Every city has its claims to fame, its celebrities and its scandals. Kansas City seems richer than most Midwest metropolises in pop-culture significance.
In the spirit of “Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould” (which this examiner has never seen but likes the title of) and that title’s subsequent homage, The Simpsons’ “22 Short Films About Springfield” (which this examiner has watched several times), here are 22 fun facts about Kansas City.
1. Although many Texans disagree, most historians agree that Charles Hyer of Olathe, Kan., invented what came to be known as the cowboy boot in 1875. According to legend, a Colorado cowboy came to Hyer’s cobbler shop, Hyer Brothers Boots, and requested a boot with a pointed toe, higher heel and scalloped fronts and backs to make it more suitable to a cowboy’s needs.
2. John B. Stetson of St. Joseph, Mo., invented the cowboy hat in 1865. The original hat, called “the Boss of the Plains,” featured a high crown and wide brim.
3. The Pony Express, a fast-mail service crossing the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif., ran from April 1860 to October 1861.
4. Ernest Hemingway developed his writing style in Kansas City when he worked as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star from 1917 to 1918. Hemingway often cited the Star’s style of using short sentences as his primary influence.
5. John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” was banned in Kansas City in 1939 because it used “Jesus Christ” in a profane way. The novel was also banned in Oklahoma City and in Ireland.
6. Television broadcast legend Walter Cronkite, named the “most trusted man in America” in 1972 and 1974 polls, lived in Kansas City, Mo., until he was 10, when his family moved to Houston, Texas. Cronkite was the face of the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981.
7. U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s mother-in-law always looked down on him, even after he became president, because he never attended college. When Truman returned to Independence after his presidency, in the days before presidential pensions and big-money speaking fees, personal finances forced him to move into his mother-in-law’s home.
8. Kansas City was recently selected by yahoo.com as one of the best “up and coming” cities in which to live.
9. KC has more fountains than any city except Rome. (OK, everyone knows that.)
10. Funnymen Jason Sudeikis, Rob Riggle and Paul Rudd, who all hail from Overland Park, all recently returned home for a fund-raiser.
11. The Cincinnati Royals professional basketball team changed its name to The Kansas City Kings when it moved to KC in 1972. The team initially divided its home games between KC and Omaha. The Kings moved to Sacramento, Calif., in 1985.
12. The Kansas City cowboys were the name of three different professional baseball teams in the 19th century.
13. Walt Disney opened his first animation studio in Kansas City, Laugh-O-Gram Studios. He fed a small mouse in the building, which he later said was his inspiration for Mickey Mouse.
14. Kansas City is home to the largest maker of boxed chocolates in the world. Based here since 1932, Russell Stover Candies still hand dips more than 25 million pieces of chocolate each year.
15. Local advertising agency Bernstein-Rein invented the McDonald’s Happy Meal in 1976, after founder Bob Bernstein noticed his son staring at the cereal box during breakfast.
16. The most damaging hailstorm ever recorded, called the Tristate Hailstorm and the Kansas City Hailstorm, moved from eastern Kansas to southern Illinois during an 8-hour period on April 10, 2001, depositing one- to three-inch diameter hailstones along a 350-mile path. The hailstorm hit St. Louis and Kansas City urban areas and resulted in more than $1.5 billion in insured losses.
17. In the 1970s, the Kansas City mob was involved in a gangland war over control of the River Quay entertainment district. Three buildings were bombed and several gangsters were killed.
18. Kansas City Jazz legend Charlie Parker’s very first gig was in The Country Club Plaza where the Fogo De Chao restaurant now stands—and where George Brett’s restaurant and Fedora’s Café once stood.
19. The Country Club Plaza, which opened in 1922, was America’s first outdoor shopping mall.
20. In 2009 Kansas City International airport reported having the highest number of wild bird strikes of any airport in the United States based on takeoffs and landings (57 per 100,000), according to Wikipedia.
21. The Nelson-Atkins Museum’s new celebrated Bloch Building addition was ranked number one among “The 10 Best (New and Upcoming) Architectural Marvels” by Time magazine in 2007.
22. I can’t think of another one. J
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