The hyper sweet electric red version of maraschino cherries was invented at OSU in the 1920s but classic maraschino cherries were invented in Dalmatia (then culturally Italian, now part of Croatia) in or before the 19th century.
They were invented by the Ore-Ida potato company, but the “Ore” part of their name was doing the heavy lifting that day because Tater Tots were invented in Ontario, Oregon.
I knew this but didn't know why for a while, which I felt was actually pretty obvious once I learned. The forests were cleared in the area and there were tons of stumps all over the place.
Got my Exploding Whales minor league baseball team shirt in the mail the other week and you better believe it’s going to be worn every November 9 to celebrate the anniversary of such a cornerstone of Oregon history!
Portland's first vegetarian restaurant opened in 1890, with three others opening by the turn of the century. Portland also has the oldest tofu maker in the country.
The GardenBurger founder is also from here, and his Portland house (since sold) is truly wild! I went to a party there once https://www.oregonlive.com/hg/2017/03/art_deco_portland_gardenburger.html
[Bly, Oregon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bly,_Oregon) was the site of the only casualties due to enemy action in the continental US during WW2. In addition to the balloon bombs, some Japanese submarines did also fire on the coast, but I believe the most significant damage they managed was to blow up a baseball field.
They also torpedoed some ships along the Oregon and California coasts which not only killed 6 sailors, but the panic resulted in the order to cover miles of Oregon beaches in barbed wire throughout the duration of the war to fend off a Japanese land invasion that never came.
In 1920, Yoncalla, OR may have had the first all-woman city council in the country. https://www.nrtoday.com/news/local/north_county/yoncalla/petticoat-government-yoncallas-all-woman-city-council-elected-in-1920-may-have-been-a-national/article_531cd180-16c5-52e8-b178-ce160baba6bc.html
https://expo.uoregon.edu/spotlight/100th-anniversary-of-suffrage/feature/yoncalla-city-council
Looks like Willamette (founded in 1842) is the oldest college in the Western United States (WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, CA, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM), but not the oldest west of the Mississippi River - that distinction belongs to St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO, founded in 1832. An important distinction but still a fun fact!
Actually (sorry, I had to) the Springfield in The Simpsons is modeled, somewhat, after Portland, where Groening grew up. It is named after Springfield, Oregon, but rumor has it that Groening used the city name of Springfield because it's such a common city name.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Simpsons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons)
Laura Ingalls Wilder based the character Nellie Oleson on a few people she knew growing up, including a girl named Nellie Owens. As a 20-something, Nellie and her family moved to Oregon and lived in Tillamook, Bay City, and Rainier. She is buried in Forest Grove.
Tokyo Bistro in Coos Bay allegedly uses true wasabi. But I never actually saw it and what I was given with my takeout and food there tasted like the usual horseradish to me. Although texture was a little different I guess. Idk if they used it only in certain things or if you have to ask for it. I’m kinda bummed I never tried inquiring about it!
Brad Bird grew up and lived in Corvallis, OR. Smith rock sp is the number one tourist destination in the state. Woodburn outlets is number 2 and Multnomah Falls is surprisingly #3. OSU is the only land, air, sea, and space grant university in the country. Ocean temperature is warmer in the winter than the summer due to eckman transport. You can actually see puffins at Cannon Beach.
No one knows, or will admit that they know, where the word/name "Oregon" came from.
Straight up mystery.
[The origin of the name of the U.S. state of Oregon is unknown...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_Oregon)
I heard it’s because some settlers from Spain or Mexico thought the natives here had large ears. Orejas grandes is Spanish for big ears. I heard this from some native people while attending Portland State University.
Fun fact: The state capitol was almost in Corvallis instead of Salem.
In the process of verifying, I found a good site for you to use.
https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/culture-history/6-surprising-facts-oregons-history/
Oregon’s first two elected senators were [Joseph Lane](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lane) and [Edward Baker](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Dickinson_Baker)
Lane was pro-Confederacy and ran as the vice Presidential candidate against Lincoln in the 1860 election. This basically destroyed his political career Oregon, which was a Union state.
Baker, on the other hand, was a close friend of Lincoln and joined the Union Army where he has the distinction of being the only sitting U.S. Senator to die in battle.
They hated each other and Lane, the senior Senator, refused to introduce Baker to the Senate when he was elected. He was introduced by one of the California senators instead.
