Wyoming: The Equality State

• Alternate Nickname: The Cowboy State
• Capital: Cheyenne
• Major Cities:
• Casper
• Laramie
• Major Geographical Features
  • Green River
  • Snake River
  • North Platte River
  • Bighorn River
  • Yen River
  • Rockie Mountains
  • Great Plains
  • Black Hills
  • Laramie Mountains
  • Bighorn Mountains
  • Wind River Range
• National Parks:
• Yellowstone National Park
• Grand Teton National Park
• 1803: The United States gains most of present-day Wyoming in the Louisiana Purchase
• 1869: First place in the United States to allow women the right to vote
• 1872: Yellowstone becomes the first national park in the United States
• 1890: Wyoming becomes the 44th state
• Motto: "Equal Rights"
• Name Meaning: "Valleys and Mountains" (a Native American dialect)
• Products
  • Coal
  • Cattle
  • Uranium
• Wyoming produces the second most wool in the United States
• 9th largest state by area but the least populated state
• First state with a female governor
• Its two national parks see 4 million visitors each year
• Yellowstone Lake is the highest altitude lake in the United States
• Famous People
  • Buffalo Bill

Florence, Italy

• Population: 379,180
• About the same size as Arlington, Texas
• Most populous city in Tuscany
• Capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and province of Florence
• Located on the River Arno
• Birthplace of the Renaissance
• Nicknamed the "Athens of the Middle Ages"
• One of the wealthiest cities of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
• Florence is one of the most visited cities in the world (over 1.8 million visitors per year)
• Forbes continually ranks Florence as one of the most beautiful cities in the world
• One of the fashion capitals of Europe
• Known for Florentine style steak
• 1377-1743: The Medici family rules Florence
• The Medicis became rich due to the banking industry
• The Medici family had a lot of power of Europe during this time, lending money to foreign leaders and producing 4 popes
• 1436: Duomo is opened
• 1865-1871: Florence is the capital of Italy
• 1944: The Ponte Vecchio is not destroyed as German army retreats during World War Two
• 1982: Florence is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• 2008: Florence had the 17th highest average income in Italy
• 2013: Florence ranked as the 2nd best world city
• Climate
• Florence has hot summers with little precipitation and cool winters.
• Religion:
• Roman Catholic
• Tourist Attractions
• Duomo
• Ponte Vecchio
• Florence Baptistery
• Giotto Tower (Campanile)
• Palazzo Vecchio
• Uffizi Gallery
• Largest Renaissance art gallery
• Galleria dell' Academia
• Home to Michaelangelo's David
• Palazzo di Pitti and Boboli Gardens
• Piazza Michaelangelo
• Santa Croce
• Casa di Dante
• Famous Florentines
• Dante Alighieri
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Giovanni Boccaccio
• Filippo Bruneleschi
• Michaelangelo Buonarroti
• Niccolo Machiavelli 
• Gioto
• Donatello
• Sandro Botticelli
• Amerigo Vespucci
• Lorenzo di Medici

Hungary

• Capital: Budapest
• Major Cities
  • Szeged
  • Debrecen
• Major Geographical Features
  • Lake Balaton
  • Danube River
  • Tisza River
  • Great Hungarian Plain
• Official Name: Republic of Hungary
• Religions:
  • Roman Catholic
  • Calvinist
  • Lutheran
• Language: Hungarian (Magyar)
• Most spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe
• 1848: Louis Kossuth leads a relatively unsuccessful revolution against Hapsburg rule
• 1867: The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary was established
• 1918: Austro-Hungarian Empire collapses
• 1945: Hungary established as a Soviet Bloc nation
• 1956: Hungary joins the Warsaw Pact after an uprising against communist rule that was put down by the USSR
• 1989: Communist rule overthrown
• 1999: Hungary joins NATO
• 2004: Hungary joins the European Union
• Independence: 1918 upon the dissolution of the Austria-Hungary
• Government: parliamentary democracy
• Currency: forint
• Indiana is slightly larger than Hungary
• Literacy: 99.2%
• Climate: temperate
• Landlocked
• Budapest was originally two cities, Buda and Pest. Each city was on a different side of the Danube River until they merged into one city

An Apple a Day: The Most (and Least) Healthy States

The Most and Least Healthy States. The green states are the top 10 sickest states, while the pink ones are the 10 most healthy.

Using data from the United States Census Bureau and social media reports, Sickweather, a company that peruses social media fro sick reports, the most and least healthy states of 2014. Sickweather looked into social media reports of allergies, flu, cough, colds and fever for the first 10 months of 2014 to calculate the number of sick reports per thousand people in the state. Their results have been reproduced below:

Least Healthy States:

1. Kansas- 3.96 sick reports per thousand people
2. Nevada- 3.26
3. Kentucky- 3.25
4. Texas- 3.10 
5. West Virginia- 2.99
6. Oregon- 2.95
7. Indiana- 2.91 
8. Oklahoma- 2.72
9. Massachusetts- 2.63
10. Nebraska- 2.48

Most Healthy States:

1. Idaho- 1.16 sick reports per thousand people
2. New York- 1.16
3. Mississippi- 1.22
4. Montana- 1.24
5. Vermont- 1.38
6. Washington- 1.39
7. Maine- 1.39
8. New Jersey- 1.41 
9. New Hampshire- 1.48
10. Utah- 1.48

Idaho: The Gem State

• Capital: Boise
• Major Cities:
  • Coeur d'Alene
  • Pocatello
  • Idaho Falls
  • Moscow
• Major Geographical Features
  • Pend Oreille Lake
  • Bitterroot Range
  • Salmon River Mountains
  • Salmon River
  • Snake River
• National Parks: Yellowstone National Park
• Early 1800's: Lewis and Clark explore the area of present-day Idaho
• 1860: Mormon's settle at Franklin
• 1890: Idaho becomes the 43rd state
• Motto: "It Endures Forever"
• Various Possible Name Meanings:
  • It was made up by a Congressman
  • "Land of Many Waters" in Nez Perce language
  • "Enemy" in Plains Apache language
• 10 national forests cover 20.4 million acres
• Hells Canyon is the deepest canyon in North America (at its deepest, it is 7900 ft.)
• America's longest Main Street is in Island Park, Idaho (33 miles)
• Famous People Born in Idaho
  • Sacagawea
  • Chief Joseph
  • Sarah Palin

Romania

• Capital: Bucharest
• Major Geographical Features
  • Carpathian Mountains
  • Transylvanian Mountains
  • Black Sea
  • Danube River
  • Mures River
  • Olt River
  • Siret River
• Religion: Romanian Orthodox
• Languages:
  • Romanian (official)
  • Hungarian
  • German
• 1947: The People's Republic of Romania is established as part of the Soviet Bloc
• 2007: Joins the European Union
• Independence: 1877 by the Ottoman Empire
• Government: republic
• Currency: New leu (RON)
• Oregon is slightly larger than Romania
• Literacy: 97.3%
• Bukovina region is known for its painted monasteries
• Only Warsaw Pact nation to get rid of communism violently
• Exports
  • Iron
  • Steel
  • Electrical Equipment
  • Shoes