Discover the Prairie State: Top 10 Amazing Illinois Fun Facts You Never Knew!

1. Jesse Fell: Illinois' Renaissance Man

Trees, towns, and a tad bit of Lincoln - the triple threat of Illinois' Renaissance man: Jesse W. Fell was not only instrumental in founding Illinois State University and multiple towns in the state, but also managed to persuade his dear friend Abraham Lincoln to engage in the historic debates with Stephen A. Douglas, all while nurturing his love for trees and amassing an impressive real estate portfolio.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. World's Largest Ketchup Bottle

Feeling saucy? Let's ketchup with a titanic condiment monument: Illinois boasts the world's largest ketchup bottle, a 170-foot tall structure in Collinsville that's now a museum, chronicling the city's paste-processing past and offering views from atop its tomato-tinged tower.
Source => illinoistimes.com

Did you know Chicago's founding father, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, was a French-African explorer who transformed the city into the thriving metropolis it is today? Dive into the fascinating history of where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan. 🌊🏙️

=> Fun Facts about Chicago

3. Birthplace of Skyscrapers

Before Chicago dared to reach for the skies, they had a "steel"thy idea up their sleeves: Illinois became home to the world's first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, in 1885. This 10-story marvel introduced a fireproof structural steel frame, both inside and outside, forging the path for today's sky-high constructions across the globe.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. Popcorn: Official State Snack

If you're feeling a little "corny" and craving a scrumptious treat in the Land of Lincoln, look no further than its kernel-cracking claim to fame: Illinois proudly pops with popcorn as its official state snack since 2003, with 333 farms dedicating 47,000 acres of their land to the munch-worthy maize that dates back to its cultivation in the region around 100 A.D.
Source => statesymbolsusa.org

5. The Bean: A Legume of Epic Proportions

Feeling a little… legume-us? An elephantine, metallic coffee bean behind your erudite reflection might help: The Cloud Gate sculpture, or "The Bean," by artist Anish Kapoor, is a 33-foot-tall, 42-foot-wide, and 66-foot-long masterpiece made of 168 steel plates welded together, weighing about the same as 15 adult elephants, and mirroring visitors amidst the bustling backdrop of Chicago's Millennium Park.
Source => choosechicago.com

6. Historic Catsup Bottle Landmark

Who needs ketchup on the side when you can have a giant bottle of it towering over the landscape? With a condiment that big, your fries will never be lonely again: Behold the World's Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, Illinois, standing at a whopping 170 feet tall. Constructed in 1949 by the W.E. Caldwell Company for the G.S. Suppiger catsup bottling plant, this massive condiment container not only spices up the scenery but has also earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places in August 2002 after being saved from demolition in 1995.
Source => catsupbottle.com

7. Ice Cream Sundae Origins

Sundaes got a little twist in Illinois, where a ban made sodas feel like a dessert phantom: The ice cream sundae's origins can be traced back to Illinois, specifically Evanston, where laws prohibiting the sale of soda water on Sundays led to soda fountains serving ice cream sodas without the soda, competing with Two Rivers, Wisconsin, where Ed Berners is said to have created the first ice cream sundae in 1881.
Source => thoughtco.com

8. Star Trek Riverboat Casino

Beam me up, gambler: Illinois houses a "Star Trek" inspired riverboat casino – the Empress River Queen – docked in Joliet, designed to accommodate 1,000 passengers in its below-deck salons decked with slot machines, craps, and blackjack tables, giving Chicago gamblers a cosmic alternative to its terrestrial competitors.
Source => chicagotribune.com

9. Beluga Buffet at Shedd Aquarium

Next time you're having a whale of a meal, remember there's someone out there who dines bigger and splashes harder: the beluga whales at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago! Seriously, they chow down on nearly 50 pounds of seafood daily, all in the name of glub-glub-glub satiation: Shedd Aquarium houses over 32,000 animals and 1,500 species in its watery wonderland, making it one of the largest aquariums worldwide. And these titanic tenants have humans catering to their every culinary whim, thanks to two on-site kitchens prepping thousands of pounds of fish. This mighty monument to marine life doesn't just create magical memories, though—venturing into conservation, the Shedd's very own heroes in half shells have embarked on a shell-raising mission to reintroduce zebra sharks back into their native Indonesian waters.
Source => abc7chicago.com

10. Cinderella's Pumpkin Pit Stop

If Cinderella ever needed a pumpkin carriage pit stop, she'd head straight to Illinois: Morton, the Pumpkin Capital of the World, is home to Nestlé USA/Libby's canning plant, which boasts a whopping 85% share of the global canned pumpkin market, making it a crucial player in both the town's economy and your favorite pumpkin pie recipes.
Source => morton-il.gov