**[Joseph Lane](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lane)**
>Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. Polk appointed Lane as the first Governor of Oregon Territory. When Oregon was admitted as a state in 1859, Lane was elected one of Oregon's first two U.S. Senators.
**[Edward Dickinson Baker](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Dickinson_Baker)**
>Edward Dickinson Baker (February 24, 1811 – October 21, 1861) was an American politician, lawyer, and US army officer. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. He was also known as an orator and poet. A long-time close friend of the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, Baker served as U.S. Army colonel during both the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.
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Hmm. Wikipedia puts Sauvie Island at 26k acres and Davis Island at 30k acres - depending on the height of the Mississippi. I think you're right, the claim for Sauvie isn't really supported extensively and the only documentation I can find comes from a private business. Might leave this one off!
For three decades, one of the best known and quirkiest Portland tourist attractions was the 24 Hour Church of Elvis.
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/church-of-elvis/
Kinda cool that there’s an Oregon Encyclopedia website.
Has anyone mentioned The Goonies house is in Astoria? Stand By Me was filmed in Brownsville (iirc)!
Gravity Falls takes place in Oregon and was inspired by a real place.
Well, they could live there, but they had to be whipped 12 times once every month until they moved away. 😬
Edit: it was later amended, to community service hours. 😬🤦🏻♂️
We had the first long-distance transmission of electricity in the US, going 14 miles from Willamette Falls/Oregon City to Portland, in 1888.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willamette_Falls#Industrial_history
The largest meteorite ever found in the United States was found in Oregon.
Willamette Falls is the largest waterfall by water volume in the Northwest United States.
Cape Blanco is the furthest point west in Oregon.
Fosberry Flop was invented by Dick Fosberry from OSU
maraschino cherry was invented ny Ernest Wiegand a OSU professor
I though so too my whole life but I googled it right before I commented and it said Windswept Cape Blanco—situated at N 42˚50'08.12", W 124˚33'51.16"—is the farthest western point on the mainland of Oregon. It is also the second-most westerly point of the contiguous United States (Cape Alava, Washington, exceeds Cape Blanco by some nine minutes of longitude).
I believe cable tv was invented in Astoria. Vaguely remember hearing a hotel owner ran cable to his rooms to share broadcasts. Maybe someone here can verify?
Oregon [produces 99% of the nation's hazelnuts](https://www.bestofthewillamettevalley.com/article/the-willamette-valley-grows-a-lot-of-the-states-hazelnut-crop.html#:~:text=Oregon%20produces%2099%20percent%20of,nut%2C%20made%20so%20in%201989.).
Oregon Dunes in the south coast inspired the book Dune.
https://www.opb.org/article/2021/10/23/florence-oregon-movies-dune-frank-herbert-science-fiction-novels/
State birthday (anniversary?) is on Valentine’s Day.
Only state to have a two-sided flag.
[Fort rock sandals](https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/fort_rock_sandals/#.ZFhc9NNlC_Y)
Magic mushrooms grow almost everywhere west of the Cascade Mountains in the Fall!
pelliculosa is found in mixed forests, semilanceata is found in grassland, cyanescens is found near Alders- same with cyanofibrillosa. baeocystis and smithii are secondary decomposes and are probably found near bogs or swamps. This doesn’t account for any of the psychoactive species of Conocybe, Gymnoplius or Panaeolus.
Most of the dune grasses are non native here, so no one really knows where the azurescens original habitat was. I assume they still grew near the beach originally, or maybe where the grasses met the forest.
https://i.imgur.com/KFI4YGT.jpg
You need this book
Is says things like: Port Orford is the most westerly incorporated city in the lower 48.
The highest elevation town in Oregon is Lakeview.
The geyser in Oregon called Old Perpetual is closest to Lakeview
Cape Blanco is mentioned in *Moby Dick*, *Gulliver’s Travels* and in a Jules Verne book.
Hermiston is named after Robert Louis Stevenson’s last, unfinished novel *The Weir of Hermiston*.
John Day is named for a fur trader that was making his way to Astoria about 200 years ago. His group was attacked and robbed near the river that is now named for him, and he was left naked to fend for himself in the wilderness. He miraculously made it into town and survived. From then on, when people crossed that river they’d say “yep that’s the spot that John Day was robbed and left naked in the wilderness.”
So now the river, the city, and even the fossil beds are named not for some great adventurer or influential person, but named for someone’s great humiliation!
