Why can’t I be nearly as cool as my grandma?

Note: This article, which appeared in the Denver Post in 1948, contains a couple inaccuracies. Jerry (Geraldine) Barron was not wearing a bathing suit, and it wasn’t a garden hose. It was a fire hose.

6. Pocatello’s Wild West legacy extends beneath the old town with a series of underground tunnels, home to illegal gambling parlors.

5. One of the many unique features of Idaho is that it is the only state whose name derives from a hoax. Eccentric lobbyist George M. Willing in the 1860s intentionally misled Congress, who was considering creating a territory in the Rocky Mountains, by saying “Idaho” or “E-dah-how” was a Shoshone Indian word that meant “the sun comes from the mountains” or “gem of the mountains.”

4. Between 2000 and 2006, the population of Idaho has increased by 12.8%, dwarfing New York’s paltry 1.6%.

3. The Gem State produces more than 72 precious and semi-precious stones, some of which can be found nowhere else in the world.

2. The mean elevation of Idaho is 5,000 feet. Beat that for round numbers, Miss 100 County State.

Due to the recent slew of anti-Idaho slurs, this week we will be presenting the series “Idaho: The Land of Gemmy Wonderment.”

1. First and foremost, for all who may be geographically challenged or culturally prejudiced, Idaho is not in the Midwest. It is most definitely a Rocky Mountain state. (For visual aid, please see map.)

In response to recent inquiries as to the origin of “Pineapple Princess,” I’d like to attribute it to my partiality to the tropical fruit and to this song.