Ohio

The Cincinnati Reds were the first professional baseball team. We are ready to play ball, but FIRST you must breakout of the Ohio locks. You have 45 minutes to solve the breakout, so don't strike out !

Ohio is the 7th most populous state in the United States but only 34th in size.

Ohio has an interesting story when it comes to their statehood. Ohio's boundaries and constitution were approved by Thomas Jefferson in 1803. But Ohio wasn't officially granted statehood until 1953 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed and backdated Ohio's admittance to the union. History marks Ohio became a state on March 1, 1803, making it the 17th state of the United States.

The state's capital and largest city is Columbus.

Ohio is bordered by 5 other states: Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Ohio has 3 state nicknames: The Buckeye State, Birthplace of Aviation, The Heart of It All

The burgee-shaped Ohio flag is the only non-rectangular state flag in the U.S.

A burgee is a flag bearing the colors or emblem of a sailing club, usually triangular in shape.

Ohio is a leader in national soybean production. This state is also a top producer of corn, eggs, and dairy products.

Annie Oakley was a famous sharpshooter and the star of Buffalo Bill's famous Wild West Show.

She was born in Willowdell, Ohio. She learned to shoot before she was eight. By the time she was sixteen, she had turned professional. She was so good, she could shoot a dime from between a person's fingers! She could also snuff out a candle flame and shoot holes in playing cards thrown up into the air.

Annie Oakley met Native-American leader Sitting Bull in 1884, and he was so impressed with her manner and abilities that he gave her the name "Little Sure Shot." What was the name she was born with?

Life Savers candy was invented in Cleveland by Clarence A. Crane in 1912. He was originally from Garrettsville.

Ohio is popularly known as the Buckeye State. What is the reason for this nickname? Many Buckeye trees grow Ohio River Valley. These trees produce small brown nuts resembling the eye of a deer; and hence the name Buckeye. Some say it is good luck to carry one in your pocket.

The scarlet carnation was chosen Ohio's state flower in honor of Ohio native William McKinley. He was America's twenty-fifth president. He considered the flower good luck.

Carnations come in a wide variety of colors.

Superman is a comic book superhero. He was created in 1933 by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. The two were in high school at the time and lived in Cleveland, Ohio.

Quaker Oats was trademarked by Akron company General Mills as the first breakfast cereal in 1877.

Amos Tyler of Toledo received the first patent for chewing gum in 1869.

Akron is the rubber capital of the world.

More rubber is made in Akron than in any other city in the world. Benjamin Goodrich built the worlds' first rubber plant there is 1870.

We use this super-stretchy material in thousands of products. Rubber can come from natural sources and can also be made artificially in chemical plants.

Ohio is the state known as, the “birthplace of aviation."

Dayton was the home of Wilbur and Orville Wright, who invented and flew the first airplane.

According to NASA, 23 Buckeyes have gone on to become astronauts, more than any other state.

In 1962, John Glenn was the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. He went around the planet 3 times in the Mercury Friendship 7 capsule. How long was his space trip?

Another Ohioan, Neil Armstrong, was the first man to walk on the moon. The date was July 20, 1969.