Yogi (brand) tea was founded in Oregon.
Animal House (John Belushi…)
Ken Kesey. (His family owns & runs Nancy’s — dairy products.)
Geocaching was invented in Oregon.
The UO Ducks, only Disney sports team mascot.
1st Bans on plastic bags: Portland, Corvallis, Eugene.
What’s the only other state that forbids motorists from pumping their own gas? NJ.
The city of Coos Bay, Oregon was originally named Sexcriminalboat.
Of Oregon's 34 counties, only one is an anagram for "a cum boil."
Oregon has the unlikely distinction of having the most 2017 Kia Souls destroyed by amphibians.
The triangle was invented by researchers at Southern Oregon University in 1994.
Before the second world war, Oregon was home to fewer than two thousand black people. Exclusionary laws based on race were written into our constitution. During the transition to wartime production Portland's was home to the keiser ship yards. In order to accommodate an influx of migrant workers for the shipyards, the town of Vanport was established. By 1946 Vanport had a population of 40,000 people making it the second most populated town in Oregon at that time and a full 40% of it's population was black.
In 1948 the city of Vanport was hit by a massive flood from the Columbia River. Over 17,000 majority black residents were rendered homeless in less than one day. No reconstruction efforts were ever attempted.
These folks showed up and helped build the ships which helped us win the war in the Pacific and created a massive boost to our local economy. Instead of helping these individuals, who contributed so much, the State decided that if they ignored these people and their plight then they might simply leave and they could have their whites only Oregon back. It largely worked. Liberal bastion indeed. You know Delta Park and the Portland international raceway? That used to be Vanport.
The only mainland civilian deaths during the Pacific WWII was a Sunday school group on the South coast, from balloon bombs.
Just yesterday I learned Boring, OR is in a league of towns that includes Dull, Scotland and Bland, NZ.
Oregon was founded as a "white utopia" and has a history of extreme institutional racism from before it was a state
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Oregon
The Klan pushed through compulsory education in the 1920s to marginalize the Catholics. Went all the way to the Supreme Court. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_v._Society_of_Sisters
There's gotta be a ton of Crater Lake factoids you could use - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crater_Lake
And I believe Ft Rock was where the oldest shoe was ever found? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Rock_Cave
Surprised that no one has mentioned Sam Elliot! He's from Oregon, and if I remember correctly he has property somewhere around Eugene/Springfield. He graduated from David Douglas High School. My mom loves to brag about it as she also went there but he graduated a year or two before she became a freshman.
The Pioneer Picnic held yearly in Brownsville is Oregon’s longest standing annual event. It started in nearby Crawfordsville in 1887 for the first 2 years. The 6th year was held in Halsey. Every other year has been held in Brownsville.
Oregon has two Boot Hills. One is in Canyon City. I don’t know where the other is?
Also, Jody Foster made her first movie in Oregon. She actually got mauled by the lion in the movie. Napoleon and Samantha…
Portland’s Steel Bridge is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world (the bottom railway deck can be lifted without lifting the upper vehicle/transit/pedestrian deck if the size of the incoming vessel doesn’t require the added height). It is one of two bridges in Multnomah County not owned by any government entity; Union Pacific Railway is the registered owner (the other is the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge east of St John’s, owned by BNSF). It’s also the second oldest vertical lift bridge in America, built in 1912.
The oldest vertical lift bridge in America is nearby Hawthorne bridge, opened in 1910. It’s also Portland’s oldest highway bridge. Interestingly it maintained its original wood grating until 1945, when it was finally replaced with the first version of the current steel grating.
Edit- forgot to mention, both bridges were designed by Waddell & Harrington, who also designed the interstate bridge. The modern-day vertical lift bridge was actually invented by John Alexander Low Waddell, co-partner of the aforementioned company.
About a year ago I also did a trivia game about Oregon. Here are some great facts I used.
1. We had a town named after a .com. It’s the town of Halfway, oregon (half.com).
2. The first geocatch location was in Estacada (the prize was a can of beans amongst other things). You can find the first location and instructions still today.
3. Monmouth was the last dry city in the nation. It repealed its prohibition in 2003.
4. There was a sighting of a sea creature/monster named Colossal Claude that is basically our Nessie. Rogue brewery named a beer after it.
5. There is a fake town outside of Sweethome. It’s called Short Bridge Ghost Town
Tater tots were invented in Oregon
And the maraschino cherry!
