In 1541, adventurer Hernando de Soto became the first European to visit Arkansas.1)
Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas (1931-1945) was the first woman elected to a full term as a United States Senator.2)
Arkansas could fit all of Greece and practically all of Puerto Rico.3)
During the height of the AIDS epidemic in Arkansas, a single lady buried and performed funerals for over 40 homosexual men when their own families refused to accept them.4)
Arkansas is home to the country's sole working diamond mine.5)
The World Championship Duck Calling Contest in Arkansas is the oldest duck-calling competition in the world.6)
Arkansas is home to three of America's biggest diamonds.7)
The Fouke Monster, who is said to be a relative of Bigfoot, is said to live in Fouke, Arkansas.8)
Arkansas is one of the few states with a legal pronunciation of its name.9)
Fried pickles, contemporary archery, the Wonder Horse, the Bowie knife, and cheese-filled hot dogs are among famous Arkansas creations.10)
Arkansas consumes more catfish than any other state.11)
Arkansas produces the most rice of any state.12)
Arkansas' hot springs were a favorite “hotspot” for baseball spring training in the early twentieth century.13)
Arkansas has around 11.8 billion trees, and forests cover more than half of the state.14)
Ronald Gene Simmons was Arkansas's deadliest mass killer. He slaughtered his entire family of 14, including his 20-month-old grandson, before shooting two more.15)
In Rogers, Arkansas, Sam Walton established the first WalMart.16)
The word “Arkansas” implies “downstream people”.17)
Phoenix, Arkansas, was called after the mythological bird because it was established on the site of an old Hohokam village.18)
Alma, Arkansas, bills itself as the world's spinach capital because its spinach canning facility formerly processed more than half of all canned spinach in the United States. To honor its lush heritage, the town even boasts a massive Popeye statue.19)
The old Arkansas State Penitentiary served as the site for the Arkansas State Capitol. Long-forgotten wooden coffins were discovered during foundation excavation in 1899.20)
Representative Iva Gurley was killed by the elevator at the state capital building in 1932.21)
Arkansas invented the first cheese dip.22)
As part of the Louisiana Purchase, former French leader Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered Arkansas to the United States.23)
Little Rock is named after a tiny rock feature on the Arkansas River's southern bank known in French as la Petite Roche.24)
Carry A. Nation, an Arkansas native, was so opposed to alcohol that she would destroy it with her hatchets, which she called Faith, Hope, and Charity.25)
Old Mike was a traveling salesman who died and was embalmed in Arkansas in 1911. For nearly 60 years, he was mysteriously placed in public outside a funeral home. He was ultimately laid to rest in 1975.26)
Over 1,000 blackbirds inexplicably dropped from the sky near Beebe, Arkansas, in 2011. Nobody understands why to this day.27)
Deaf Leopard is the mascot of the Arkansas School for the Deaf. The pupils met their mascot's renowned namesake, Def Leppard, in 2016.28)
A violent storm sprang up and dumped down on over 100 ducks in Arkansas in 1973.29)