X-Nico

99 unusual facts about Washington


17th Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 17th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia in 1941.

2011 Spokane bombing attempt

On March 9, 2011, the FBI arrested Kevin William Harpham, 36, of Addy, Washington, in connection with the bombing attempt.

20th Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 20th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia in 1947, by the E.W. Scripps Company.

24th Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 24th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia in 1951, by the E.W. Scripps Company.

27th Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 27th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia in 1954, by the E.W. Scripps Company.

31st Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 31st Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia in 1958, by the E.W. Scripps Company.

A Movie Script Ending

The song begins with references to "the air on Railroad" and "the shopfronts on Holly," Railroad and Holly being two intersecting streets in downtown Bellingham, Washington, Death Cab for Cutie's hometown.

Alvan Flanders

Flanders moved to the Territory of Washington in 1863 and engaged in mercantile pursuits in Wallula.

Aphonia Recordings

Although their collaborations remained intermittent through their teenage years they would later find themselves both studying experimental music composition at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

Batus Inc.

The Crescent of Spokane, Washington (became Frederick & Nelson 1988) In 1982, BATUS purchased Marshall Field's, owners of The Crescent.

Boundary Bay, British Columbia

South of it, across the border, is the community of Maple Beach, Washington, although there is no border crossing directly connecting the two communities (the border crossing is in Tsawwassen proper).

British Embassy, Washington

It is located at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C.

Charles William Forman

Charles William Forman was born on March 3, 1821 in Washington, Kentucky, United States.

Chetlo Harbor, Washington

Chetlo Harbor, also known as over the years as Cougar Bend, Napoleon, and Stanley, was a small settlement located near the southwest coast of Washington State, in the southeast corner of Willapa Bay at the mouth of the Naselle River.

Chris Cleary

Chris Cleary (born August 2, 1979 in Washington, D.C.) is a retired American soccer player whose professional career had been played entirely in Europe.

Committee for a Revolutionary Socialist Party

A First National Conference attended by 100 members and fraternal representatives of these groups met in Union, Washington Oct. 6-9, 1978.

Crime victim advocacy program

A typical one is located in SW Washington state in the counties of Clark, Wahkiakum, and Cowlitz, was started in January 2006 for the expressed purpose of helping victims of general crime.

David Boone

His body was discovered outside of his house in the resort community of Point Roberts, Washington.

Defender-class boat

The boats are built by SAFE Boats International (Secure All-around Flotation Equipped) of Port Orchard, Washington, a vendor of government and law enforcement boats.

Discovery Bay, Washington

Cape George is located on high bluffs at the northeast entrance of the bay.

Eglon

Eglon, Washington, a community in the U.S. state of Washington on the Kitsap Peninsula

Farm Credit Council

The Farm Credit Council was established in 1983 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is governed by a 23-person board that implements policy positions.

French Camp, California

French Camp was the southernmost regular camp site of the Hudson's Bay Company southern fur brigades sent from Fort Vancouver (now Vancouver, Washington), established by Michel Laframboise in 1832.

George Massey Tunnel

It is located approximately 20 km (12 mi) south of the city centre of Vancouver, British Columbia, and approximately 30 km (20 mi) north of the Canada-U.S. Border at Blaine, Washington.

Glacier View Wilderness

Glacier View Wilderness is administered by the Gifford Pinchot National Forest through the Cowlitz Valley Ranger district with headquarters located in Randle, Washington.

Henry Pittock

In 1866 he was a partner in the first paper mill in the Northwest, at Oregon City, and later a second mill there and another at Camas, Washington.

Hunters, Washington

These communities include Cedonia, Washington, Bissel, Gifford, and Daisy to the north and Fruitland and Enterprise to the south.

I Still Miss Someone

Jimmy Buffett performed the song as a dedication to Cash at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington on September 16, 2003, four days after Cash's death.

J.M. McDonald

After about six months in Kemmerer, McDonald went to Spokane, Washington, to assists his brothers in a department store venture there.

John W. Sprague

He was instrumental in selecting the route for the railroad's Pacific Division, from what later became Kalama, Washington, to Tacoma.

Johnston Blakeley

Blakely Island, part of the San Juan Islands in Washington state, and Port Blakely were named by Charles Wilkes during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838-1842, in honor of Johnston Blakeley.

Joseph Kearney

He then became a high school principal in the state of Washington when he was hired by Onalaska High School (Onalaska, Washington), where he also taught and coached.

Juba Kalamka

In 2005, Kalamka was contacted by artist and sex worker advocate Annie Oakley (whom he'd met at the Olympia, Washington queer arts fest HomoAGoGo) and accepted an invitation to tour with The Sex Workers' Art Show, a month long cross-country cabaret style theater event featuring current and former sex worker artist/activists.

