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Kentucky - The Bluegrass State.

Kentucky

The United States Bullion Depository, better known as Fort Knox, is situated in Kentucky. It holds approximately 3% of all the gold ever to have been refined.

The official name of Kentucky is The Commonwealth of Kentucky. The term Commonwealth has no legally defined meaning. It is merely a way of saying that the state is governed with the consent of, and for the welfare of, the people, rather than a monarch.

Kentucky has been the birthplace of four US Vice Presidents: Richard Johnson, John Breckinridge, Adlai Stevenson and Alben Barkley who served under Martin Van Buren, James Buchanan, Grover Cleveland and Harry S. Truman respectively.

Kentucky has two mottos; one in English and one in Latin. The English one is United we stand, divided we fall and the Latin one is Deo gratiam habeamus which translates into English as Let us be grateful to God.

The longest cave in the world is in Kentucky. Mammoth Cave stretches for a distance of 405 miles or 619 km - more than twice as far as the world's second longest cave in Mexico.

Kentucky was admitted to the Union on the 1st of June 1792, making it the 15th state of the USA.

The official state horse of Kentucky is the thoroughbred, a breed renowned for racing. Almost one third of all the thoroughbred horses born in the USA come from Kentucky.

Approximately 4,400,000 people live in Kentucky, making it the 26th largest of the 50 US states in terms of population.

The state song of Kentucky is My Old Kentucky Home, which tells the story of everyday life on a slave plantation. The song is said to have helped to generate support for the anti-slavery movement in 19th century American society.

As well as being known as the Bluegrass State, Kentucky has a few more nicknames including the Dark and Bloody Ground State, which makes reference to the bloody wars between Native American tribes.

Play this light-hearted yet informative quiz and see how much you know about the Hemp State, the Tobacco State and the Corn-cracker State.

For a closer look at the pictures, please click on them to enlarge.

1 .

This is the State Capitol Building of Kentucky. Which city is it in?

Frankfort

Louisville

Lexington

Bowling Green

Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky, despite its small population of around 25,000. It gets its name from a pioneer, Stephen Frank, who was killed in an attack by Native Americans in the 1780s. The place of the attack was named 'Frank's Ford' which later morphed into 'Frankfort'.

Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green are the three largest cities in Kentucky, with populations of approximately 610,000 308,000 and 61,000 respectively

2 .

What is the official state fruit of Kentucky (pictured)?

The Raspberry

The Loganberry

The Blackberry

The Gooseberry

The blackberry was officially adopted by Kentucky in 2004. It is also the state fruit of Alabama and the state berry of North Carolina.
Loganberries are a hybrid fruit made from a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. As yet, no states have adopted either the loganberry, the raspberry or the gooseberry as one of their symbols

3 .

Kentucky is known for its love of horse racing and is famous for the 1.25 mile Kentucky Derby which has been held annually since which year?

Since 1825

Since 1875

Since 1925

Since 1975

The Kentucky Derby was established by Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. who was inspired during a trip to the UK where he attended the Derby, a prestigious horserace held every year since 1780. From its humble beginnings the Kentucky Derby has become one of the most highly respected events in the horseracing calendar worldwide.

The race has a few nicknames: The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports and The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports, both in reference to its approximate duration, and The Run for the Roses. This last nickname is derived from the fact that the winner of the race is traditionally covered with a blanket of roses

4 .

The Eastern Grey Squirrel is Kentucky's official state what?

Food

Animal

Mammal

Wild animal game species

Grey squirrels were a source of food for Native Americans. When Europeans settled on the continent they too began to hunt squirrels and their meat is still popular today.

The grey squirrel was originally only found in North America but it was introduced to Europe where it has outcompeted the native red squirrels to such an extent that their numbers have decreased dramatically, particularly in the Republic of Ireland, the UK and Italy

5 .

What is the name of this actor who was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1961?

Terrence Mann

Victor Mature

Johnny Depp

George Clooney

Best known for his acting work, Clooney is also a political activist (as seen in the picture, having a discussion with President Barack Obama) and is recognised for his humanitarian work, particularly in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Johnny Depp, Victor Mature and Terrence Mann were all born in Kentucky too

6 .

The flag of Kentucky bears the state seal on a blue background, surrounded by the words Commonwealth of Kentucky and two sprigs of the state flower, goldenrod. The seal shows two men, one of whom is often claimed to be which American folk hero?

Daniel Boone

Billy the Kid

Davy Crockett

Wild Bill Hickok

Boone was one of the first explorers of Kentucky which has led many to mistakenly believe that the man wearing buckskin clothes is supposed to be him. The man wearing more formal attire is also mistakenly believed by some to be the famous Kentucky politician Henry Clay. The official description of the seal says that the men are symbols for all frontiersmen and statesmen and are not meant to be anyone in particular.

Kentucky's flag was adopted in 1918, after it had been designed by a teacher from Frankfort. Before then the US flag was the state's unofficial flag

7 .

Kentucky is famous the world over for its fired chicken. The restaurant chain KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) was founded by which man?

Captain Cook

Major Tom

Colonel Sanders

General Custer

Colonel Sanders began serving food from his home in the 1930s. Despite having the title Colonel, Sanders served for only 3 months in the US Army, and was not an officer. He was granted the honorary title Kentucky colonel, the state's highest honour, by the Governor of Kentucky in 1935.

The KFC franchise business began in 1952 and has now blossomed so much that there are more than 18,000 KFC restaurants worldwide. Sanders became the company's symbol and his face can still be seen on the KFC logo

8 .

Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky, and one of the oldest cities to the west of the Appalachian Mountains. It was founded in 1778 and is named after who?

Louis Congo, emancipated slave and public servant

King Louis I of Holland

Louis Pasteur, pioneer of vaccination and pasteurisation

King Louis XVI of France

During the American Revolutionary War the King of France supported the Americans against the British. For that reason Louisville was named in his honour. Ironically, Louis was deposed and then executed after the revolution which took place shortly afterwards in his own country

9 .

What is the official state gemstone of Kentucky, often used to make necklaces as in the picture above?

Moonstone

Pearl

Riverstone

Beryl

The freshwater pearl is created by some freshwater mussels. These could once be found in many places throughout the state but environmental damage and over harvesting have had a dramatic effect on the mussel population and the pearls are now rare.

Freshwater pearls are also the state gemstone of Tennessee. They are one of only two gems (the other being amber) which are produced by organic life forms rather than coming from the Earth itself

10 .

Kentucky has been the birthplace of just one President of the USA, who is shown in the picture above. What is his name?

Abraham Lincoln

Ulysses S. Grant

Grover Cleveland

Woodrow Wilson

Lincoln was born in the city of Hodgenville, Kentucky, on the 12th of February 1809. He was the 16th President of the USA and he was in office from 1861 until his assassination in 1865 - the timespan of the American Civil War.

Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America, whose departure from the Union sparked the war, was also born in Kentucky, in Fairview

Author: Graeme Haw