98 Interesting Facts About Ohio

Last updated on August 10th, 2023

68. Zanesville, Ohio, is home to the Y-Bridge, a rare and unusual bridge that crosses the Muskingum and Licking Rivers at the same location.

69. The town of Ravenna, Ohio, is known for being the “Flag City” because it is the birthplace of the Ohio state flag.

70. The Shape of the state resembles that of a heart. The slogan “The Heart of It All” was widely used to promote the state’s professional, educational, and recreational opportunities.

71. About half of the United States population is within 500 miles. One of Ohio’s state slogans is “The Heart of it All,” so it makes sense for Columbus to be a drivable distance to and from major cities like New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit. All those cities and many more can be reached by car on a day trip (eight hours or less). A robust highway system makes getting around and seeing many different parts of the country easy.

72. The nickname “Buckeye State” comes from the buckeye tree, which grew abundantly on the state’s plains and hills. The tree’s seeds resemble a buck’s eye and hence the tree’s name.

73. Dublin, Ohio, hosts one of the world’s largest Irish festivals, the annual Dublin Irish Festival.

74. Put-in-Bay, Ohio, on South Bass Island, is known for its annual “Pyrate Fest,” where visitors dress up as pirates and participate in pirate-themed activities.

75. Circleville, Ohio, hosts an annual Pumpkin Show featuring giant pumpkins, parades, and pumpkin-flavored treats.

76. Kent, Ohio, is known for its annual “Undie Run,” where college students run through the streets wearing only their underwear.

77. Akron, Ohio, is home to the Rubber Duck Derby, an annual event where thousands of rubber ducks race down the Cuyahoga River.

78. Yellow Springs, Ohio, hosts an annual “Zombie Walk,” where participants dress up as zombies and roam the streets. This event typically takes place in September.

79. Avon, Ohio, is the “Duct Tape Capital” of the world, and to honor the heritage and history of the city, a duct tape festival is held every year in the city. The city is home to Duck® brand duct tape. The festival showcases duct tape in all forms, including sculptures, art, fashion, etc.

80. The world’s largest annual gathering of twins is organized in Twinsburg, Ohio.

81. Here is an interesting fact about the twins, Jim Lewis and Jim Springer, who got separated after three weeks after their birth, lived apart for 39 years, and when they met, they were surprised to learn that they led almost similar lives while living just 45 miles apart. Lewis and Springer were born Aug. 19, 1939, at Piqua Memorial Hospital to an unwed 15-year-old immigrant, who immediately put them up for adoption. During their childhood, they both enjoyed math and carpentry in school; in adulthood, they married a woman named Linda, got divorced, and then got re-married to a woman named Betty, and they each had a son named Alan who worked as a security guard and was an avid chain smoker. Jim Lewis lived in Lima, Ohio, and Jim Springer in Piqua, Ohio. The University of Minnesota researchers invited the duo to collect data for their ongoing study.

82. With 31.5% of the adult population of Ohio suffering from Obesity in 2016, Ohio was ranked at the 19th spot by Adult Obesity Rate by State, 2016.

83. In 1896, Old Bet was the first circus elephant killed in the United States. Her death occurred in the town of Somerville, Ohio.

84. Ohio has nearly 75,000 farms and more than 14 million acres. Farming being Ohio’s number one industry, contributes more than $100 billion to the state’s economy.

85. Ohio is among the top three manufacturing employment providers in the United States. It is known for manufacturing tires, jet engines, machine tools, auto assembly, office machines, refrigeration, and heating equipment, among many others. Tourism is also a major industry in the state.

86. Goodyear (The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company), among the world’s top four tire manufacturing companies, was founded in 1899 in Akron, Ohio. Akron was also nicknamed the “Rubber Capital of the World.”

87. Columbus is the home of Wendy’s. The first Wendy’s was located on the corner of 5^th and Broad in downtown Columbus in 1969. Dave Thomas named the restaurant after his daughter, Melinda “Wendy” Thomas. Wendy’s has grown into the third largest hamburger chain in the world, with over 6700 locations.^[38

88. Toledo, Ohio, is known as the “Glass City” due to its historical significance in the glass manufacturing industry.

89. The world’s largest collection of Airstream trailers can be found at the Airstream factory in Jackson Center, Ohio.

90. The National Inventors Hall of Fame, located in Akron, Ohio, honors inventors who have significantly contributed to society.

91. The fire in a coal mine set by its workers in 1884 near New Straitsville, southeast of Columbus, is still burning. The workers had a dispute with the mining company regarding their wages. The workers used coal and timber to set fire in the cars and then pushed the cars into the mine. It is estimated that more than two hundred square miles of coal has burned. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began.

92. The city of Oberlin, Ohio, is home to Oberlin College, which became the first institution of higher education in the United States to admit women and African Americans regularly.

93. In 1862, after graduating from Oberlin College (Lorain County, Ohio), Mary Jane Patterson, became the first African-American woman to gain a bachelor’s degree.

94. Did you know that 21-year-old Maya Lin from Ohio designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial? An undergraduate at Yale University, she beat out over 1,400 competitors in a competition to design the memorial. Interestingly, her professor was also among her competitors.

95. Cleveland, Ohio, is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which showcases the history and achievements of notable musicians and artists. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was opened on September 2, 1995.

96. Ohio has an official state rock song, “Hang On Sloopy” by The McCoys, adopted in 1985.

97. Wooster, Ohio, hosts the annual Ohio Light Opera, the country’s only resident professional company dedicated to Operetta.

98. The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield gained fame as the filming location for the movie “The Shawshank Redemption.”

Facts about the Ohio Flag

1. The Ohio state flag is the only US state flag that doesn’t have a rectangular shape. The distinctive and unique ‘swallow tail’ design was based on a pennant used by the state’s cavalry in the 19th century.

2. Ohio had no official state flag for almost 100 years after becoming the 17th state. The current flag was designed for the Pan-American exposition by a professor of engineering, John Eisenmann, in 1901 and was officially used as the state’s flag the following year.

3. An Ohio boy scout named Alex Weinstock devised an official way to fold the flag. The folding procedure takes two people and involves 17 different folding moves. The 17 folds symbolize that Ohio was the 17th state admitted to the Union. A salute to the flag was adopted in 2002 by the state’s General Assembly to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the flag’s founding.

4. The colors red, white, and blue on the Ohio flag represent the natural elements found in the state. Specifically, the large blue triangle represents the state’s valleys and hills, while the red and white bands symbolize rivers, canals, and roads, and the large letter O suggests the buckeye that gives Ohio its nickname.

5. The Ohio State flag has been criticized over the years for looking too similar to the national flags of Japan, Cuba, and the Philippines. Today, however, the flag is regularly displayed at college football games throughout the state, and several Ohio counties and cities have devised a similar-looking swallowtail design for their flag.

Ohio State – Quick facts and state symbols