10 Facts About Kentucky You Probably Didn’t Know

I've spent my entire life living here in Kentucky. Yup, 20 years of living and learning here have taught me a lot. But even then, there's still so much I don't know about Kentucky that I decided to do a bit of research about my home state. Here are 10 facts about Kentucky that you probably didn't know about.

That's right. Until 3M's patent expired in 1990, Post-It notes were only made in Cynthiana, Kentucky. Even after 3M's patent expired, Cynthiana is responsible for most of the world's supply of Post-It notes. Two fun side facts about Cynthiana, it was featured in the movie Blues Brothers 2000, and is the home town Rick Grimes in the comic book series The Walking Dead. Sources here.

Do you know what the absolute highest point in Kentucky is? Well, you do now! The summit of Black Mountain, located near the Kentucky-Virginia state border, is about 4,140 ft above mean sea level! That's a full 500 ft higher than any other mountain in Kentucky. Sources here.

Now that you know about the highest point in Kentucky, it's only natural that you should know the lowest point in Kentucky as well. At the very bottom of a limestone quarry in Livingston County lies the absolute lowest point you can find yourself at in Kentucky. (-90.3 ft below mean sea level) Sources here.

Mammoth Cave is the undisputed longest cave system in the entire world. As of date, there are over 420 miles explored in the cave system, with more parts of the cave to still yet to explore. Mammoth Cave really lives up to its name, huh? I visited Mammoth Cave a long time ago, and I remember loving my time there! Sources here.

Patty and Mildred Hill were two sisters living in Louisville. Patty was a kindergarten principal, and Mildred was a pianist. They worked together to make a song that was easy for kindergarten kids to listen to and sing. Their song was "Good Morning to All," as the melody to what we now sing as "Happy Birthday." Sources here.

Cumberland Falls State Park Resort is one of the few places where you can see a moonbow. What is a moonbow? A moonbow is similar to a normal rainbow, but occurs when the moonlight refracts, reflects, and refracts again through a water droplet. If you want to see a moonbow you better head to Cumberland Falls because the other closest location is in California. Sources here.

The Louisville Slugger is perhaps the world's most famous type of baseball bat. Did you know that Kentucky is home to the world's largest baseball bat? Standing 120 feet tall and clocking in at 34 tons of hollow carbon steel, this giant baseball bat spends its life resting against the Louisville Slugger museum. Sources here.

While we all know the state KFC originated from, do you know the actual town? In 1930, Harland Sanders owned a Shell gas station just outside of North Corbin. He would go on to convert the station's storeroom into a dining area where he would serve food. He would also modify a pressure cooker into a pressure fryer to cook his chicken faster and better and he also developed his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. Sources here.

Did you know just how much gold is stored in Fort Knox? It's a staggering amount, almost impossible to perceive or think about rationally. Fort Knox is storing about 147.3 million ounces of gold today. Now, the market value of gold changes daily, but it's easy to see that Fort Knox holds the most expensive store of gold in America. Sources here.

Many people know about Kentucky's main state symbols like Bluegrass, Thoroughbred Horses, and the Cardinal, but do you know about the other state symbols? The Honey Bee is Kentucky's official state insect! Did you also know about our official state fruit, the Blackberry? Ok, maybe you knew about those two but I guarantee you don't know about our official state fossil. I didn't even know states had official fossils! Our official state fossil is the Brachiopod. They resemble clams, though they don't burrow into the sand. More about those state symbols here.