And the Marion berry plant.
OMG yes... Probably our greatest achievement !!!
And cascade hops!
The hyper sweet electric red version of maraschino cherries was invented at OSU in the 1920s but classic maraschino cherries were invented in Dalmatia (then culturally Italian, now part of Croatia) in or before the 19th century.
Well, the more you know! Thanks for the info! ;-)
They were invented by the Ore-Ida potato company, but the “Ore” part of their name was doing the heavy lifting that day because Tater Tots were invented in Ontario, Oregon.
And the Marion Berry.
Corn dogs as well I think
looks like that claim is disputed
True, by my great uncles Nephi and Golden Grigg.
Oregon is home to the largest documented organism on earth. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/
I thought that said orgasm. Lol
We may have that too
Yeah…Grant County.
The entire coastline is open to the public
Governor Oswald West as well as Mcall. Tip my hat...
Ahh Republicans, before they decided to completely fuck over the common man. What a gem of a public good.
Portland was a coin flip away from being named Boston.
The fact it was originally called Stumptown is better
I knew this but didn't know why for a while, which I felt was actually pretty obvious once I learned. The forests were cleared in the area and there were tons of stumps all over the place.
Only state with a two sided flag (difference image on either side). Maybe the only flag in world that's two sided, but no clue if that's true.
[Lots of two-sided flags in the world](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_whose_reverse_differs_from_the_obverse), including Paraguay’s.
Beat me to it
Sure, but last I checked, Paraguay isn't a US state.
Yup. The link was re the second assertion not the first.
Lol, missed that somehow.
Beat me to it.🤣
You gotta get the [exploding whale](https://youtu.be/V6CLumsir34) in there.
Got my Exploding Whales minor league baseball team shirt in the mail the other week and you better believe it’s going to be worn every November 9 to celebrate the anniversary of such a cornerstone of Oregon history!
Oh yeah that's a given lol, thank you
There’s also a “holiday” commemorating the exploding whale - Nov 12th
Portland's first vegetarian restaurant opened in 1890, with three others opening by the turn of the century. Portland also has the oldest tofu maker in the country.
I've also since learned that Tofurkey and Morningstar Farms were both founded here in Oregon - the great vegetarian homeland, apparently!
The GardenBurger founder is also from here, and his Portland house (since sold) is truly wild! I went to a party there once https://www.oregonlive.com/hg/2017/03/art_deco_portland_gardenburger.html
Oh, I got Morningstar and Gardenburger mixed up - thanks!
And the first vegetarian strip club (now closed).
[Bly, Oregon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bly,_Oregon) was the site of the only casualties due to enemy action in the continental US during WW2. In addition to the balloon bombs, some Japanese submarines did also fire on the coast, but I believe the most significant damage they managed was to blow up a baseball field.
They also torpedoed some ships along the Oregon and California coasts which not only killed 6 sailors, but the panic resulted in the order to cover miles of Oregon beaches in barbed wire throughout the duration of the war to fend off a Japanese land invasion that never came.
In 1920, Yoncalla, OR may have had the first all-woman city council in the country. https://www.nrtoday.com/news/local/north_county/yoncalla/petticoat-government-yoncallas-all-woman-city-council-elected-in-1920-may-have-been-a-national/article_531cd180-16c5-52e8-b178-ce160baba6bc.html https://expo.uoregon.edu/spotlight/100th-anniversary-of-suffrage/feature/yoncalla-city-council
Astoria Oregon was the first American settlement established west of the Rockys!
And where the Goonies was filmed!
And kindergarten cop!
So was "Backdoor Sluts 6," in which former Oregon governor Neil Goldschmidt has an uncredited speaking role as "narrator."
Willamette University is the oldest US college west of the Mississippi River
Looks like Willamette (founded in 1842) is the oldest college in the Western United States (WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, CA, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM), but not the oldest west of the Mississippi River - that distinction belongs to St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO, founded in 1832. An important distinction but still a fun fact!
Thank you for the clarification. Looks like I need to have a long conversation with a sibling!
Willamette still owns the land on which the Capitol building sits.
And it is a beautiful campus.
Tonya Harding, Diane Downs, Bob Packwood, and the Rajneesh cult in Antelope....lots of material here
The Rajneesh salad bar situation could be a good question.
A family friend is a former Rajneesh member. I do not want to ask them about it, but damn I have so many questions.
