20 Incredible Facts That Make Iowa Like No Other Place in the World

The corn capital of the U.S. has much more than that one yellow crop! There are tons of things about Iowa that make it a unique and beautiful place to live. In fact, corn isn’t the only crop that Iowa has topped the charts on. Iowa also harvests the most pork in the U.S.

Whether you live in Iowa or just love to visit, you’ll enjoy our list of 20 incredible facts about the state.

1. It’s the Hawkeye State

While you may think of the arrow-shooting Avenger from Marvel, Iowa’s nickname comes from a Native American warrior. Black Hawk, or Hawkeye, was a character in James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans.

2. The State Bird Is the Eastern Goldfinch

The eastern, or American, goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa, New Jersey, and Washington State. These small birds are usually yellow to lime green and mainly live in North America, where they are native. 

3. There Is an Island City

While the land-locked state of Iowa may not be your first thought of ‘Margaritaville’, it actually is home to one city that’s also an island. Look out Key West, I’m talking about Sabula, IA. With a population of just 506, it’s a small town that serves as a popular vacation spot in the warm months!

4. Iowa Has More Pigs Than People

For every person in the state of Iowa, there are 7 hogs! It’s the top-producing state in the U.S. regarding pork production, and at 23.6 million pigs, it overtakes other states by a landslide. 

5. Iowa Is the Only State Name That Starts with 2 Vowels

It’s true! This unique state has a name that is just as special. But if you’re talking to someone outside of America, you may have to go over how to pronounce Iowa a time or two! 

6. It’s Home to One of the Biggest State Fairs

The Iowa State Fair is the largest event in the state, garnering over a million visitors each year. It got its start in 1854 and continues to draw huge crowds to this day. One of the most unique features of the fair is the life-size statue of a cow — made solely out of butter!

7. Iowa Was the 29th State To Join the Union

Iowa was admitted to the union on December 28, 1846. It was paired with Florida, a slave state, to preserve the balance of free and slave states. 

8. It’s the (Future) Birthplace of Captian Kirk

Steve Miller — a huge fan of the series and former city council member — first suggested that Riverside, IA, lay claim to Captain Kirk’s birthplace in 1985. He read in ‘The Making of Star Trek’ that Captain Kirk was born (in 2233) in a small town in Iowa, so he figured that his town was as good as any. 

In a council meeting, he proposed that the annual River Festival be changed to Trekfest. He also proposed that the town claim to be the ‘small town’ in which Kirk was born. With a seconding motion of ‘why not?’, the city ran with it, changing their slogan to ‘Where the Trek Begins’. 

While Paramount threatened legal action at first, the extra fame from the town’s festival made up for the copyright encroachment. Eventually, Miller’s perseverance won, and in the 2009 remake of Star Trek, a scene shows Kirk’s landing (albeit, not birth) in Riverside. 

9. It’s Home to the National Hobo Convention

Each year, thousands of hobos come to the city of Britt, IA, to gather and convene. They identify themselves as “homeless by choice”, riding freight trains and traveling while looking for work. The hobos build a hobo jungle, offer free entertainment, and sell crafts to visitors. They also crown the King and Queen of the hobos, which is usually the highlight of the entire event. 

10. It’s Home to the Red Delicious

While hogs and corn take the crown in the Hawkeye state, it’s lesser known as the home of the red delicious apple variety. It was first discovered growing in Peru, where the farmer thought it was a pest. Jesse Hiatt tried cutting the red delicious seedling down a few times, but it just kept growing back. After one last attempt, he decided to let it grow and produce. The apples it grew were sweet, vibrant, and crunchy.

11. A Shrine in Iowa Is Considered the 8th Wonder of the World

The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption is the largest man-made grotto in the world. A grotto is a cave, either natural or man-made, used by humans. The Grotto of the Redemption is made up of nine separate grottos that connect. Each of the grottos depicts a scene in the life of Christ. It includes precious stones, shells, fossils, and minerals. 

12. The State Flower Is the Prairie Rose

The prairie rose, or wild rose, is the state flower of Iowa. The bright pink blossoms stand out against the plants’ vibrant green foliage. It was selected as the state flower after being used in a ceremony in 1897. 

13. Buddy Holly Crashed In Iowa

The plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. Richardson, and Roger Peterson happened in 1959. The crash location is just north of Clear Lake. 

14. It’s the Home of John Wayne

The famous actor was born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907 in Winterset. The city proudly hosts an annual birthday celebration for John Wayne. It also has a museum of his life and career, even showcasing their early family home. 

15. Sliced Bread Comes from Iowa

The first single-loaf bread-slicing machine got its start in Iowa. Otto Frederick Rohwedder built the machine in 1912, though it was destroyed in a fire. He rebuilt it in 1928 and it was tested by the Chillicothe Baking Company. 

16. It’s Home to the World’s Longest Recreational Bicycle Event

Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, or RAGBRAI, is a bike ride that covers over 460 miles. It’s an 8-day event that gathers thousands of visitors from all across the U.S. Each town along the ride offers food, entertainment, and lodging. 

17. Iowa Is the Home of Butterfly Stroke

The butterfly arm stroke, a swimming technique that’s popular around the world, started at the University of Iowa. Coach David Armbruster was looking to make breaststroke faster, so he tried a few methods and came up with butterfly stroke. 

18. It Has A Pretty Small Population

An estimated 3.2 million people were living in Iowa in 2021. That’s about the same population as the city of Los Angeles!

19. The Crookedest Street in the World Is in Iowa

Snake Alley is a well-fitting name for this one-line, winding, steep road. It earned the name “The Crookedest Street in the World” from Robert L. Ripley, who saw it himself in person and added it to his Ripley’s Believe It, or Not! book. The street is in Burlington, and each year, it hosts an annual uphill bike rice.

20. The World’s Largest Wooden Nickel Is in Iowa

This large attraction is 16 feet across and stands at the edge of a cornfield in Iowa City. Jim Glasgow and his friends made it in protest of a county project. Johnson County was planning to pave Newport Road, a hilly, winding road that had lots of character. The city planned to remove some of the trees, take out some hills, and make the road a bit flatter. However, once Glasgow put up the statue, the protest succeeded and the project was abandoned.  

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Natalia Kuzmina/Shutterstock.com