Despite the fact that Abraham Lincoln lived in Indiana for about a quarter of his life, his autobiographies include less than 800 words regarding his time there.¹⁾

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway holds the record for hosting the most attendees for a single-day athletic event, with an estimated capacity of over 425,000 spectators.²⁾

Fisher, Newby, Wheeler, and Allison Elementary Schools in Speedway, Indiana, are named after the four individuals that contributed to the construction of the Indianapolis 500 racetrack.³⁾

In 1871, the Cleveland Forest Cities and the Fort Wayne Kekiongas played the inaugural major league baseball game in Indiana.⁴⁾

The United States Congress gave Indiana its name, which means “land of the Indians” .⁵⁾

Nobody knows the origins or original meaning of the term “Hoosier,” the customary nickname for an Indiana inhabitant.⁶⁾

Popcorn, Indiana, has such a small population that the US Census does not include it in its surveys.⁷⁾

Every year, Indiana, the second-largest producer of popcorn in the United States and home to Orville Redenbacher's famed popcorn business, celebrates two distinct popcorn festivals.⁸⁾

People in Europe and Australia refer to gasoline pumps as “bowsers”, after the creator, Sylvanus Freelove Bowser, a lifetime Indiana resident.⁹⁾

The “Indiana” brand popcorn is manufactured in New York.¹⁰⁾

Every Christmas, the post office in Santa Claus, Indiana, gets 20,000 letters to Santa.¹¹⁾

Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken is a native of Indiana.¹²⁾

While Indiana inventor Richard Jordan Gatling was attempting to sell his Gatling machine gun to the Union army, he was also a hidden member of a gang of Confederate sympathizers and saboteurs.¹³⁾

The earliest known usage of a rearview mirror occurred in the first Indianapolis 500, when Ray Harroun won by substituting the then-common second man, whose duty it was to keep an eye on what was going on behind the vehicle, with a mirror, thereby cutting weight.¹⁴⁾

Indiana's state motto is “The Crossroads of America”, owing to the numerous interstate routes that crisscross the state or to Highways 40 and 41, which helped connect the eastern and western United States.¹⁵⁾

The first robbery in which a moving train was actually halted by the robbers occurred in Jackson County, Indiana, in 1866. Because of the little population, the burglars picked this spot.¹⁶⁾

Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman, was a missionary and successful businessman who planted apple trees across Ohio and Indiana. at 1845, he was interred at Fort Wayne, Indiana.¹⁷⁾

Levi and Catharine Coffin, Quakers who lived in what is now Fountain City, Indiana, are credited with assisting nearly 2,000 enslaved individuals in escaping by utilizing their home as an essential station on the Underground Railroad.¹⁸⁾

Indiana's state flower was changed from zinnia to peony in 1957.¹⁹⁾

Elvis Presley had his final live concert in Indianapolis in 1977, little over a month before his death from a heart attack.²⁰⁾

Eckhart, Indiana is renowned as the “RV Capital of the World”, since it produced more than 80% of the world's RVs for decades.²¹⁾

Despite being based in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, the smash television series Parks and Recreation was actually shot in Southern California.²²⁾

Michael Jackson grew up in Gary, Indiana, in a two-bedroom house with his family, which had eight siblings.²³⁾

This song, which is sung yearly before the opening ceremonies of the Indianapolis 500 race over Memorial Day weekend, is possibly the most well-known song about Indiana. Ballard MacDonald and James F. Hanley wrote it, and it was originally published in 1917. The official State Song, “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away,” inspired the songwriters.²⁴⁾

The Al Brady and John Dillinger gangs frequented The Slippery Noodle Inn in Indianapolis, one of Indiana's oldest pubs, which opened in 1850. The gangs practiced target shooting in the back building (formerly the horse stable). Several gunshots are still imbedded in the lower east wall today.²⁵⁾

