| Get the Facts |
 |
 |
 |
Want to learn more about Nebraska? Here’s a quick look to get you started. State SnapshotCapital City: Lincoln State Population: 1,826,341 (2010 census) State Nickname: Cornhusker State State Motto: Equality before the law. State Insect: Honeybee State Tree: Cottonwood State Bird: Western Meadowlark State Mammal: White-Tailed Deer State Flower: Goldenrod State Fossil: Mammoth State Rock: Prairie Agate Nebraska OriginalsPlenty of well-known everyday offerings started right here, including:• Kool-Aid
A number of famous folks also got their start in Nebraska:• CliffsNotes • Vice-Grips • Tin Roof Sundaes • Cabela’s • Center pivot irrigation • Comedian Larry the Cable Guy grew up on a farm near Pawnee City.
• President Gerald Ford and Malcolm X were both born in Omaha. • Charles Lindbergh learned to fly in Lincoln. • Fred Astaire took his first dance class in Omaha. • Johnny Carson spent his childhood in Norfolk. • Warren Buffett was born in Omaha and still lives there today. Other TidbitsGaining statehood on March 1, 1867, Nebraska was the 37th state to enter the union. Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral legislature. Before becoming the Cornhuskers, UNL’s football team went by a variety of names including the Old Gold Knights, the Antelopes, the Rattlesnake Boys and the Bugeaters. Arbor Day was started in Nebraska in 1872. Nebraska is home to the world’s largest train yard (Bailey Railroad Yard), the world’s largest hand-planted forest (the Nebraska National Forest, Bessey Ranger District), the world’s largest Kool-Aid stand (during Hastings’ annual Kool-Aid Days) and the world’s largest indoor desert (at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo). Cherry County, in north-central Nebraska, is larger than the entire state of Connecticut. |