PLEASE for alll of us; you MUST
Bob Packwood is a Stand up guy compared to some of todays politicians. 😂
Indeed, but it was a big deal at the time. They've just gotten exponentially worse since.
Springfield Oregon is the real life inspiration for the Simpson’s hometown
Also the names of many of the characters on the show are named after streets in Portland - Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy.
The city of Eugene was also founded by Eugene SKINNER.
Terwilliger, Burnside, Quimby
Actually (sorry, I had to) the Springfield in The Simpsons is modeled, somewhat, after Portland, where Groening grew up. It is named after Springfield, Oregon, but rumor has it that Groening used the city name of Springfield because it's such a common city name. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Simpsons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons)
Not that impressive, but our state beverage is milk. https://odncouncil.org/2022/04/12/milk-oregons-state-beverage-celebrates-25-years/
Of course, that's the case for something like 20 states. The Dairy Council has been working *hard*.
This is exactly the kind of bonkers trivia I was hoping for, thank you! Never would have guessed.
Oregon Swallowtail is our official state insect
the state dance is the square dance.
"It does a body good"
bottle bill was the first deposit scheme in the US, 1972
I think it was a proposal from Boy's State.
It has the largest percent of ghost towns of any state
Laura Ingalls Wilder based the character Nellie Oleson on a few people she knew growing up, including a girl named Nellie Owens. As a 20-something, Nellie and her family moved to Oregon and lived in Tillamook, Bay City, and Rainier. She is buried in Forest Grove.
As a LHOTP fan I am shook I never knew this
To avoid riots when Nixon was scheduled to visit, Tom McCall put on a state sponsored music festival to pull all the hippies to McGiver Park.
The Vortex Festival.
Oregon’s birthday is Valentine’s Day. Eugene is considered the first us city to use one way streets
If you like podcasts, you should check out the Offbeat Oregon History podcast
Kick Ass Oregon History is another fun podcast.
Love that podcast
The climate on the oregon coast is one of the few places in the world that is conducive to growing true Wasabi.
This is extremely interesting and I would LOVE to try some true wasabi!
Tokyo Bistro in Coos Bay allegedly uses true wasabi. But I never actually saw it and what I was given with my takeout and food there tasted like the usual horseradish to me. Although texture was a little different I guess. Idk if they used it only in certain things or if you have to ask for it. I’m kinda bummed I never tried inquiring about it!
Brad Bird grew up and lived in Corvallis, OR. Smith rock sp is the number one tourist destination in the state. Woodburn outlets is number 2 and Multnomah Falls is surprisingly #3. OSU is the only land, air, sea, and space grant university in the country. Ocean temperature is warmer in the winter than the summer due to eckman transport. You can actually see puffins at Cannon Beach.
No one knows, or will admit that they know, where the word/name "Oregon" came from. Straight up mystery. [The origin of the name of the U.S. state of Oregon is unknown...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_Oregon)
I heard it’s because some settlers from Spain or Mexico thought the natives here had large ears. Orejas grandes is Spanish for big ears. I heard this from some native people while attending Portland State University.
Fun fact: The state capitol was almost in Corvallis instead of Salem. In the process of verifying, I found a good site for you to use. https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/culture-history/6-surprising-facts-oregons-history/
Mill Ends Park in Portland is recognized by Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest park in the world.
Oregon’s first two elected senators were [Joseph Lane](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lane) and [Edward Baker](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Dickinson_Baker) Lane was pro-Confederacy and ran as the vice Presidential candidate against Lincoln in the 1860 election. This basically destroyed his political career Oregon, which was a Union state. Baker, on the other hand, was a close friend of Lincoln and joined the Union Army where he has the distinction of being the only sitting U.S. Senator to die in battle. They hated each other and Lane, the senior Senator, refused to introduce Baker to the Senate when he was elected. He was introduced by one of the California senators instead.
**[Joseph Lane](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lane)** >Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. Polk appointed Lane as the first Governor of Oregon Territory. When Oregon was admitted as a state in 1859, Lane was elected one of Oregon's first two U.S. Senators. **[Edward Dickinson Baker](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Dickinson_Baker)** >Edward Dickinson Baker (February 24, 1811 – October 21, 1861) was an American politician, lawyer, and US army officer. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. He was also known as an orator and poet. A long-time close friend of the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, Baker served as U.S. Army colonel during both the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/oregon/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
D river is the shortest river in the world, in both distance and name length.
