Happy Birthday, Ohio!

Today is the anniversary of Ohio being admitted to our United States of America.

Date of Admittance: March 1, 1803
Parentage: 
The name is said to be based on the Iroquois word, which means "great river," refererring to the Ohio River.

Place in the Family 

Number 17

Ohio was admitted a few years after Tennessee (June 1796) 

and a few years before Louisiana (April 1812)

Motto 

"With God, All Things Are Possible"

Ohio claims one of the more blatantly religious state mottoes. 
I was actually surprised when I first read this. Personally, 
to my "the glass is half empty" point of view, 
I find this motto vacuous. 
All things *are* possible, but *most* things are unlikely.
And....does this mean that things are impossible for atheists?:-) 
   

Nick-Name 

The Buckeye State

I had never heard of Buckeyes before I moved to Ohio.
When I first moved here I thought they were marijuana leaves.

On the License Plate 

Most people have kept their red, white, and blue bicentennial plates from 2003, 

but there is a brand new colorful one that is getting placed on all new cars. 

State Flag

Ohio boasts the most unique state flag: 
it is the only one that is not a rectangular shape! 
One of the best if not THE best state flag in the country. 
Not only is it unique, but it's pretty. Way to go, Ohio! 

First City You Probably Think of 

When You Think "Ohio" 

Cincinnati or Cleveland

Actual State Capital:Columbus

State Size (Area) is 34th of 50
Population is closer to 7th of 50

(per 2000 Census figures)

Personal Russell Fact: 
I've lived 20 minutes east of Columbus since 2005

Ohio Sports: 
NFL (Cleveland Browns)

NFL (Cincinnati Bengals)


MLB (Cincinnati Reds)


MLB (Cleveland Indians)

NBA



NHL (Columbus Blue Jackets)


Anybody From Ohio
Ever Grow Up To Be President?
Yes!
In fact, Ohio is neck-and-neck with Virginia 
as being the State with the most Presidents. 
18th President Ulysses S Grant was the first Ohio-born leader in 1868. 
He started a trend. 


19th President Rutherford B. Hayes was the first President to win 
the election without actually winning the plurality of the popular vote.
That's only happened one other time. ;-)  


20th President James A. Garfield was the compromise candidate 
of 1880, but was murdered within his first year. 

23rd President Benjamin Harrison is so far the only grand-son of 
a previous President (William Henry Harrison, #9)

25th President William McKinley hardly knew his VP, 
Teddy Roosevelt, who assumed the Presidency when 
McKinley was murdered in 1901. 

27th President William H Taft was the compromise candidate 
of 1908, but then voted out by his own party. He was much 
happier as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, (1921-1930)
the only President to have done both jobs. 

29th President William G Harding is best-known today for scandals 
surrounding his cabinet and for coining the phrase, "founding fathers." 

Good vs Evil

General William T. Sherman
"war is hell"

Lt. Col George A. Custer

"the only good Indian...." 

Ohio Film Celebrities

Clark Gable

Academy Award-winning actor

Bob Hope

comedian/actor, born in UK, raised in Cleveland

Roy Rogers

singer/actor, King of the Cowboys

Margaret Hamilton

actress, "Wizard of OZ"


Doris Day

singer, actress, "The Pajama Game"

Paul Newman

Academy Award-winning actor

Ruby Dee

actress, "A Raisin In The Sun"

George Chakiris

Academy Award-winning actor


Joel Grey

Academy Award-winning actor

Hal Holbrook

actor, "All The President's Men"

Burgess Meredith

actor, "Rocky"

Wes Craven

director, "Nightmare on Elm Street"

Halle Berry

Academy Award-winning actress

Katie Holmes

actress, "Batman Begins"

Historical Ohioans

Tecumseh

worked for Native American rights

Annie Oakley
famous Wild West Show shooter

Orville Wright
Aviation pioneer (his brother was born in Indiana)

John Glenn

US Senator, first American in space

Neil Armstrong

first man on the moon

Ted Turner

businessman, founder of CNN

Ohio Literary Celebrities

Zane Grey

novelist

Siegel & Shuster

creators of "Superman"

Milton Caniff

"Steve Canyon," "Terry & The Pirates"  

Erma Bombeck

author, columnist

Bob Greene

author, columnist

Tom Batiuk
cartoonist

R. L. Stine

author

Jeff Smith 
author 

Brian Azzarello

author

Brian Michael Bendis

author

Musical Ohioans

Dean Martin

"That's Amore"

The Mills Brothers

"Glow Little Glow Worm"

Nancy Wilson

"The Very Thought of You"

The Isley Brothers

"Twist & Shout"

The O'Jays

"Love Train"

The Ohio Players

"Fire"

Tracy Chapman

"Fast Car"



Dwight Yoakam

"Honky-Tonk Man"

Marilyn Manson

"The Dope Show"

(Lil') Bow Wow

"Puppy Love"


Rascal Flatts

"What Hurts The Most"

The Black Keys

"Gold On the Ceiling"

Ohio TV Celebrities

Tim Conway

actor/comedian, "McHale's Navy"

Phyllis Diller

comedienne

Paul Lynde

comedian

Jim Backus

actor, "Gilligan's Island"

Richard Basehart

actor, "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea"

Greg Morris

actor, "Mission: Impossible"

Jonathan Winters

actor/comedian, "Mork & Mindy"

Majel Barrett

actress, "Star Trek"

Yvonne Craig

actress, "Batman"

Jamie Farr

actor, "MASH"

Franklin Cover

actor, "The Jeffersons"

Phil Donahue

talk-show host

Gordon Jump

actor, "WKRP"

Gary Sandy

actor, "WKRP" 

Arsenio Hall

actor, comedian, talk-show host

Ed O'Neil

actor, "Modern Family"

Gates McFadden

actress, "Star Trek: TNG"

Drew Carey

actor/comedian, 
"Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

Patricia Heaton

actress, "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Middle"

Ken Jenkins

actor, "Scrubs"

Dave Chappelle

comedian

Other Famous Buckeyes

The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame

in Cleveland

The Professor 

Dr. Roy Hinkley, from Cleveland

 The Shawshank Redemption

(aka Mansfield Penitentiary)

WKRP FM 

(radio station in Cincinnati)

A Song For You....
"Cleveland Rocks"
by Ian Hunter
performed by The Presidents of the United States

This sequence was used as the opening for The Drew Carey Show 
from the third season. Plenty of Cleveland 
shots included, watch for them!