Michigan Bihar - Friends of Bihar and Jharkhand in Michigan
Michigan shares its birthday with India's Republic Day- January 26th

Happy Republic Day India & Happy 175th Birthday Michigan!
Trivia compiled by Shailesh Raman
The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat. INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya Yuga (Golden Age)
1. The name ` India ’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
2. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name ` Hindustan ’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
3. The number system was invented by India . Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
4. Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise and therefore suitable language for computer software. (a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987).
5. Chess was invented in India .
6. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India .
7. The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India .
8. The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.
9. The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola
10. India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).
11. The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.
12. The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
13. India has the most post offices in the world! 1,50,000 post offices.
14. The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people!
15. The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
16. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
17. Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India 's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
18. The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
19. Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.
20. The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.
21. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also originated from India . Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).
22. Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. (Source. Gemological Institute of America )
21. The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan Mountains . It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
22. Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushruta & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
23. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
24. 28 States, 7 union territories and 22 languages.
25. World 3rd largest road network covering 1,900,000 miles
26. India is the largest English speaking nation in world
27. 62 millions internet consumers (6th largest in the world)
28. More than 64% of the populations is between the age of 15 & 64
29. World largest producer of dried beans, particularly kidney beans and chickpeas
30. Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years. Yoga Ashrams in India is one of the most visiting places amongst foreigners.
Michigan will celebrate it's 175th birthday on Thursday, Jan 26, 2012. Michigan was accepted into the Union on January 26, 1837.
Some Michigan facts & trivia:
1. Detroit is known as the car capital of the world.
2. Alpena is the home of the world's largest cement plant.
3. Rogers City boasts the world's largest limestone quarry.
4. Elsie is the home of the world's largest registered Holstein dairy herd.
5. Michigan is first in the United States production of peat and magnesium compounds and second in gypsum and iron ore.
6. Colon is home to the world's largest manufacture of magic supplies.
7. The state Capitol with its majestic dome was built in Lansing in l879.
8. Although Michigan is often called the "Wolverine State" there are no longer any wolverines in Michigan.
9. Michigan ranks first in state boat registrations.
10. The Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit manufactured the first air-conditioned car in 1939.
11. The oldest county (based on date of incorporation) is Wayne in 1815.
12. Sault Ste. Marie was founded by Father Jacques Marquette in 1668. It is the third oldest remaining settlement in the United States.
13. In 1817 the University of Michigan was the first university established by any of the states. Originally named Cathelepistemian and located in Detroit the name was changed in 1821. The university moved to Ann Arbor in 1841.
14. The city of Novi was named from its designation as Stagecoach Stop # 6 or No.VI.
15. Michigan State University has the largest single campus student body of any Michigan university. It is the largest institution of higher learning in the state and one of the largest universities in the country.
16. Michigan State University was founded in 1855 as the nation's first land-grant university and served as the prototype for 69 land-grant institutions later established under the Morrill Act of 1862. It was the first institution of higher learning in the nation to teach scientific agriculture.
17. The largest village in Michigan is Caro.
18. Michigan's state stone, The Petoskey is the official state stone. It is found along the shores of Lake Michigan.
19. The Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. Connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, it spans 5 miles over the Straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. The Mighty Mac took 3 years to complete and was opened to traffic in 1957.
20. Gerald R. Ford grew up in Grand Rapids and became the 38th president of the United States He attended the University of Michigan where he was a football star. He served on a World War II aircraft carrier and afterward represented Michigan in Congress for 24 years. He was also was an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts.
21. The Kellogg Company has made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World. The Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the process for producing flaked cereal products and sparked the beginning of the dry cereal industry.
22. The painted turtle is Michigan's state reptile.
23. The western shore of Michigan has many sand dunes. The Sleeping Bear Dunes rise 460 feet above Lake Michigan. Living among the dunes is the dwarf lake iris the official state wildflower.
24. Vernors ginger ale was created in Detroit and became the first soda pop made in the United States. In 1862, pharmacist James Vernor was trying to create a new beverage when he was called away to serve our country in the Civil War. When he returned, 4 years later, the drink he had stored in an oak case had acquired a delicious gingery flavor.
25. The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in America to feature cageless, open-exhibits that allowed the animals more freedom to roam.
26. Michigan is the only place in the world with a floating post office. The J.W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while they are still underway. They have been operating for 125 years.
27. Indian River is the home of the largest crucifix in the world. It is called the Cross in the Woods.
28. Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world.
29. Michigan has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska.
30. The Ambassador Bridge was named by Joseph Bower, the person credited with making the bridge a reality, who thought the name "Detroit-Windsor International Bridge" as too long and lacked emotional appeal. Bower wanted to "symbolize the visible expression of friendship of two peoples with like ideas and ideals."
31. Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of streams.
32. Michigan has 116 lighthouses and navigational lights.
33. Seul Choix Point Lighthouse in Gulliver has been guiding ships since 1895. The working light also functions as a museum, which houses early 1900s furnishings and maritime artifacts.
34. Forty of the state's 83 counties adjoin at least one of the Great Lakes. Michigan is the only state that touches four of the five Great Lakes.
35. Standing anywhere in the state a person is within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes.
36. Michigan includes 56,954 square miles of land area; 1,194 square miles of inland waters; and 38,575 square miles of Great Lakes water area.
37. Sault Ste. Marie was established in 1668 making it the oldest town between the Alleghenies and the Rockies.
38. Michigan was the first state to provide in its Constitution for the establishment of public libraries.
39. Michigan was the first state to guarantee every child the right to tax-paid high school education.
40. Four flags have flown over Michigan - French, English, Spanish and United States.
41. Isle Royal Park shelters one of the largest moose herds remaining in the United States.
42. Some of the longest bulk freight carriers in the world operate on the Great Lakes. Ore carriers 1,000 feet long sail Michigan's inland seas.
43. The Upper Michigan Copper Country is the largest commercial deposit of native copper in the world.
44. The 19 chandeliers in the Capitol in Lansing are one of a kind and designed especially for the building by Tiffany's of New York. Weighing between 800-900 pounds apiece they are composed of copper, iron and pewter.
45. The first auto traffic tunnel built between two nations was the mile-long Detroit-Windsor tunnel under the Detroit River.
46. The world's first international submarine railway tunnel was opened between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada in 1891.
47. The nation's first regularly scheduled air passage service began operation between Grand Rapids and Detroit in 1926.
48. In 1879 Detroit telephone customers were first in the nation to be assigned phone numbers to facilitate handling calls.
49. In 1929, the Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world.
50. Grand Rapids is home to the 24-foot Leonardo da Vinci horse, called Il Gavallo, it is the largest equestrian bronze sculpture in the Western Hemisphere.
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