travel in groups called pods. They hold their breath for up to 2 hours and use their blowhole (like a nostril) to breathe.

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