Today is National Bison Day! In honor of our state’s mammal, here are some fun facts about our beautiful state!
Devil’s Tower became the first ever National Monument in 1906!
In 1936, northern Wyoming tried to join southeastern Montana and western South Dakota to form a new state. They were going to call themselves “Absaroka”.
The first JC Penney opened in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Only six states have an official state dinosaur. Wyoming’s is the triceratops.
Harrison Ford has a property in Jackson, Wyoming and has used his helicopter multiple times in search and rescue missions. Once, he picked up a stranded climber in the Tetons.
Wyoming has approximately the same population as the small country of Luxembourg in Europe.
There was so much wagon traffic through the state in the 1800s that you can still find wagon wheel ruts all over the state.
The Laramie County library system is the oldest in the country, opening the same year as the University of Wyoming.
More people are hurt by bison than bears in Yellowstone every year. They are dangerous animals, but almost all accidents are due to tourists getting too close to them.
The jackalope was created in the 1930s when a Douglas man and his brother added antlers to a taxidermied jackrabbit.
Brokeback Mountain was set in the mountains of Wyoming, but actually filmed in Alberta, Canada.
Rocky IV, set in Russia, was actually filmed in Grand Teton National Park in winter.
In 1988, Wyoming became the last state in the union to raise the drinking age to 21. It was previously only 19.
There are actually 32 named islands within the state, mostly in Yellowstone Lake, Green River and Jackson Lake.
Happy National Bison Day, Wyomingites!