Lake Revelstoke

The dam's site is at what had been the head of river navigation by steamboat from Northport, Washington via the Arrow Lakes.

Lenox Dale, Massachusetts

There is also a marble quarry on the border with the town of Washington.

Liz Pike

Liz Pike was born on January 7, 1960, and raised on a Brush Prairie, Washington dairy farm as one of 13 children.

Lloyd District, Portland, Oregon

TriMet buses and MAX trains provide frequent service in the district, as well as a commuter express bus route form Vancouver via C-Tran.

Lou Stewart

During that time, Stewart was the Labor Council's chief state lobbyist in Olympia.

Lyle, Washington

In 1866 French sold his holdings to James O. Lyle from The Dalles, Oregon, and moved to White Bluffs.

Manson, Washington

Manson is part of the WenatcheeEast Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Marine Barracks

Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. as the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks and Commandant's House

Martin F. Smith

He moved to Hoquiam, Washington, in 1911 and completed law studies commenced in Chicago.

McNeil Island Corrections Center

The McNeil Island Corrections Center (MICC) was a Washington State Department of Corrections prison on McNeil Island in unincorported Pierce County, Washington, near Steilacoom.

Microbrewery

Interest spread to the US, and in 1982, Grant's Brewery Pub in Yakima, Washington was opened, reviving the US "brewery taverns" of well-known early Americans as William Penn, Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry.

Mike Lowry

He had a brief career working for the Washington State Senate and as a lobbyist for Group Health Cooperative before being elected to the King County Council in 1975.

Mushroom Corner, Washington

Mushroom Corner is located in the urban growth area of Lacey, along Interstate 5 south of Olympia, and is included in the Tanglewilde-Thompson Place Census-designated place (CDP) for Census purposes.

Nat Emerson

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in October 1874 to Henry & Edith Emerson, he moved to Yakima, Washington by 1911, where he owned an apple orchard.

Naval Base Kitsap

Naval Base Kitsap is the largest naval organization in Navy Region Northwest, and it is composed of installations at Bremerton, Bangor, and Keyport, Washington.

Naval Undersea Museum

The Naval Undersea Museum is an official naval museum located at Keyport, Washington, USA.

Nesmith Ankeny

Nesmith Cornett Ankeny (1927, Walla Walla, Washington – 4 August 1993, Seattle) was an American mathematician specialising in number theory.

Nicholas MacLeod

Nicholas Menalaus MacLeod (8 February 1870, Quebec – 27 September 1965, Spokane, Washington) was a Scottish–Canadian chess master.

Old Cariboo Road

Connecting to the Oregon Trail at Wallula, it ran north across Quincy Flats past Moses Lake, then crossed the lower Grand Coulee at present day Coulee City.

Olympic National Forest

Other Washington towns near entrances of the forest include Port Angeles, Sequim, and Amanda Park.

Pierpont Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio

In November 1811, Benjamin Matthews arrived from Washington, Massachusetts, and located temporarily near the cabin of Vosburg; he remained until the December following, when he moved into a cabin which he had in the meantime constructed.

Pomeroy, Washington

The town has been the seat of Garfield County ever since 1882, despite fierce competition in the 1880s with neighboring towns Pataha and Asotin.

Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad

Propane is heavily used by Kitsap County, Washington residents in the fall, winter, and spring months and comes in via rail for destinations in Shelton, Washington, Belfair, Washington, and Bremerton, Washington.

Robert Stetson Macfarlane

He worked at the law firm of Chadwick, McMicken, Ramsey and Rupp from 1919 until his graduation in 1922, at which time he became chief deputy prosecuting attorney for King County, Washington, a position he held until 1925.

Roderick N. Matheson

He traveled to Washington, D.C., for Abraham Lincoln's inauguration in 1861, intending to stay only a few weeks, but found himself swept up in the fever of approaching war.

Roy Alexander Gano

From 1937-1939, he served as Special Engineer, United States Navy Research Lab, Bellevue, Washington.

Roy Geiger

Geiger spent most of his enlisted time at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. where he was also promoted to Corporal on June 2, 1908.

Rugilė Mileišytė

Mileišytė is a member of the swimming team for the Washington State Cougars, and a graduate of social sciences at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.

Safety Not Guaranteed

The film was shot in Seattle and Ocean Shores, Washington, and other locations within 30 miles of Seattle.

Sappho, Washington

Traveling by steamer from Seattle, they landed at an Indian settlement called Pysht on the Strait of Juan de Fuca and hiked inland 20 miles through the rainforest to their claim.

Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe of Washington

The Sauk-Suiattle Indian Reservation is in this area, centered near the present-day town of Darrington.

Schoolhouse Point, Washington

The community is located about three miles southeast of Sequim, Washington, and about one mile northwest of Blyn, Washington.

Sherril Huff

Originally from Kitsap County Huff spent two years as Assistant Director of the elections department at King County, Washington.

So Young, So Insane

So Young, So Insane is the second EP by You, Me, and Everyone We Know, a rock band from Washington, D.C. The six-track record was released independently on November 18, 2008.

Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad

However, in 1909, Graves built a hydroelectric dam at Nine Mile Falls, Washington.

Spokane Public Library

, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Spokane County, Washington

St. John/Endicott High School

John/Endicott High School is a US public school located in St. John, Washington.

Steven Waterhouse

He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology in Hebrew and Greek from Capital Bible Seminary near Washington, D.C., and undergraduate degrees in social sciences from Spring Arbor University and Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Stuart Forbes

In November 1942, Forbes was married to Mary L. Miller by a Justice of the Peace at the courthouse in King County, Washington.

Tabi Bonney

He was a science teacher at Roosevelt High School in Petworth, Washington, D.C. for two years after college.

Tacoma Jets

The Tacoma Thunder were an International Basketball League team based in Tacoma, Washington.

Texas City Refinery explosion

Additionally, the panel created and administered, to all five of BP’s North American refineries, an employee survey focusing on various aspects of “process safety.” From the survey results, they concluded that the Toledo and Texas City plants had the worst process safety culture, while the Cherry Point Refinery, located in Birch Bay, Washington, had the best process safety culture.

The Egg and I

The defense produced evidence that the Bishop family had actually been trying to profit from the fame the book and movie had brought them, including testimony that son Walter Bishop had had his father Albert appear onstage at his Belfair, Washington, dance hall with chickens under his arm, introducing him as "Pa Kettle." On February 10, 1951, the jury decided in favor of the defendants.

The Moving Wall

The Moving Wall is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It was devised by John Devitt after he attended the annual commemoration celebrated in Washington for Vietnam veterans.

Thomas Pelly

He represented the First Congressional District of Washington as a Republican.

Three Rivers Hospital

Three Rivers Hospital is a hospital based in Brewster, Washington, USA, which is a city that is part of the Okanogan region.

Tom Copeland

Copeland was elected to the Washington House of Representatives in 1957, for District 11, which encompassed the counties of Asotin, Columbia, Garfield and parts of Walla Walla.

Treva Throneberry

He was convicted in Clark County, Washington of "having sex with a minor" and sentenced to 50 days in jail.

Trout Lake School

Trout Lake School is a public school that serves 88 students in grades K–12 located in Trout Lake, Washington.

Tumwater High School

Tumwater High School generally draws students from the portions of the Tumwater School District east of Interstate 5 and the Littlerock area west of I-5.

Tyna Barinaga

In 1964 Barinaga and fellow Port Angeles, Washington resident Caroline Jensen (Hein) became the first all-teenage team to capture the women's doubles title at the U.S. Open Championships.

Wallace R. Brode

Brode was born in Walla Walla, Washington state, one of a set of triplets along with brothers Malcolm and Robert, each of whom became a distinguished scientist.

Walt Horan

A fruit grower and packer, Horan was born and raised near Wenatchee, the younger son of Michael and Margaret A. (Rankin) Horan.

Washington State Route 164

SR 164 was first defined under law to be built and paved by the state of Washington in 1913 as the McClellan Pass Highway, extending southeast from Tacoma along the Puyallup and White rivers to Chinook Pass and towards Naches along an existing county road from Auburn and Enumclaw built in the 1890s.

Washington-5 Vermont Representative District, 2002–2012

It is one the 108 one or two member districts into which the state was divided by the redistricting and reapportionment plan developed by the Vermont General Assembly following the 2000 U.S. Census.

Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Trail

Here, the 33kV line enters the substation and is replaced by a much larger BG&E transmission line; the line runs parallel to the trail all the way to Bowie.

Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War

Among the notables who served as nurses or medical assistants were poet Walt Whitman, American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, and Dorothea Dix.

Washington, Kansas

Washington was established in spring 1860 and until the end of the American Civil War it was protected by two stockaded buildings, the Washington Company House and Woolbert's Stockade Hotel.

Washington, Kentucky

Other noteworthy people who lived in Washington during the first half of the 1800s include Lorrin Andrews, who taught school in Washington, married a local girl, Mary Wilson, and went on to found what became the University of Hawaii.

