From Sea to Shining Sea! Learn About the USA
While it is easy to find a general overview of the country, including population, demographics, state names and capitals, and similar information, a state-by-state search will uncover a wealth of possibly unknown knowledge.
For instance, unless someone was keen on world politics, it might not be apparent that the former Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir; or World War II and Korean War general, Douglas MacArthur1, were�¯�¿�½both from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Searching the city of Norfolk, Virginia will not only uncover the birthplace of the inventor of the ice cream cone, it will also provide the birthplace of Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first President of Liberia.
Palm Springs, California is the home of the Betty Ford Clinic; author Anne Rice lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. There is a chocolate factory in Akron, Ohio; and a restaurant in Amarillo, Texas that challenges patrons to eat a 4.5 lb. steak with all the fixings, for free! Atlanta, Georgia is the home of the World Headquarters of Coca Cola, and Bakersfield, California has a building shaped like a shoe! Dothan, Alabama has 150 churches within 86.6 square miles, and Durango, Colorado is home of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Evansville, Indiana is home to Bosse Field, the third oldest baseball stadium still holding professional games.
Don’t be afraid to use Wikipedia2-it’s not exactly an ordinary online encyclopedia. Because it is written and edited by several authors, it is copyright free, for the most part. Unlike some other sources, its content cannot to be considered as documented fact. There is the possibility for error, whether minor or more serious. Also, because it is written by people from all over the world, spelling can be a concern. If you attempt to cut and paste something, you run the risk of not catching a foreign spelling of a common word or using information that is just downright wrong. Be sure to verify everything you put in your paper and somewhere in your credits, mention that you used information from the Wikipedia site. Not only will it lend credibility and less of a plagiarism concern (there are guidelines on the site regarding correct usage of their text), it may also lend credence to a fact that may, at time of writing your paper, be outdated or incorrect.
One good point about using the Wikipedia site is the listing (often) of famous people from a particular state or country. In addition, sometimes you are referred to other people, places or things to research. When clicking on the links provided on the Wikipedia sites, be careful to use the External Links as much as the internal links to other content (known as stubs).
Remember, if the article is wrong, the stubs might be wrong or insufficient to back up your research. External links will direct you to links found by the author of the article, but there are usually even more resourceful links you can find by yourself.
These facts aren’t the most important elements of research, but they are fun to know and discover while using the Internet to explore assignments (or personal interest) about your own country. Don’t be afraid to venture into areas that may yield information that the average person may not know. In fact, be sure to use reference footnotes of correct format for the report you are writing, but primarily, be creative in your searches.
A word of warning-while some searches may seem innocent at the start, they may return the wrong [or inappropriate] content. For instance, searching for an artist whose work you’ve only seen in Penthouse Magazine, will create a [possibly unforeseen to the novice] situation. Using the term Penthouse Magazine in the search engine will bring up every porn sight imaginable, and will only cause frustration because even as you are trying to back out of the area, additional pop-ups will be created so quickly that you may have to shut down your computer to stop their generation.
When looking for information about individual states in the USA, type the name of the state in the search engine. For instance, typing South Dakota into the search bar will return South Dakota’s Official Home Page, South Dakota Tourism, and The University of South Dakota, among others. You can use the first two and, if necessary, discard the third site.
Feel free to investigate many sites and the links within them. Use the knowledge you gain to extend your research. For instance, on the South Dakota Home Page, you’ll find links to Family/Health, which can lead you to the eligibility for Medical Assistance. While this may or may not be applicable to your research, a further search of those requiring medical assistance [in South Dakota] will start to build your demographic profile of the state.
Typing South Dakota uninsured population into your search engine will produce, surprisingly enough, South Dakota’s Uninsured Population: A Follow-Up Study on South Dakotans. That was a lucky search-many are not that easy. Directly below this result is found a short description: “South Dakota’s Uninsured Rate Lower than National Average.” Again, this is more information to further strengthen your searching opportunities.
One issue that has been in the news lately is Sex Offender Registries. Search any city or state next to the words sex offender registry, (i.e. Kansas Sex Offender Registry). Included in the results will be “Kansas public records finder, Kansas Megan’s Law, and in one instance, the Missouri sex offender registry. Bounce from city to state, or state to city, until you find the information that is most advantageous to your cause or position.
Consider searching phrases such as [city or state] drug abuse, [city or state] alcohol abuse, [city, or state] school systems, [city or state] employment percentages, or whatever interests you as a writer or fits the format of your project as assigned by your teacher or professor.
Below are some sites that�¯�¿�½can be used to spice up or otherwise add to the interest level of the reader, provided it fits within the parameters set forth for research. However, some may not be identified by location, so it will require research to look them up and determine where they can best be used.
www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXAMAsteak.html Big Steak Ranch
www.roadsideamerica.com/tips/getAttraction.php3?%20tip_AttractionNo==3919 Weird Street Signs
www.woccatlanta.com/ The World of Coca Cola
www.legendsofamerica.com/CA-Mainpage.htmlÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Legends of California, including “The Shoe”
www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~dbertuca/155.html�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½Volunteer Reenactment Regiment
www.ostrichfestival.com/Ostrich�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½OstrichFestival Site
www.rmcf.com/�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½Rocky Mountain Chocolate Festival
www.nutclub.org/�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½West Side Nut Club Festival
www.ci.glendale.az.us/news/012506 chocolateaffaire.cfm�¯�¿�½Chocolate Affaire
www.airfields-freeman.com/VA/Airfields_VA_Hampton.htm�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½Little Known Airfields
http://hartford.omaxfield.com/landmarks.html Landmarks and Monuments
www.insidervlv.com/Elvis/index.html�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½Elvis-A-Rama Museum
www.steamlocomotive.com/builders/�¯�¿�½ Steam Locomotive Builders
www.whatshappeninginmemphis.com/Museums&Theaters.htm�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½Museums and Theaters
www.safe-house.com/index_apr.html�¯�¿�½Safe House Dinner Theater (Click directly on the red door)
www.medievaltimes.com/ Medieval�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½Medieval Times
www.tillicumvillage.com/�¯�¿�½Tillicum Village
