This first via the Minnesota Legislature…
“In 1984, the morel mushroom (morchella esculenta) was chosen as Minnesota’s state mushroom. Minnesota Statute 1.149 adopted the morel as the state mushroom for Minnesota. Minnesota was the first state to have an official state mushroom. The morel is also known as the sponge mushroom or the honeycomb morel.”
This first submitted by Robin in Edina:
“I like that Minnesota was the first state where hospitals formally agreed to stop charging patients and insurance companies for certain medical errors, such as operating on the wrong body part.”
(photo via user markhillary under Creative Commons license)
This first submitted by Jason in Bloomington:
The very first Better Business Bureau was founded right here in Minneapolis in 1912 as local advertising leaders came together to promote a more ethical business climate. Though it started under a different name, it has led to a century of leadership not just here but throughout the United States.
Like no other.
This ‘first’ submitted by Matt in Minneapolis:
In 1956 a group of Roseau natives built the first modern snowmobile and went on to of course build one of the state’s most successful companies. They certainly changed the way many of us enjoy our long northern winters.
This ‘first’ submitted by Tom in Minneapolis:
A great Minnesota First: In 1926 Herbert Sellner invented the Tilt-a-Whirl at his Faribault, Minnesota home. The oldest currently operating Tilt-A-Whirl is a 1927 model – the same model that was used when the ride debuted at the Minnesota State Fair that year.
(photo via Mykl Roventine under Creative Commons license)
by William Denney
(Photo via dullhunk under creative commons license)
Bread. Man has consumed it for thousands of years. And since the Romans, people have toasted it. But it took a Minnesotan to perfect the art of toast.
The year is 1919. The place: Stillwater, Minnesota. Charles Strite works as a master mechanic in a manufacturing plant. Every day he goes to work to earn his living, and every evening he comes home, but something is not quite right. Every day Charles is growing more and more frustrated. His frustration: the cafeteria at his workplace serves burnt toast nearly every day.
At that time, toasters were in the most primitive stages of their development. Only a decade earlier, in 1909, the very first electric toaster had been introduced by General Electric, and by 1913, some toasters even had an automatic bread turner! But toasters needed continual attention while in operation to ensure that the bread would not burn. The bread was put on a rack above the heating coils and then flipped by hand to toast the other side. Unless, of course, you had a toaster with an automatic bread turner! Yet even with this small convenience, people still had to watch the bread, and turn the toaster off when it had been toasted to their liking. Producing toast in mass quantities for a cafeteria in this fashion proved to be inefficient.
Charles Strite, Minnesotan, decides that his time is now, and he is going to fix this mess. Shortly thereafter, he designs the first ever automatic pop-up toaster. He places the heating coils on both sides of the toaster, so that both sides of the bread can toast at the same time. He installs a variable timer that turns off the electricity, and perhaps most importantly, he incorporates springs that automatically pop the bread up when it is done. Thus began the modern age of kitchen appliances.
Strite received a patent for his innovation in 1921. He then formed the Waters-Genter Company to market his creation to the restaurant industry. And 5 years later, in 1926, the first automatic pop-up toasters made for home use became available to the public for the first time. The device was called the “Toastmaster”, and the triple-loop logo that was inspired by its heating elements still grace this product and kitchens all across America to this day.
This is only one of the many great ways in which Minnesota has transformed how Americans eat breakfast each and every day.
This ‘first’ submitted by Susan in Edina:
How about this? The first successful bone-marrow transplant anywhere in the world happened at the University of Minnesota Hospital performed by famed pediatric immunologist and native Minnesotan Robert Good.
(photo via Patrick Hoesly under Creative Commons license)
This ‘first’ submitted by IP director Bruce Anderson:
My favorite Minnesota First was in 1860, when Minnesota elected its first third party candidate on a statewide ballot (Abraham Lincoln).
(photo via ego technique under Creative Commons license)
This ‘first’ submitted by Laura in Alexandria:
Scotch Tape was invented in 1930 by Richard Drew who also invented the first masking tape in 1925 at the 3M plant in St. Paul. Can you imagine wrapping a present or repairing a torn page in a book without scotch tape? Definitely a Minnesota first we take for granted.
(photo via jepoirrier under Creative Commons license)
