Thursday Thirteen

I am a Virginia girl. My ancestry goes back to the American Revolutionary War here on my mother's side; I've traced it back 9 generations. So I thought today I'd offer up some information on the state that I love, even if the legislators in Richmond are trying to ruin it.

1. Virginia's capital is Richmond, but the largest city is Virginia Beach. Virginia has 95 counties.

2. The state encompasses 39,490 square miles, and has 8 million people living here, or 202 people per square mile.

3. The median household income is $63,907. Just over 35 percent of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

4. The poverty rate in Virginia is 11.8 percent; government officials estimate 12.5 percent of the population does not have health care (as of 2014; this may have changed with the Affordable Care Act).

5. Virginia is the mother of presidents. We have sent eight men to the White House. They are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.

6. Virginia's motto is Sic Semper Tyrannis, which means Thus Always to Tyrants. This probably makes more sense when combined with the state flag, which shows an image of Virtue standing over a defeated tyrant. (Allegedly, this is supposed to be Virginia over Britain.)

7. Virginia's state bird is a cardinal, the state dog is the American fox hound, the state insect is the tiger swallowtail butterfly, the state fish is the brook trout, the state shell is the oyster, the state beverage is milk, and the state tree and flower is the American Dogwood. (I have always wondered why the dogwood is the state flower. The blooms on the tree are pretty, but they aren't flowers, really.)

8. The state's major industries are agriculture, tourism, construction of U.S. Navy ships, mining, lumber, and government workers.

9. Famous writers from Virginia include David Baldacci, Willa Cather, Ellen Glasgow, Mary Johnston, Edgar Allen Poe, Tom Wolfe, and many others.

10. Famous musicians from Virginia include Maybelle Carter, June Carter Cash, Patsy Cline, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Matthews, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Statler Brothers, and Bruce Hornsby.

11. Famous Hollywood figures from Virginia include Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, and Katy Couric.

12. The American Revolution ended in Virginia at Yorktown.

13. Almost a quarter of the Appalachian Trail runs through Virginia (544 miles). Virginia hosts more of the trail than any of the 14 states through which the route passes.



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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 418th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.