1. A Presidential Assassination Attempt … and a Lion Cub
CAROLE NICKSIN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND PUBLISHER
President Theodore Roosevelt was shot here in an assassination attempt in 1912. Also, we used to keep a lion cub on the roof of the Public Museum, which is now the library.
2. Squatters on Jones Island
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
I rounded up a bunch of my favorites into the Milwaukee trivia quiz we published last year, but I’ll go with the existence of the fishing village of Kaszubs people who squatted on Jones Island for nearly half a century. John Gurda told the story well in our pages a few years ago.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
3. Montessori Schools
CHELSEA MAMEROW, ART DIRECTOR
MPS offers the largest number of public Montessori schools in the nation. There are eight tuition-free Montessori schools around the city plus another in Wauwatosa.
4. Big Lard
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
“Did you know that in 1964 Patrick Cudahy, Inc. made its largest ever shipment of lard, weighing 2,036,284 pounds?” It’s not only my go-to Milwaukee fun fact, but also my go-to pickup line, which might explain why I’m single and no one likes me.
RELATED: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH ULTIMATE MILWAUKEE TRIVIA QUIZ
5. A Grounded Airplane on 9/11
LISA BAKER, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
President George HW Bush and Barbara Bush were flying from Washington D.C. to St Paul MN on Sept. 11, when their plane was forced to land at Mitchell Airport. They stayed at the Embassy Suites in Brookfield.
6. Cream City Brick
EVAN MUSIL, ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
Not everyone outside Milwaukee knows the Cream City nickname, and the ones that do often think it refers to dairy (as I once did). When I told visiting friends it actually referred to a unique – and beautiful – type of brick, it became a fun game to call out each building we passed made out of them. Try it next time you have out-of-town guests.
