If you hail from the great Centennial State, you probably think you know all there is to know about Colorado, thanks to what you learned from both school and life experience. While we agree that you may know many things about our state, we are willing to bet that you didn’t know or learn about these 11 things!
1. The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.
Flickr/Mobilus In Mobili
The highest point in Pennsylvania is Mount Davis, which sits at an elevation 3,213 feet, while Colorado’s lowest point, the Arkansas River, sits at 3,315 feet.
2. Colorado is the only state to have ever won an Olympic bid and then turn it down.
Flickr/James Creegan
Why were Denverites so hesitant to host the iconic games? It was due to both its high cost and predicted pollution.
3. The town of Deer Trail, Colorado claims to have held the world’s first rodeo.
ERoss99/ Wikimedia Commons
While we are not doubting our fellow Coloradans, other states do, claiming the first rodeo was not in Deer Trail (1869), but in Santa Fe (1847).
4. Do you think we have a lot of Walmarts and Starbucks? Think again, as marijuana dispensaries outnumber BOTH 3 to 1.
Flickr/Jeffrey Beall
As of the last count, Colorado is home to 106 Walmarts, 322 Starbucks, and a whopping 1,021 dispensaries.
5. Had it not been for President Andrew Johnson, Colorado would have become a state a lot sooner.
Flickr/mark byzewski
When the Centennial State first attempted to join the Union, it was vetoed by Johnson. A few years later, Johnson’s successor, President Ulysses S. Grant, accepted the admittance, making Colorado official on August 1, 1876.
6. Colorado is home to many “capitals of the world,” including melons…
Flickr/Paul Swansen
Rocky Ford was incorporated in 1887 as a place for farmers to come together to grow fresh produce, and some of the best watermelon and cantaloupe you will ever taste comes from this small town.
7. …pinto beans…
Cindy Whitaker/GoogleMaps
The tiny Dolores County town of Dove Creek (population: 735) is home to Adobe Milling, which markets locally-grown beans and other southwestern foods.
8. …and sex changes.
Wikimedia Commons
Between 1969 to 2003, 65% of the world’s sex changes were performed by Dr. Stanley Biber of Trinidad, CO.
9. Dogs haven’t always been a Coloradans best friend… in fact, Denver had such a huge stray dog issue in the late 1870s that local police rented a wagon and drove around shooting every stray they encountered.
Mani.Rai/Flickr
Thankfully, this practice was stopped in 1883 when locals expressed their outrage.
10. The world’s largest alligator farm is located here in Colorado.
Flickr/Kent Kanouse
We may not be the alligator capital of the world (thank goodness), but Colorado Gators Reptile Park in Mosca does rescue the most!
11. Finally, there are nearly as many ghost towns in Colorado as there are live ones.
Flickr/Gloria Manna
Colorado is home to a whopping 1,500 ghost towns (only 640 of which remain) and 196 combined towns, cities, and consolidated city and county governments.
