Discover the Great Lakes State: Top 17 Fun and Fascinating Facts About Michigan!

1. Michigan's Pizza Empire: Domino's

When life hands Michiganians tomatoes, they make pizza sauce for the masses: Fueled by their entrepreneurial spirit, brothers Tom and James Monaghan transformed a modest Ypsilanti pizzeria in 1960 into the worldwide pizza powerhouse that is Domino's, boasting over 18,000 locations and headquartered in Domino's Farms Office Park near Ann Arbor Township, Michigan.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. MSU's Ultimate Frisbee Dynasty

"With a flick of the wrist and a whirl of camaraderie, the Spartans fuse Victorian values with modern sports acumen, creating an ultimate frisbee dynasty: Michigan State University (MSU) boasts one of the oldest and most successful Ultimate Frisbee clubs, complete with an alumni association, two competitive teams (Arc and Riot Control), and year-round social events shared with the women's team."
Source => wkar.org

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. The Belleville Three: Techno Pioneers

The Belleville Three may sound like a trio of notorious outlaws or perhaps even a top-secret superhero team, but these trailblazers were actually dropping beats instead of busting baddies: Hailing from Detroit's suburban landscape, Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson crafted the innovative sounds of techno music, inspired by their love of German band Kraftwerk, ultimately putting Detroit on the map as a global hub for electronic jams.
Source => bentley.umich.edu

4. Michigan's Rare Flower: The Dwarf Lake Iris

Forget "Dancing with the Stars," welcome to "Blooming with the Dwarves": The Dwarf Lake Iris, a rare and stunning flower, has been named Michigan's state flower and can only be found along the northern shores of Lakes Huron and Michigan, as well as in select locations in Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada.
Source => fs.usda.gov

5. Disc Golf in the Porcupine Mountains

Where frisbees meet foliage, and birdies flock with birds: Michigan's Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park boasts an 18-hole disc golf course set among 60,000 acres of old-growth forest, breathtaking Lake Superior shoreline, rivers, trails, and ridges, plus attractions like the mesmerizing Lake of the Clouds and Summit Peak observation tower.
Source => michigan.org

6. Battle Creek: The Cereal Revolution

Bowled over by breakfast: In the 1800s, Battle Creek, Michigan transformed from a sleepy hamlet into a mecca for health nuts seeking salvation through cereal, thanks to the Seventh-day Adventists and the scrumptious innovations of brothers John and W.K. Kellogg.
Source => battlecreekvisitors.org

7. Traverse City's Cherry Pit Spitting Championships

In Michigan, folks don't just cherry-pick their friends – they pit-spit, too: Traverse City started as a humble cherry orchard in the 1890s, but now boasts 3.8 million tart cherry trees, 0.5 million sweet cherry trees, and the Guinness World Record-branded International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship, where the reigning champ spit a pit a jaw-dropping 93 feet, 6 ½ inches.
Source => agilewriter.com

8. Michigan's Unbeatable Freshwater Coastline

If the Great Lakes were to host a beauty pageant, Michigan would be the undisputed prom queen with its 387 charming coastal towns vying for attention: Serving as the epitome of freshwater allurement, Michigan boasts 62% of the Great Lakes basin coastline – the longest freshwater coastline in the world, teeming with sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, and thriving wetlands for everyone's aquatic escapades.
Source => michigan.gov

9. Michigan's Hand Puppet Geography

When residents of Michigan get caught "red-handed" in a game of hand puppet geography: they're actually using their hand as a makeshift map to show where they live in the state! The thumb represents the east side of Saginaw Bay, and the pinkie stands in for the Leelanau Peninsula. This peculiar method is commonly practiced by dwellers in the Lower Peninsula, but remember folks, hands aren't GPS devices – don't rely on them alone for navigation!
Source => greatlakesecho.org

10. Christmas, Michigan: A Year-Round Wonderland

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, 'tis the season to be jolly... all year round at Michigan's very own perpetual winter wonderland: Christmas, Michigan is a town that boasts a 35-foot tall wooden Santa Claus near its welcome sign and got its name from a former factory that produced holiday gifts. Aside from the town's post office – a popular spot for festive-themed postmarked letters – visitors can also explore the Bay Furnace Campground and historic site, with remains of a 19th-century furnace kiln in the long-gone community of Onota.
Source => travelthemitten.com

11. Highland Park Plant: A Manufacturing Marvel

Much like a Swiss Army knife on wheels: The Highland Park plant in Michigan, once owned by Ford, was responsible not just for birthing the moving assembly line, but also manufacturing a whole smorgasbord of products, from Model T cars to tractors, buses, trucks, aircraft parts, rockets, helmets, engines, and even fancy interior trimmings!
Source => corporate.ford.com

12. Hell, Michigan: A Hot Dining Experience

Whoever said "go to Hell" obviously never dined there: In Hell, Michigan, you'll find the Hell Hole Diner, serving up plates of wickedly spicy wings, diabolically hot pizzas, and the sinfully delicious "Satan dogs". But fear not, the fiery feast can be doused at the Hell Saloon, and despite the town's foreboding name, Hell's residents are actually some of Michigan's friendliest folks.
Source => michigan.org

13. Michigan's Unique County Names

Feeling creative with names? Hang out with Henry Schoolcraft and his Michigan mastery, where counties get their title from a Scrabble board mishap or a chatty game of "telephone" using Native American languages: Michigan boasts nine counties with concocted names, courtesy of ethnologist Schoolcraft, and even houses ten counties named after figures from Andrew Jackson's presidential dream team.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

14. Fort Mackinac's Historical Well

When life gives you lemons, dig a well: Fort Mackinac's original well, built by the British in 1780, reached depths of 80 to 150 feet into limestone bedrock, only to fail by the War of 1812 and later be unearthed during an archaeological excavation in 1980.
Source => mackinacparks.com

15. Michigan's Stunning Tunnel of Trees

Just leaf it to Michigan to create the ultimate tree-t: The Tunnel of Trees, a 20-mile scenic drive along M-119, takes travelers through a breathtaking canopy of foliage, starting in Harbor Springs, passing through Good Hart, and ending in Cross Village, with plenty of outdoor activities and charming towns to explore along the way.
Source => mymichiganbeach.com

16. The Divas of Michigan Apples

Michigan apples are quite the "core-celebrities" of the fruit world, flaunting their tantalizing sweetness, taste bud tingling flavors, and fashionable colors, like divas on the red carpet: Those scrumptious scene-stealers owe their luscious reputation to an annual harvest of nearly 24 million bushels, thanks to picture-perfect climate and prime cultivating real estate that places Michigan as one of America's top apple-producing states.
Source => michiganapples.com

17. Michigan's Plethora of Airports

If the Wright Brothers were destined for fame in Michigan, they'd surely have a field day (or maybe an "airfield" day): Michigan boasts of 16 primary commercial service airports and over 120 general aviation airports, accommodating both business and recreational aviation enthusiasts alike.
Source => en.wikipedia.org