During the Mexican-American War, Brigadier General Franklin Pierce was exposed to the wonders of queso—and he liked it. (Source)

Senator Stephen Douglas' father-in-law made him the manager of a 150-slave plantation in Mississippi in his will. (Source)

Kansas' state motto is "Ad Astra Per Aspera," which means "To the Stars Through Difficulty," and we think that's pretty. (Source)

Nebraska is one of two states that doesn't utilize the winner-take-all method of allocating electoral votes during presidential elections (Maine is the other one). (Source)

Lenexa, Kansas was once known as the "Spinach Capital of the World." Tasty. (Source)

In 1937, Nebraska turned its bicameral legislative branch into a unicameral one, the only one in the country. Way to be unique, Cornhuskers. (Source)