Happy Birthday Oklahoma!!
Today in 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state in America!
State Capital: Oklahoma City
State Motto: "Labor omnia vincit" (Labor conquers all things)
State Flower: Oklahoma Rose
State Bird: Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher
State Tree: Redbud
State Animal: Buffalo
State Nickname: The Sooner State
The world's first installed parking meter was in Oklahoma City, on July 16, 1935. Carl C. Magee, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is generally credited with originating the parking meter. He filed for a patent for a "coin controlled parking meter" on May 13, 1935.
WKY Radio was the first radio station transmitting from west of the Mississippi River.
Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state, with over one million surface acres of water.
Originally Indian Territory, the state of Oklahoma was opened to settlers in a "Land Rush" in 1889. On April 22, prospective settlers would be allowed into the territory to claim plots of land by grabbing the stakes marking each plot. A few of these settlers entered to claim land before the official start of the land run; these cheaters were called "Sooners". Hence the state's nickname.
