Statehood: An administrative snafu occurred in Congress regarding the admission of Ohio as the 17th State.  The necessary vote of Congress was not recorded properly.  The mistake was not discovered until the 1960's when the sitting Congress quietly voted to admit Ohio to the Union.  Thus, technically, Ohio is the 50th state.  This may also mean that the six presidents that were born in Ohio were not U. S. citizens, and therefore not eligible to serve as President of the United States.

State Symbols: You may know that Ohio is called the Buckeye State.  This arises from the fact that the Buckeye is the official State Tree of Ohio (it is native almost exclusively to this state).  Many, perhaps most states, have official state trees, birds (Ohio's is the cardinal), flowers (red carnation), etc.,  but in Ohio, our state legislators may have a bit too much time on their hands.  They have also introduced and passed legislation providing us with:

• Ohio State Insect: The ladybug.
  
• Ohio State Fossil: The trilobite (no, it is not John Glenn).
  
• Ohio State Beverage: Tomato juice (Bloody Mary missed by a slim margin).
  
• Ohio State Reptile: The black racer snake (to cuddle with on those cold Ohio nights).
  
• Ohio State Rock Song: Hang on Sloopy (the only song the OSU marching band knows).