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      Here are 40 fun facts about the State of Washington :

      1.  It is America 's coffee capital, with more coffee bean roasters

      per capita than any other state.

      2.  "The Wave," a popular fan cheer for the past 25 years, was

      started by Husky fans at the University of Washington .

      3.  Adam Morrison, a Washington State native and Gonzaga University

      basketball star, lead the NCAA Division I in scoring last season.

      4.  The state is the nation's largest exporter, representing $34

      billion and 5 percent of all U.S. exports:  forest products,

      aerospace products, apples, tulips, hops, mint, wheat and

      several other quality food products.

      5.  Leading innovators -- Microsoft's Bill Gates and Paul Allen,

      Starbucks' Howard Schultz, wireless pioneers being the McCaw family,

      and the Boeing family (no ownership in the company) -- live in

       Washington State .

      6.   Washington State is America 's gateway to the 2010  Winter

      Olympics in Vancouver , B.C.

      7.   Washington leads the country in technology industry employment.

      8.  Grand Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in North

       America , is in Washington State .

      9.   Washington 's residents are educated; it's the state with most

      residents holding high school diplomas. Seattle leads the country in

      residents with more college degrees per capita.

      10.  Father's Day was founded here in 1910.

      11.  The state is home to the world's largest private car collection

      featuring over 3,000 vehicles.

      12. Washington is home to the largest land mollusk in North America ,

      a foraging banana slug that grows up to 9 inches long.

      13.  In Washington , a Seahawk is an athlete, not a bird. The closest

      thing to a Seahawk is an osprey hawk.

      14. The leading state for both start-up and "gazelles," or fast

      growing young companies.

      15.   Washington , the 42nd state in the union, is the only state named

      for a president.

      16.   Seattle gets less rainfall annually than Atlanta , Boston , New

       York , Houston , Miami , New Orleans , Philadelphia , Washington D.C. and

       Miami , with 37 inches.

      17.   Seattle has the highest concentration of aerospace jobs in the

      world, led by Boeing's 50,000 workers.

      18.  Our homegrown musicians include Jimi Hendrix,

      Nirvana, Kenny G., The Wailers, Pat Boone, Bing Crosby, Quincy Jones,

      Burl Ives, The Wilson sisters of Heart, Pearl Jam among others.

      19.  Petrified wood is the state's gem, and there's a petrified

      forest here that's considered the most unusual fossil forest in the

      world.

      20.   Washington State defines innovation.  Some of the leading

      employers begun here include Microsoft, Amazon.Com, Nordstrom,

      Boeing, Costco, Starbuck's; also UPS and SAFECO Insurance (known as

      General Insurance Company of America when founded in 1920s).

      21.   Washington has hosted the World's Fair twice: 1962 in Seattle

      and 1974 in Spokane .

      22.   Washington produces 70 percent of the nation's hops used to brew

      beer.  Perhaps the largest supplier to European breweries.

      Coincidentally, to overcome beer breath, the majority of the nation's

      mint is also grown in the state.

      23.  The longest accessible beach in the U.S. is in Washington , the

      28-mile-long stretch aptly named Long Beach .

      24.   Washington is a leader in health sciences research (U of W plus

      Fred Hutchinson Institute); it ranks tops in scientists and engineers

      as a percentage of workforce.

      25.  "Tales from the Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson is a Washington

      native.

      26.   Washington has the largest ferry system in the nation -- 26

      million passengers travel by ferry each year.

      27.  The state's nickname is the Evergreen State for its abundant

      evergreen forests.

      28.  It is America 's raspberry capital, harvesting more than 57

      million pounds of raspberries each year. Also of beet and cabbage

      seed.

      29.   Washington is the country's second largest producer of wine,

      with its more than 350 wineries gaining international attention.

      30.  More people in Seattle commute to work on bicycles than any

      other city nationwide.

      31.   Washington 's Hells Canyon is the deepest River Gorge in North

       America , deeper than the Grand Canyon at over 5,500 feet deep.

      32.  One in every six Washingtonians owns a boat in this state where

      recreational and the commercial boating industry leads the country.

      33.  Kennewick Man, a 9,000-year-old skeleton, the oldest ever

      discovered in the Americas , was found in Washington in 1996.

      34.  The first revolving restaurant in the continental U.S. was built

      in Seattle 's Space Needle for the 1962 World's Fair.

      35.  The cleanest air in the nation is found in a Washington

      community, Bellingham , according to the EPA and American Lung

      Association. Didn't use to be so.

      36.   Washington 's cows produce more pounds of milk per cow than

      any other state, totaling 1.3 billion pounds of milk each year.

      37.   Seattle 's world-famous glass artist Dale Chihuly has put

       Washington on the international map, second only to Venice in number

      and skill of glassblowing artists.

      38.  Mark Rypien, 1992 Super Bowl MVP, is a Washington native and

      resides in Washington State .

      40.   Seattle sells more sunglasses per capita than any other major

      city in the nation. Guess our eyes aren't used to the glare?