Do you know your MN ABCs? While there are plenty of things to know about the Land of 10,000 Lakes, these 26 facts are the most important. They will give people all they need to start dreaming about visiting or living in our wonderful state, and might even surprise a few residents!
Apples
Flickr/Samantha Durfee Minnesota has some of the best apples, thanks to the University of Minnesota and their invention, the honeycrisp apple. You can even pick them yourself, along with a wide variety of other fruits and vegetables at many local farms.
Boats
Flickr/Greg Gjerdingen We have the highest rate of boats per capita in fact. There is one recreational boat for every six Minnesota residents.
Canoeing
Flickr/Steven Conry We are also home to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the most visited wilderness in the country, and the best place for canoe voyaging around.
Duck, Duck, Gray Duck
Wikimedia/Ragesoss In MN, we play duck, duck, gray duck. Because gray ducks blend in way more than geese.
Eagles
Facebook/National Eagle Center You can find beautiful eagles almost anywhere in Minnesota, but particularly at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha.
Fortune 500s
Flickr/Ron Reiring The Twin Cities’ suburbs are packed with fortune 500s that have produced some of the nation’s favorite technology and products.
Golf
Flickr/Krzysztof Urbanowicz Beautiful golf courses are just the start. Minneapolis also has the highest rate of golfers per capita in the nation.
Hockey
Flickr/Tyler We are the state of hockey and even host the National Pond Hockey Championship! Nobody loves the sport like we do.
Inventions
Flickr/Mike Mozart MN’s inventors have been some of the best turning out products like waterskiies, seatbelt, bundt cake, sandpaper, cake mix, grocery bags with handles, rollerblades, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, post-its, staplers, malls, armored trucks, thermostats, pop-up toasters… We could go on and on.
Juicy Lucy
Flickr/Kim Another brilliant Minnesotan invention, these delicious, cheese-filled burgers are works of art.
Kindness
Flickr/David Goehring It’s actually called Minnesota-nice. And while everyone has an opinion on that phrase, it’s very true that people in Minnesota are much kinder than in most other states.
Lakes
Flickr/Doc Searls We have 13,136,357 acres of surface water area. more than the area of entire states of Hawaii and New Jersey combined.
Mall of America
Flickr/RLEVANS We didn’t just invent malls. We also have one large enough to hold 32 Boeing 747 airplanes.
North Shore
Flickr/Justin Meissen Our gorgeous North Shore is a famous destination for outdoor recreation and is beautiful year-round.
Outdoors
Flickr/Geoff Alexander Minnesota is one of the most recreation-loving, family-oriented states. We don’t just have lakes in our backyards, we use them!
Pop
Wikimedia/Marlith We drink pop in MN. So don’t call it soda.
Quarries
Flickr/RLEVANS We have plenty of quarries for those who want to learn about MN’s mining past. Some of them have even become epic swimming holes!
Rivers
Flickr/Sean Berry 69,200 miles of rivers and streams can be found in MN. That would circle the equator 2 3/4 times.
State Fair
Flickr/Bala Sivakumar Our state fair is one of the most epic summer events in the entire county with awesome food, animals, and entertainment. Plus, there are people sculpted out of butter.
Tots
Flickr/Pattie Tater tots are never underestimated in Minnesota. They’re particularly useful in the making of hotdish, another one of our favorite foods.
Up North
Flickr/Bearskin Lodge Up North, is where we go to get away for the weekend or the summer. It actually means any lake within the state with a cabin where we can relax and go fishing.
Vikings
Flickr/Joe Bielawa Our beloved Vikings. Not just a football team, but also many of our ancestors. Skol!
Wildlife
Flickr/USFWS Midwest Wildlife is abundant in MN. We actually have 3 times more white-tailed deer than college students.
X-Rays
Flickr/Ryan Claussen Minnesota is home to the world-famous Mayo Clinic where plenty of medical breakthroughs have happened.
