21 Wonderful Wisconsin Facts

Published May 24, 2024

The drunkest city in America is Milwaukee, Wisconsin._[5]
The waitlist to become a Green Bay Packers season ticket holder has about 147,000 names. The wait time is an estimated 30 years._[7]
The first and last person to be executed in Wisconsin was John McCaffary. His botched execution was so horrific to watch that Wisconsin voted to abolish the death penalty. Sentenced to death by hanging for killing his wife, McCaffary struggled for 20 minutes before dying._[10]
From 1935–1937, Wisconsin required all restaurants to serve cheese and butter with every meal._[8]

Why the pink flamingo? Because in 1979, several University of Wisconsin-Madison students pranked the dean by decorating the lawn near his office with exactly 1008 of the plastic birds

The official bird of Madison, Wisconsin, is the pink plastic flamingo._[2]
There is an upside-down replica of the White House in Wisconsin. Even the interior and furnishings are upside down._[11]
Native peoples arrived in Wisconsin around 10,000 years ago. Original inhabitants included Huron, Ho-Chunk, Sioux, Kickapoo, and Ojibwe Native American tribes._[14]
The name "Wisconsin" is from the Native American word meskonsing, which means "it lies red," in reference to the Wisconsin River._[14]
Wisconsin's nickname is "The Badger State." It is named for both the animal and the miners, who dug holes in the ground, like the animal._[2]
Because Wisconsin produces more cheese than any other state and the second highest amount of milk (after California), it is also known as "America's Dairyland," "The Dairy State," and "The Cheese State."_[2]
Residents of Wisconsin are known as Wisconsinites or "Cheeseheads."_[14]
Wisconsin has more water than any state besides Alaska, Florida, and Michigan._[4]
Wisconsin Dells is known as the "Waterpark Capital of the World." It has the most waterparks by area in the world, including Noah's Ark, the largest waterpark in the United States._[13]

In the Barbie universe, Barbie is from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin

Famous Wisconsinites include Laura Ingalls Wilder, Georgia O'Keefe, Chris Farley, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Orson Welles, and electric guitarist Les Paul._[2]
Although famed magician Harry Houdini was born in Hungary, he grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin._[3]
The Swiss cheese capital of the world is Monroe, Wisconsin._[6]
Madison, Wisconsin, is home to the World's Largest Brat Fest, which is held every Memorial Day weekend._[15]
Milwaukee is home to the world's largest music festival. Called Summerfest, it attracts over 800,000 people a year._[9]
Several scenes in the 2011 movie Bridesmaids were filmed in Wisconsin, including the jewelry store where Annie worked._[1]
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, is the "Troll Capital of the World." Rich in Norwegian culture, the town decided to erect several carvings of trolls in an attempt to draw in visitors and tourists._[12]
The oldest city in Wisconsin is Green Bay. It was originally called "Bay of Stinkers" because the water near the city was smelly._[2]