The town of Middlesboro, built inside an enormous meteorite crater, was established in 1886 to exploit iron and coal deposits, although the town's founder, Alexander A. Arthur, apparently did not know of the crater's extraterrestrial origin.

Kentucky is the birthplace of Bourbon, crafting 95 percent of the world's supply. Only the Bluegrass State has the perfect natural mix of climate, conditions and pure limestone water necessary for producing the world's greatest Bourbon.

"Happy Birthday", the most recognized song in the English language, was written by Patty and Mildred J. Hill of Louisville, Kentucky in 1893.

Kentucky shares borders with seven states: Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia and Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west.

While the precise etymology is uncertain, it is most likely based on an Iroquoian name meaning "on the prairie". Others sources have suggested the term Kenta Aki, which could have come from an Algonquian language and was possibly derived from Shawnee. Folk etymology translates this as "Land of Our Fathers".

One of America's favorite backyard birds, the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) was once prized as a pet, but its sale as a cage bird was banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Mary Towles Sasseen, a schoolteacher in Henderson, Kentucky, held a Mother's Day celebration on April 20, 1887, which was her mother's birthday. In 1893, Sasseen published a 32-page pamphlet entitled Mother's Day Celebration, in which she laid out her vision for the holiday, stating that she had founded it "in the hope of awakening on the part of the child, a deeper appreciation of her, who is the central figure of the home. That it may strengthen the family bonds, making them more beautiful and tender, that it may breathe a hope of that future, where language is music, thought is light, and love is law."

During the War of 1812, Kentucky played a vital role, supplying numerous troops and supplies to the war effort. Because the state didn't have to commit manpower to defending fortifications, most Kentucky troops campaigned actively against the enemy. As a result, although they represented only 4.6 percent of all American troops in the war, Kentuckians comprised about 64 percent of those killed in action.

Harrodsburg (previously Harrodstown) was laid out and founded by James Harrod on June 16, 1774. Harrod led a company of adventurers totaling thirty-one men down the Monongahela and Ohio rivers in canoes and through a series of other rivers and creeks to the town's present-day location.

About thirty varieties of goldenrod are found in Kentucky. Although the statute does not specify a particular variety of goldenrod, the Kentucky legislature's website lists the giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea), which can grow up to 80 inches (200 cm) tall.