Dear Kid,
If you were crazy enough to be on an airplane at 5:30am this past Saturday to fly to Baltimore only to return that evening on a 10pm flight, you might find yourself tired. You might also find that you didn’t exactly get to see much of Charm City except the Convention Hall, a little bit of the wharf area, and a public transportation rail stop (even though you didn’t get to ride the train because after half an hour of waiting in the cold someone announced that an SUV had sideswiped a LINK car and there wouldn’t be any trains for at least an hour, at which point the Committee reconvened and decided that Lyft was a viable option after all).
Not to worry. I am here to tell you all sorts of interesting things about Baltimore.
You may know that Francis Scott Key wrote our national anthem while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. (Ft. McH is in Baltimore.) Because of this Great Achievement, FSK is honored before every major sporting event, after every gold medal, and on other patriotic occasions. They also named a bridge after him (the cleverly named Francis Scott Key Bridge) which is the third longest continuous truss bridge in the country. (I don’t know what a continuous truss bridge is, but I’m sure Francis’ mom is very proud.)
The first professional sports organization in the United States, The Maryland Jockey Club, was formed in Baltimore in 1743.
Thought: What did people sing at the start of sporting events prior to 1812?
The first US umbrella factory was built in Baltimore in 1828. People who went to sporting events prior to 1828 often got rained on.
The first post office system in the US was in Baltimore in 1774. Postal workers don’t care about rain or snow or umbrellas.
During the 1800s, Baltimore served as the second greatest port of entry for United States immigrants.
In 1844, the first telegraph line in the world was established between WDC and Baltimore. In 1845, parents began complaining that their children were spending too much time on the telegraph and the world was coming to an end.
Lots of famous people were born in, lived in, and/or died in Baltimore. Some of them even knew the words to the Star Spangled Banner.
The first dental school in the world was founded in Baltimore in 1840. Your teeth are grateful.
The first successful manned balloon launch in the United States was in Baltimore in 1784. It was operated by 13-year-old Edward Warren who was really just trying to escape his parents’ complaints about his teeth.
