6 Cheerful Facts about Maryland

1. Maryland's "living insignia" are the most interesting of any state we've seen: the state bird is the Baltimore Oriole; state butterfly is the Baltimore Checkerspot; state crustacean is the blue crab (which is also the state food, but by then the crab is no longer living, of course); state reptile is the diamond backed terrapin; and one of the three state mammals is the Chesapeake Bay retriever (a dog -- the other two mammals are calico cat and thoroughbred horse). The state sport is jousting.

2. The state is considered to be the birthplace of religious freedom in America, because it was formed as a refuge for persecuted English Catholics in the 1600s.

3. The counties east of the Chesapeake Bay, which splits the state, are called the Eastern Shore. At one point, the state is only 1.83 miles wide.

4. Most of the earliest European settlers arrived as indentured servants.

5. Maryland currently has the highest median household income of any state.

6. The state's geography varies widely, from mountains in the northwest to flatlands near the coast.

6 things you'll be glad you know about Kansas

1.  The median income for the state ranks 25th  -- smack dab in the middle -- for US states at $50,177. The state is equidistant from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is in Kansas as well.

2. Kansas, most of which became US territory by the means of the Louisiana Purchase,  has more than 6,000 ghost towns and dwindling communities. Kansas entered the United States in 1861 as a free state.

3. The state's motto is Ad astra per aspera -- to the stars through difficulties.

4. The highest point of the state is Mount Sunflower, near the western border. It's 4,039 feet above sea level.

5. Over the course of one year, (don't know what year it was; do you?) 8 million cattle from Texas boarded trains in Dodge City heading east.

6. In 1881, Kansas became the first US state to adopt a constitutional amendment prohibiting alcohol. This amendment wasn't repealed until 1948.