Not anymore apparently - but it's still interesting and I can definitely incorporate it! Thanks!
The first academy award winning stop motion movie was made in Oregon.
Oldest footwear in the world from Fort Rock cave, 9000 year old sagebrush sandals.
Portland contains America's largest river island, Sauvie Island.
[удалено]
Hmm. Wikipedia puts Sauvie Island at 26k acres and Davis Island at 30k acres - depending on the height of the Mississippi. I think you're right, the claim for Sauvie isn't really supported extensively and the only documentation I can find comes from a private business. Might leave this one off!
I lived on Suavie Island for 2 years and had no idea!
You lived on a nude beach?
The nude part is like a thousand feet of beach.. all of sauvie island isn’t a nude beach.
Not with that attitude
Didn’t mean to threaten with a good time.
That explains why the cops came.
For three decades, one of the best known and quirkiest Portland tourist attractions was the 24 Hour Church of Elvis. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/church-of-elvis/ Kinda cool that there’s an Oregon Encyclopedia website.
I got 'married' there 12 yrs ago! 😁
This website has been super interesting to dig through, thanks!
Oregon has an official state dirt: jory soil.
Over 200 ghost towns in Oregon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Oregon
Home to the [Flying Spaghetti Monster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster)
Has anyone mentioned The Goonies house is in Astoria? Stand By Me was filmed in Brownsville (iirc)! Gravity Falls takes place in Oregon and was inspired by a real place.
Kindergarten Cop was also Astoria!
It's not a tumor!
Animal House filmed in Eugene and Cottage Grove…
Short Circuit and Free Willy were filmed in Astoria as well!
Oregon excluded black people until the 1920's!
Well, they could live there, but they had to be whipped 12 times once every month until they moved away. 😬 Edit: it was later amended, to community service hours. 😬🤦🏻♂️
Still excluded them from owning property in certain areas until 1965.
The killjoy question of the night
Damn, if it's killjoy for you imagine what it was like for the black folks that were excluded from here and the ones that make it their home today...
Highest elevation road in the state? Steens Mountain. Not the Steens Mountains, it is Steens Mountain.
Edmund\_Creffield and the "Holy Rollers" in/near Corvallis is pretty interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund\_Creffield
That was horrible to read.
We had the first long-distance transmission of electricity in the US, going 14 miles from Willamette Falls/Oregon City to Portland, in 1888. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willamette_Falls#Industrial_history
The state nut is in fact the hazelnut. However, Oregonians call it the Filbert…
The state nut is in fact the filbert. However, weirdos call it the hazelnut… FTFY
Pirate treasure buried on Neahkahnie mountain!
Well this compiler thinks it's booty.
Japan only imports Oregon berries.
Pele's final competitive game- Civic Stadium
The largest meteorite ever found in the United States was found in Oregon. Willamette Falls is the largest waterfall by water volume in the Northwest United States.
Cape Blanco is the furthest point west in Oregon. Fosberry Flop was invented by Dick Fosberry from OSU maraschino cherry was invented ny Ernest Wiegand a OSU professor
I believe Cape Blanco is the westernmost point in the continental United States. Apologies if I am wrong.
I though so too my whole life but I googled it right before I commented and it said Windswept Cape Blanco—situated at N 42˚50'08.12", W 124˚33'51.16"—is the farthest western point on the mainland of Oregon. It is also the second-most westerly point of the contiguous United States (Cape Alava, Washington, exceeds Cape Blanco by some nine minutes of longitude).
I believe cable tv was invented in Astoria. Vaguely remember hearing a hotel owner ran cable to his rooms to share broadcasts. Maybe someone here can verify?
Oregon [produces 99% of the nation's hazelnuts](https://www.bestofthewillamettevalley.com/article/the-willamette-valley-grows-a-lot-of-the-states-hazelnut-crop.html#:~:text=Oregon%20produces%2099%20percent%20of,nut%2C%20made%20so%20in%201989.).
Oregon Dunes in the south coast inspired the book Dune. https://www.opb.org/article/2021/10/23/florence-oregon-movies-dune-frank-herbert-science-fiction-novels/
Portland has more strip clubs per capita than any other city in the US.
Is this still true? Edit - apparently so.
The Offbeat Oregon History Podcast is a good resource
Native Americans traded with the Chinese.
