12 Things You Probably Didn T Know About Illinois

You might think you know this state inside and out. But I bet you there are at least a few things on this list that you didn’t know. Read on for some fun facts about our state:

Illinois means “tribe of superior men”

KAZ Vorpal/Flickr

Peoria is the oldest community in Illinois

Boston Public Library/Flickr

Four presidents were either born in Illinois or were from Illinois: Lincoln, Grant, Reagan, and Obama

Vox Efx/Flickr

Two other cities were the capital before Springfield: Kaskaskia and Vandalia

Matt Turner/Flickr

Illinois was the first state to abolish slavery

loomingy1/Flickr

The state snack food (didn’t know that was a thing!) is popcorn

Andrew Rivett/Flickr

The four stars on the Chicago flag stand for: Fort Dearborn, the Chicago Fire, the Columbian Exposition, and the Century of Progress Exposition

Jim Larrison/Flickr

Illinois has the largest bottle of ketchup

Doug Kerr/Flickr

The word jazz was first coined in Chicago by Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman

Fabio Venni/Flickr

The Lincoln Park Zoo is the nation’s oldest public zoo

Ron Cogswell/Flickr

Twinkies were invented in River Forest

Christian Cable/Flickr

80% of Illinois land is farmland

Roger W/Flickr

Know any other Illinois trivia? Let us know in the comments.