Washington's 39th legislative district

This urban district is represented by state senator Kirk Pearson and state representatives Dan Kristiansen (pos. 1) and Elizabeth Scott (pos. 2), all Republicans.

Washington's 3rd Legislative District

The largely rural district is represented by state senator Andy Billig (D) and state representatives Marcus Riccelli (D-pos. 1) and Timm Ormsby (D-pos. 2).

Washougal High School

Washougal High School is a public school in the Washougal School District founded in the early 1900s in Clark County, Washington.

Wauconda

Wauconda, Washington, an unincorporated community in Okanogan County, Washington, United States

West Richland, Washington

It crossed the Fallon Bridge between Richland and West Richland and then proceeded directly west to Kiona.

Wilmington/Newark Line

Electrified operation was extended to Newark and beyond to Washington, D.C. on February 10, 1935.

Wishram

Wishram, Washington, a census-designated place in the U.S. state of Washington


32nd meridian west from Washington

The 32nd meridian of longitude west from Washington is a line of longitude approximately 109°02′48″ west of the Prime Meridian of Greenwich.

Any Bonds Today?

Barry Wood introduced the song (along with another Berlin composition called "Arms for the Love of America") on Arsenal Day, June 10, 1941, at the War College in Washington, D.C.; he also recorded the song in the same week for RCA Victor.

Arvid Pardo

From 1972 to 1975 Pardo was coordinator of the ocean studies program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. From 1975 to 1990 he was on the USC faculty, teaching political science (1975–81) and international relations (1981–90).

Cary Sherman

He is an officer of the board of the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C., and has also served in advisory roles for the Anti-Defamation League, BNA’s Patent, Trademark and Copyright Journal, the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, The Computer Law Association, the Copyright Society, and The Computer Lawyer.

Charles Fickert

A 1919 grand jury exonerated Fickert from charges made by John B. Densmore, investigator from Washington, Director General of Employment, in the framing of Mooney and Billings and for his having conspired with Pete McDonough in the freeing of wealthy defendants.

David Corn

In the Washington Post, Roger Warner called it "an impressive feat of research"; but, in the New York Times, Joseph Finder claimed Corn was seriously distorting history to blame Shackley for a series of CIA failings.

Dean Richmond

In 1861, as President-Elect Abraham Lincoln made his way to Washington, D.C., the engine that pulled the train was The Dean Richmond.

Edge city

Garreau's classic example of an edge city is the information technology center, Tysons Corner, Virginia, west of Washington, D.C. As recently as the end of World War II, it was a country crossroads, but it now has more office space than downtown Atlanta.

Elizabeth Lewis

Betty Washington Lewis (1733–1797) was the only sister of George Washington to live to adulthood

Evangelical and Reformed Church

United States President Theodore Roosevelt attended Washington D.C.'s Grace Reformed Church, an Evangelical and Reformed congregation.

Felix Grundy McConnell

Mcconnell was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses and served from March 4, 1843, until his death in Washington, D.C., September 10, 1846.

Fort Ellsworth

Over the seven weeks that followed the occupation of northern Virginia, forts were constructed along the banks of the Potomac River and at the approaches to each of the three major bridges (Chain Bridge, Long Bridge, and Aqueduct Bridge) connecting Virginia to Washington and Georgetown.

Frankie Jaxon

In 1941 he retired from show business and worked at The Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He was transferred to Los Angeles, California.

Frederick Gutheim

He is noted for writing The Potomac, a history of the Potomac River and the 40th volume in the Rivers of America Series, and Worthy of a Nation a history of the development of Washington, D.C..

Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews

Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews was the title of a national march and political rally that was held on December 6, 1987 in Washington, D.C. An estimated 250,000 participants gathered on the National Mall, calling for U.S.S.R. President Gorbachev to extend his policy of Glasnost to Soviet Jews by putting an end to their forced assimilation and allowing their emigration from the Soviet Union.

George J. Walker

He served tours in France, Germany, Korea and Vietnam as well as stateside assignments at Seneca Army Depot, Romulus, New York; Fort Holabird, Maryland; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Fort Hood, Texas; Washington, DC; and Fort McPherson, Georgia.

George W. Littlefield

Works on Littlefield include David B. Gracy, II, George Washington Littlefield: A Biography in Business (Ph.D. dissertation; Texas Tech University, 1971) and J. Evetts Haley's George W. Littlefield, Texan (1943; through the University of Oklahoma Press in Norman, Oklahoma).

Got Live If You Want It

Got Live If You Want It is the third album of Washington, D.C. based band Dead Meadow.

Healy

Healy Hall, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States

In the News

Three new one-minute segments were produced each week, narrated by CBS Radio News Washington Correspondent Dan Raviv.