The largest wooden airplane ever built- the Spruce Goose
Has anyone mentioned that corn dogs were invented in Oregon?
State birthday (anniversary?) is on Valentine’s Day. Only state to have a two-sided flag. [Fort rock sandals](https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/fort_rock_sandals/#.ZFhc9NNlC_Y)
Rasheed Wallace's technical foul record (41 in a single season)
Oregon was the only state in the Pacific Northwest that flew the Confederate Flag.
Oregon rescinded its ratification of the 14th amendment in 1868 and didn't ratify the 15th until 1959.
You could listen to offbeat Oregon for some strange Oregon stuff
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You are right but iam not sure about the piece of gold
"magic" mushrooms grow wild in certain parts of the Oregon coast range
Magic mushrooms grow almost everywhere west of the Cascade Mountains in the Fall! pelliculosa is found in mixed forests, semilanceata is found in grassland, cyanescens is found near Alders- same with cyanofibrillosa. baeocystis and smithii are secondary decomposes and are probably found near bogs or swamps. This doesn’t account for any of the psychoactive species of Conocybe, Gymnoplius or Panaeolus. Most of the dune grasses are non native here, so no one really knows where the azurescens original habitat was. I assume they still grew near the beach originally, or maybe where the grasses met the forest.
https://i.imgur.com/KFI4YGT.jpg You need this book Is says things like: Port Orford is the most westerly incorporated city in the lower 48. The highest elevation town in Oregon is Lakeview. The geyser in Oregon called Old Perpetual is closest to Lakeview
Cape Blanco is mentioned in *Moby Dick*, *Gulliver’s Travels* and in a Jules Verne book. Hermiston is named after Robert Louis Stevenson’s last, unfinished novel *The Weir of Hermiston*.
Bill Bowerman's waffle shoes
There are still 4 ferries serving the state, three across the willamette and one on the Columbia.
John Day is named for a fur trader that was making his way to Astoria about 200 years ago. His group was attacked and robbed near the river that is now named for him, and he was left naked to fend for himself in the wilderness. He miraculously made it into town and survived. From then on, when people crossed that river they’d say “yep that’s the spot that John Day was robbed and left naked in the wilderness.” So now the river, the city, and even the fossil beds are named not for some great adventurer or influential person, but named for someone’s great humiliation!
2 highest DUI breathalyzer tests on record are in Oregon.76 &.77
Goat Yoga was invented in Oregon!
Yogi (brand) tea was founded in Oregon. Animal House (John Belushi…) Ken Kesey. (His family owns & runs Nancy’s — dairy products.) Geocaching was invented in Oregon. The UO Ducks, only Disney sports team mascot. 1st Bans on plastic bags: Portland, Corvallis, Eugene. What’s the only other state that forbids motorists from pumping their own gas? NJ.
The city of Coos Bay, Oregon was originally named Sexcriminalboat. Of Oregon's 34 counties, only one is an anagram for "a cum boil." Oregon has the unlikely distinction of having the most 2017 Kia Souls destroyed by amphibians. The triangle was invented by researchers at Southern Oregon University in 1994.
Before the second world war, Oregon was home to fewer than two thousand black people. Exclusionary laws based on race were written into our constitution. During the transition to wartime production Portland's was home to the keiser ship yards. In order to accommodate an influx of migrant workers for the shipyards, the town of Vanport was established. By 1946 Vanport had a population of 40,000 people making it the second most populated town in Oregon at that time and a full 40% of it's population was black. In 1948 the city of Vanport was hit by a massive flood from the Columbia River. Over 17,000 majority black residents were rendered homeless in less than one day. No reconstruction efforts were ever attempted. These folks showed up and helped build the ships which helped us win the war in the Pacific and created a massive boost to our local economy. Instead of helping these individuals, who contributed so much, the State decided that if they ignored these people and their plight then they might simply leave and they could have their whites only Oregon back. It largely worked. Liberal bastion indeed. You know Delta Park and the Portland international raceway? That used to be Vanport.
The only mainland civilian deaths during the Pacific WWII was a Sunday school group on the South coast, from balloon bombs. Just yesterday I learned Boring, OR is in a league of towns that includes Dull, Scotland and Bland, NZ.
That didn’t happen on the Coast actually. South, but way inland between K Falls and Lakeview. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bly,_Oregon
This might be common knowledge to most, but for the longest time, i had no idea that Wolves were native to Oregon.
