Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson, Mississippi is the next city in CAPITALS. Jackson is just one in a long line of cities named after presidents. True, Andrew Jackson was a general when the city was named after him, but he became president later. He was quite the controversial president in his time, possibly best known for his unwavering opposition to the national banking system. So how do we recognize his presidency? Stick his face on our money. Oh, the...

Albany, New York

Up next in CAPITALS is Albany, New York. Sure, it’s great that Albany is the capital of New York. I’m sure it’s a fine capital. However, in true spirit of useless knowledge, I was far more interested in the fact that Albany is the birthplace of the perforated toilet paper roll. That’s the type of information that will never come in handy and you are therefore destined to remember...

Austin, Texas

Now in CAPITALS: Austin, Texas. I’ve actually never been to Austin, but I have it on good authority that Austin is quite possibly the least Texas-like city in the state. It seems that a central location beats Texasness. Yes, that’s a...

Jefferson City, Missouri

Jefferson City is now up in CAPITALS. Jefferson City is another in a long list of cities named after presidents. The reason this city was chosen as the capital is simple: location, location, location. The two main population centers were on opposite east-west extremes. Jefferson City was conveniently in the middle. At the time, the city was merely a quaint little town. Today it is a slightly larger, slightly less-quaint little...

Sacramento, California

It’s time for CAPITALS to head to the west coast with Sacramento, California. Take a look at a list of California’s points of interest and you’ll see a long list of cities to visit. Sacramento probably isn’t one of them. It’s not on the coast and it’s not in the mountains. It’s not particularly scenic, at least not in the travel guide sense of the word. Back when the Pony Express was around, Sacramento was kind of a big deal. Today, it’s less of a big deal, although its population still reigns #6 on the list of California...

Tallahassee, Florida

Up next in CAPITALS: Tallahassee, Florida. Back in colonial times, Florida was made up of East and West Florida. Pensacola was the capital of West Florida and St. Augustine was the capital of East Florida. While in the process of becoming one big happy Florida, the two sides had to meet up. Tallahassee was chosen as the meeting point since it was roughly in the middle, and the rest is...