Many uncommon plants thrive in the Indiana Dunes region on Lake Michigan's shore, including prickly pear cactus, lichen mosses, bearberry, and more than 20 orchid kinds. Mount Baldy, the largest of the sand dunes, is a living dune that travels a few feet away from the beach each year.²⁶⁾

Check your gear before going fishing because it is unlawful to capture a fish using explosives, weapons, a crossbow, or your bare hands. Also, if you're very thirsty, don't go to a liquor store since it's prohibited for them to offer you a cold soft drink or water.²⁷⁾

Look for the famed “Big Peach” in front of the produce market at Bruceville on US 41 just north of Vincennes. It stands 20 feet tall adjacent to a copy of the Washington Monument.²⁸⁾

Greensburg residents saw a little sprig sprouting out of the corner of their courthouse tower in the 1870s. A tree had grown in the gaps of the roof, 110 feet above the earth. Other sprigs germinated as well. All but two were removed, and one grew to be 15 feet tall and five feet around. While one tree was dying, two more trees sprang and have now been there for over a century.²⁹⁾

Schuyler Colfax, Thomas A. Hendricks, Charles W. Fairbanks, Thomas Marshall, Dan Quayle, and Mike Pence are the six individuals from Indiana who have been chosen vice president. Indiana has acquired the moniker “Mother of Vice Presidents”.³⁰⁾

When Nancy Kerlin Barnett died in 1831, her family had her buried on a tiny hill near Amity overlooking Sugar Creek, which was her favorite spot. In the aftermath, a tiny cemetery was established in the region. When Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh was constructed, numerous minor graves were uprooted and relocated, with the exception of Nancy Barnett, whose son opposed. Later, when a bridge across Sugar Creek was proposed, Nancy's grandson came to her rescue, camping there with his shotgun and refusing to be disturbed. As a result, the county erected a road around it and a concrete slab on top of the grave. It will not be moved since it was designated as a historical landmark in 1912.³¹⁾

Lowell Elliot of Peru was claimed to have discovered $500,000 in cash on his property in June 1972. The money looked to have fallen from the skies. And, indeed, it did! A skyjacker had dropped his stolen money over Elliot's property after parachuting out of an aircraft. Elliot gave the money back to the authorities.³²⁾

Martinsville, Virginia, had the first successful goldfish farm in the United States in 1899.³³⁾

Indiana is in the Midwestern and Great Lakes regions of the United States.³⁴⁾

Indiana is bound by Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and Illinois to the west.³⁵⁾

With a total area of 36,418 mi2 (94,321 km2), Indiana is the 13th smallest state, sandwiched between Kentucky and Maine.³⁶⁾

Indiana's northwest corner sits on Lake Michigan, where the suburbs of Greater Chicago flow into the state.³⁷⁾

Indianapolis is Indiana's capitol and biggest city.³⁸⁾

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians is Indiana's only federally recognized Native American band.³⁹⁾

Indiana tourism slogans have included “Honest to Goodness Indiana”, “Wander Indiana,” and “Enjoy Indiana”.⁴⁰⁾

Indiana is one of the few states without an official state fish or animal, however the river otter has been considered.⁴¹⁾

Indiana's state flag depicts a gold flame and rays on a blue backdrop, signifying enlightenment. They are encircled by an outside circle of 13 stars, symbolizing the original 13 states, and an inner circle of 5 stars, representing the states listed below, with the largest, center star representing Indiana.⁴²⁾

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus is regarded as the world's first theme park.⁴³⁾

In addition, Indiana has 24 state parks. Brown County State Park is by far the largest and most frequented. The park is well-known for its outdoor activities and fall foliage.⁴⁴⁾

Indiana has over 900 lakes, the greatest of which is Lake Michigan. Lake Wawasee is the state's largest natural lake.⁴⁵⁾

Indiana also has 43 national historic landmarks. There are old earth mounds, a historic courthouse, carousels, a car factory, a cotton mill, an aqueduct, a racetrack, a war monument, churches, a covered bridge, and more on the list.⁴⁶⁾