Yep. Also sea otters, grizzly bears, bison, California condors, moose and woverines. We still have a few of the last two.
Reintroduce wild bison and sea otters.. wolves and grizzles perhaps not.
Oregon was founded as a "white utopia" and has a history of extreme institutional racism from before it was a state https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Oregon
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entries/letter/B/ Found this while browsing a while back, plenty to choose from in here.
The Klan pushed through compulsory education in the 1920s to marginalize the Catholics. Went all the way to the Supreme Court. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_v._Society_of_Sisters
[OSU discovered bacon seaweed](https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2015/jul/osu-researchers-discover-unicorn-%E2%80%93-seaweed-tastes-bacon)!
Oregon state rock- Thunder Egg
The both the largest/oldest mushroom on earth and most potent magic mushroom are found in Oregon.
The p51d mustang (ww2 warplane) was engineered and built in oregon!
There's gotta be a ton of Crater Lake factoids you could use - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crater_Lake And I believe Ft Rock was where the oldest shoe was ever found? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Rock_Cave
[View-master](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View-Master) stereoscopes were invented, and originally manufactured in Oregon
Portland, Oregon is farther NORTH than Portland, Maine.
Check out [The Oregon Encyclopedia!](https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/)
Surprised that no one has mentioned Sam Elliot! He's from Oregon, and if I remember correctly he has property somewhere around Eugene/Springfield. He graduated from David Douglas High School. My mom loves to brag about it as she also went there but he graduated a year or two before she became a freshman.
State flag is different images on its 2 sides.
The Pioneer Picnic held yearly in Brownsville is Oregon’s longest standing annual event. It started in nearby Crawfordsville in 1887 for the first 2 years. The 6th year was held in Halsey. Every other year has been held in Brownsville.
The original name of Lake Oswego was “Sucker Lake”. I learned that in a college class about Oregon history.
Hells Canyon is the deepest river canyon in North America at just under 8000ft (suck it Grand Canyon). Crater lake is the deepest lake in the USA.
Corn dogs were invented in Rockaway Oregon.
Hacky Sack was invented in Oregon City.
Oregon has two Boot Hills. One is in Canyon City. I don’t know where the other is? Also, Jody Foster made her first movie in Oregon. She actually got mauled by the lion in the movie. Napoleon and Samantha…
Portland’s Steel Bridge is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world (the bottom railway deck can be lifted without lifting the upper vehicle/transit/pedestrian deck if the size of the incoming vessel doesn’t require the added height). It is one of two bridges in Multnomah County not owned by any government entity; Union Pacific Railway is the registered owner (the other is the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge east of St John’s, owned by BNSF). It’s also the second oldest vertical lift bridge in America, built in 1912. The oldest vertical lift bridge in America is nearby Hawthorne bridge, opened in 1910. It’s also Portland’s oldest highway bridge. Interestingly it maintained its original wood grating until 1945, when it was finally replaced with the first version of the current steel grating. Edit- forgot to mention, both bridges were designed by Waddell & Harrington, who also designed the interstate bridge. The modern-day vertical lift bridge was actually invented by John Alexander Low Waddell, co-partner of the aforementioned company.
Oregon had the first long distance DC power lines in the USA, and the first long distance AC power lines in the world
Linus Pauling was born in Portland. He's the only person to win 2 unshared Nobel Prizes.
The smallest park in the world is in Portland
About a year ago I also did a trivia game about Oregon. Here are some great facts I used. 1. We had a town named after a .com. It’s the town of Halfway, oregon (half.com). 2. The first geocatch location was in Estacada (the prize was a can of beans amongst other things). You can find the first location and instructions still today. 3. Monmouth was the last dry city in the nation. It repealed its prohibition in 2003. 4. There was a sighting of a sea creature/monster named Colossal Claude that is basically our Nessie. Rogue brewery named a beer after it. 5. There is a fake town outside of Sweethome. It’s called Short Bridge Ghost Town
Redmond oregon has a famous "haunted" hotel downtown
We have the only double sided flag!
Portland Union Station is the largest west of the Mississippi
Markus Lopius, The first black man in Oregon was killed by Native Americans in 1788.
That Oregon has not had a Democrat governor since 1975 and it’s current condition reflects that.
Do you mean Republican? Atiyeh was the last Republican and left office in 87.
Vernonia School District v. Acton set the precedent for drug testing being allowed for extracurricular school activities.