Fun Facts, Finney County Conservation District

Fun Facts

Kansas Facts

Birthdate: January 29, 1861, 34th State

Origin of Name: From the Sioux word meaning "people of the south wind"

Capital: Topeka

Population: 2,853,118

Largest Cities: Wichita, Overland Park, Kansas City, Topeka

Major Industries: Aircraft Manufacturing, Agriculture and Education

Geographic Size: 81,815 sq. miles

Nickname: Sunflower State

State Motto: "Ad Astra Per Asp era"

Latin for "To the stars through difficulties"

State Tree: Cottonwood, 1937

State Flower: Native Sunflower, 1903

State Soil: Harney Silt Loam, 1990

State Bird: Western Meadowlark, 1937

State Animal: The American Buffalo, 1955

State Song: "Home on the Range", by Brewster Higley, 1947

Approximately 90% of Kansas land is for agricultural use.

Kansas ranks first in grain sorghum produced, second in

cropland, and third in land in farms and sunflowers produced.

Kansas also is a leader in beef production,

with more than 19 percent os all U.S. beef

originating from Kansas beef processing facilities.

Agriculture and agribusiness contribute to the total economy of Kansas, both directly and indirectly.

One in five Kansans, rural and urban, work in jobs related to agriculture and food production.

Water Facts

Seas and oceans contain 97% of the water on earth. Snow, glaciers, and polar ice account for 2.25%. rivers, lakes and groundwater represent only 0.6% of the total water and that is used to produce the world's food supply.

The human body is 66% water. Water exists within all our organs and it is transported throughout our body to assist physical functions.

Nearly 80% of a new born baby's weight is water.

Human brains are 75% water.

Human bones are 25% water.

75% of a chicken is water.

70% of an elephant is water.

A watermelon is 93% water.

Tomatoes are 95% water.

80% of a pineapple is water.

Americans drink more than 1 billion glasses of water per day.

Drinking too much water too quickly can lead to water intoxication. This happens when water dilutes the sodium level in the bloodstream and causes an imbalance of water in the brain.

By the time a person feels thirsty, his or her body has lost over 1 percent of its total water amount.

A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water.

Humans cannot drink salt water.

Water regulates the temperature of the human body. When you have a fever you should drink lots of water.

Water removes waste from the human body.

Americans use five times the amount of water that Europeans use.

Two thirds of water used in a home is used in the bathroom.

70-75% of the earth's surface is covered with water. There is much more water than there is land.

80% of the earth's water is surface water. The other 20% is either groundwater or atmospheric water vapor.

Of all the water on earth, only 2.5% is fresh water.

Less than 1% of the water supply on earth can be used as drinking water.

The same amount of water that existed millions of years ago is still present today. The earth is a closed system, similar to a terrarium, meaning that it rarely loses or gains extra matter.

Water regulates the earth's temperature.

Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius, and vaporizes at a hundred degrees Celsius.

Water is the only substance that is found naturally on earth in three forms: liquid, gas, solid.

Frozen water is 9% lighter than water, which is why ice floats on water.