Youth
Flickr/JoshBerglund19 MN is the perfect place for kids, in fact, we’re Kids Count’s number one pick for child well-being.
Zoos
Flickr/Amy Meredith The Minnesota Zoo is amazing. Oh and, we also have a free one as well, The Como Zoo. You’re welcome, parents.
Did you know all those things about Minnesota?
Flickr/Samantha Durfee
Minnesota has some of the best apples, thanks to the University of Minnesota and their invention, the honeycrisp apple. You can even pick them yourself, along with a wide variety of other fruits and vegetables at many local farms.
Flickr/Greg Gjerdingen
We have the highest rate of boats per capita in fact. There is one recreational boat for every six Minnesota residents.
Flickr/Steven Conry
We are also home to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the most visited wilderness in the country, and the best place for canoe voyaging around.
Wikimedia/Ragesoss
In MN, we play duck, duck, gray duck. Because gray ducks blend in way more than geese.
Facebook/National Eagle Center
You can find beautiful eagles almost anywhere in Minnesota, but particularly at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha.
Flickr/Ron Reiring
The Twin Cities’ suburbs are packed with fortune 500s that have produced some of the nation’s favorite technology and products.
Flickr/Krzysztof Urbanowicz
Beautiful golf courses are just the start. Minneapolis also has the highest rate of golfers per capita in the nation.
Flickr/Tyler
We are the state of hockey and even host the National Pond Hockey Championship! Nobody loves the sport like we do.
Flickr/Mike Mozart
MN’s inventors have been some of the best turning out products like waterskiies, seatbelt, bundt cake, sandpaper, cake mix, grocery bags with handles, rollerblades, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, post-its, staplers, malls, armored trucks, thermostats, pop-up toasters… We could go on and on.
Flickr/Kim
Another brilliant Minnesotan invention, these delicious, cheese-filled burgers are works of art.
Flickr/David Goehring
It’s actually called Minnesota-nice. And while everyone has an opinion on that phrase, it’s very true that people in Minnesota are much kinder than in most other states.
Flickr/Doc Searls
We have 13,136,357 acres of surface water area. more than the area of entire states of Hawaii and New Jersey combined.
Flickr/RLEVANS
We didn’t just invent malls. We also have one large enough to hold 32 Boeing 747 airplanes.
Flickr/Justin Meissen
Our gorgeous North Shore is a famous destination for outdoor recreation and is beautiful year-round.
Flickr/Geoff Alexander
Minnesota is one of the most recreation-loving, family-oriented states. We don’t just have lakes in our backyards, we use them!
Wikimedia/Marlith
We drink pop in MN. So don’t call it soda.
We have plenty of quarries for those who want to learn about MN’s mining past. Some of them have even become epic swimming holes!
Flickr/Sean Berry
69,200 miles of rivers and streams can be found in MN. That would circle the equator 2 3/4 times.
Flickr/Bala Sivakumar
Our state fair is one of the most epic summer events in the entire county with awesome food, animals, and entertainment. Plus, there are people sculpted out of butter.
Flickr/Pattie
Tater tots are never underestimated in Minnesota. They’re particularly useful in the making of hotdish, another one of our favorite foods.
Flickr/Bearskin Lodge
Up North, is where we go to get away for the weekend or the summer. It actually means any lake within the state with a cabin where we can relax and go fishing.
Flickr/Joe Bielawa
Our beloved Vikings. Not just a football team, but also many of our ancestors. Skol!
Flickr/USFWS Midwest
Wildlife is abundant in MN. We actually have 3 times more white-tailed deer than college students.
Flickr/Ryan Claussen
Minnesota is home to the world-famous Mayo Clinic where plenty of medical breakthroughs have happened.
Flickr/JoshBerglund19
MN is the perfect place for kids, in fact, we’re Kids Count’s number one pick for child well-being.
Flickr/Amy Meredith
The Minnesota Zoo is amazing. Oh and, we also have a free one as well, The Como Zoo. You’re welcome, parents.
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