Discover the Magic of the Big Easy: Top 9 Fun Facts About New Orleans You Can't Miss

1. Above Ground Burials

Where the dead don't stay "six feet under": In New Orleans, over 90% of burials at Metairie Cemetery are above ground, thanks to a 1830s city council ordinance and an exemption for existing cemeteries that solidified this unique practice in the face of rising water tables.
Source => experienceneworleans.com

2. Audubon Zoo: Noah's Stylish Ark

If Noah's Ark had a super stylish cousin parked in New Orleans, it would be called the Audubon Zoo: Spanning over 58 acres, this animal haven is home to more than 2,000 critters from Asian elephants to sun bears, offering a veritable around-the-world safari experience for its awestruck visitors.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

Did you know that 1.5 million bats call Austin's Congress Avenue Bridge their home, creating the world's largest urban bat colony? Witness their nightly insect feast and join the delighted locals and tourists! 🦇

=> Fun Facts about Texas

3. Snowball Fights, NOLA Style

In the land where Mardi Gras beads reign supreme, snowball fights take on a different, sweeter connotation: New Orleans is famous for its snowballs, a scrumptious summer dessert consisting of fluffy shaved ice drenched in sweet syrups, and often garnished with mix-ins and toppings, a tradition that dates back to the 1930s with George Ortolano and Ernest Hansen's invention of the first ice-shaving machines, and now has snowball stands sprinkled throughout almost every neighborhood in the city.
Source => neworleans.com

4. Storyville: Netflix and Jazz

In the days when "Netflix and chill" came with a side of live jazz: New Orleans had its very own red-light district known as Storyville from 1897 to 1917. However, city officials didn't approve of this jazzy playground and shut the district down in 1917 after pressure from the Army and Navy, who deemed it a "bad influence" on soldiers; now, the area is mostly occupied by public housing.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. Hauntings and Voodoo Parties

Where there's smoke, there's fire, and where there's voodoo, there's a party – especially in New Orleans: This lively city is not only known for Mardi Gras but also for its spooky tales and haunted locales, such as Antoine's, a restaurant said to be haunted by the original dapper-suited owner, and the St. Louis Cemetery housing the crypt of Marie Laveau, the famed Voodoo Queen who may just grant your wish if you knock thrice and leave her some nice gifts.
Source => cnbc.com

6. Yat: The Big Easy's Linguistic Gumbo

New Orleans, where words get a taste of the Big Easy: Yat, a local dialect, is a linguistic jambalaya of distinctive pronunciations and expressions, like "ax" for "ask." More than just a way of speaking, Yat is a state of mind, embracing tradition and sinfully rich cuisine, leading to the prevalence of obesity and distinctive facial dots among native New Orleanians.
Source => gumbopages.com

7. Dionysus: Mardi Gras' Ancient Fratbro

Party like it's 400 BCE, and Dionysus is your fratbro: Ancient carnival celebrations drew inspiration from the Greek god of wine and revelry, who loved chaos as much as we love a good Mardi Gras parade. Though there isn't a direct link between the Bacchanalian bashes and modern Mardi Gras, we can still raise a glass to Dionysus for his wildly festive influence.
Source => mardigrastraditions.com

8. Hand Grenade: The Indefusable Party Drink

In the land of Mardi Gras and beignets, there's a party grenade that refuses to be defused: Behold the Hand Grenade, a signature cocktail of New Orleans invented by Pam Fortner and Earl Bernhardt during the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition! This juggernaut concoction combines vodka, rum, gin, and melon liquor, and has been detonating taste buds in the French Quarter since 1992 through five licensed nightclub bars. Served either frozen or on the rocks in a green, comically oversized, and charmingly textured grenade-shaped container, this potent potable continues to disarm (and occasionally disorient!) even the savviest of cocktail connoisseurs.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. Napoleon's Pirate Adventure and Sandwiches

If Napoleon Bonaparte, legendary military leader and fashion icon, had ever hitched a ride with pirates to New Orleans, he'd have enjoyed a Muffuletta sandwich and a Pimm's Cup Poolside: Rumor has it that the Napoleon House, now a popular restaurant, was once the home of Nicholas Girod, the city's first elected mayor and a War of 1812 hero, who allegedly conspired to rescue the exiled French emperor and bring him to the Big Easy.
Source => frenchquartermag.com