Jack L. Tilley

The Sergeants Major of the Army, Daniel K. Elder, Center of Military History, United States Army Washington, D.C. 2003.

Jeffrey Gedmin

He earned his Masters degree in German Area Studies (Literature concentration) from American University in Washington, D.C. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from American University and also studied musicology for a year at the University of Salzburg in Austria.

Jhoon Goo Rhee

Rhee is well known in the Washington, D.C. area for a television commercial that has a jingle by Nils Lofgren and features the catch phrase, "Nobody bothers me," followed by "Nobody bothers me, either."

Julian Bond: Reflections from the Frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement

The principal interviews with Bond used in the film were conducted at Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington D.C., and at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Katherine Washington

Katherine Washington is a former American women's basketball player, who played on the first two U.S. women's national teams, earning world championships in 1953 and 1957.

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

She attended Springhill Lake Elementary (Prince George's County Public Schools) in Greenbelt, Maryland just outside of Washington, D.C. Rowe-Finkbeiner moved to Columbia, Maryland where she attended Oakland Mills Middle School and Oakland Mills High School.

Kurt Schork

After Schork died, as per his personal wishes, upon cremation half of his ashes was buried next to his mother in Washington, D.C., and half at "Groblje LAV" (The Lion Cemetery) in Sarajevo, next to the grave of Boško and Admira, the central figures in Schork's acclaimed story.

Lawrence Edwards

Advocated for the New York City region as well as a Boston to Washington line by the Regional Plan Association, — the invention was praised by Secretary of Transportation John Volpe as well as editorials in The New York Times and professional and scientific journals.

Mauri S. Pelto

Mauri Pelto has been studying the glaciers in the North Cascades located in the U.S. state of Washington since 1984.

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision is a 1994 documentary film made by Freida Lee Mock about the life of American artist Maya Lin, whose best-known work is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Washington

"Mrs. Washington" is a song written and performed by Gigolo Aunts and the title song from their 1993 and 1994 singles.

New York University Law Review

The Law Review ranks fourth in Washington & Lee Law School's overall law review rankings, following Harvard, Yale, and Columbia.

North Admiral, Seattle

North Admiral (or simply the Admiral District) is the oldest neighborhood in West Seattle, Washington.

Ozette

Ozette, Washington, an unincorporated community in Clallam County, Washington, United States

Ozette Lake, a lake in the state of Washington in the United States

Pat Goss

Goss is the master technician on the television program MotorWeek, where he hosts a segment called Goss' Garage, and hosts a weekend radio show about cars on WJFK-FM in Washington, DC.

Peter Daniel Young

At the age of nine, he moved to Mercer Island, Washington, near Seattle, where he graduated from Mercer Island High School.

Richard Urquhart Goode

In 1889, he was appointed a geographer with the Survey and was placed in charge of surveys of the Pacific Coast States - California, Oregon, and Washington.

Robert Kennicutt

He shared the 2009 Gruber Prize in Cosmology with Wendy Freedman of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and Jeremy Mould of the University of Melbourne School of Physics, for their leadership in the definitive measurement of the value of the constant of proportionality in Hubble's Law.

Robert Litwak

Robert Litwak is vice president for programs and director of International Security Studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a consultant to the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

SeaPerch

Currently, 112 schools in seven states are participating across the United States in Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut.

SM UB-65

National Archives and Records Service, U.S. General Services Administration, Washington: 1984

Stanley Allen Bastian

On September 19, 2013, President Obama nominated Bastian to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, to the seat vacated by Judge Edward F. Shea, who took senior status on June 7, 2012.

Tractorcade

Tractorcade was a protest in Washington, D.C. by the American Agriculture Movement.

Ultrasonic Studios, New Orleans

The studio was located on Washington Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood near Xavier University.

Ulysses S. Grant as peacetime general, 1865–1869

In May 1865, the Union League of Philadelphia purchased the Grants a house in that city, but Grant's work was in Washington.

Washington State Legislature

The Washington State Legislature traces its ancestry to the creation of the Washington Territory in 1853, following successful arguments from settlers north of the Columbia River to the U.S. federal government to legally separate from the Oregon Territory.

William Greaves

Since then, Greaves has produced numerous works, including From These Roots, Nationtime: Gary, Where Dreams Come True, Booker T.Washington: Life and Legacy, Frederick Douglass: An American Life, Black Power in America: Myth or Reality?, The Deep North, and Ida B. Wells: An American Odyssey, which was narrated by Nobel Prize in Literature and Pulitzer Prize winning author Toni Morrison.