The hottest recorded day in Phoenix was June 26, 1990, when the temperature hit 122 degrees.

In Glendale, it is illegal for a car to back up.

During WWII, about 17,000 German prisoners of war were held at a POW camp near Phoenix. Two nights before Christmas 1944, 25 of them escaped through a tunnel. Their plan was to float down the rivers they had seen marked on maps to Mexico. Unfortunately for them, most of Arizona's rivers and streams are usually dry. Cold, hungry, and thwarted, the escapees decided that a nice warm prison camp was a better place to spend Christmas than the desert wilderness. You can read more about the (not so) Great Escape here.

In Hackberry, there is a city ordinance that prohibits women from eating raw onions while drinking buttermilk on the Sabbath.

Among all the states, Arizona has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands.

In Tucson, it is illegal for women to wear pants.

During World War I, the nation�s supply of Egyptian cotton, which was needed to manufacture tires, was cut off by the German blockade. In 1917, Goodyear bought land west of Phoenix -- now the town of Goodyear -- and began growing long-fibered cotton, which became one of the state�s largest crops.

In Hayden, it is against the law to disturb bullfrogs or cottontail rabbits within the city limits.

Except for the part of the Navajo Nation within Arizona�s borders, the state doesn�t observe Daylight Saving Time. Hawaii is the only other state that doesn�t �spring forward� and �fall back.�

85% of the state�s population lives in the metro areas of Phoenix and Tucson.

Fort Apache is in Navajo County, and the city of Navajo is in Apache County. The town of Maricopa isn�t in Maricopa County, but in Pinal Co. Gila Bend isn�t in our own Gila County; it�s in Maricopa. And Pima isn�t in Pima County. Try Graham County, if you�re looking for it.

The first McDonald�s franchise was in Arizona. (Please don�t blame us!)

Odd Arizona town names include Monkey�s Eyebrow, Why, Happy Jack, Inspiration, Tombstone, Snowflake, Arsenic Tubs, Two Guns, Friendly Corner, Strawberry, Tortilla Flat, Surprise, Carefree, Contention, Fredonia (one for us Marx Brothers fans,) Burnt Water, Grasshopper Junction, Chloride, Skull Valley, Many Farms, Jackrabbit, Snowflake, Sunflower, Cherry, Nothing, and Dos Cabezas (�Two Heads�).

�Jupiter,� the locomotive that powered the Central Pacific train that met the Union Pacific�s train at Promontory Point, Utah, when the famous Golden Spike was driven to connect the East and West coasts by rail, was later the first engine for the Gila Valley, Globe (yes, our Globe,) and Northern Railroad. She ended her career in 1909, sold to a scrapper for $1000.

In 1862, Arizona briefly became a Confederate Territory with the westernmost battle of the Civil War occurring at Picacho Peak.

Next time you fuss because you need to cruise down to your county courthouse, remember the folks in Moccasin in the remote Arizona Strip. They have to travel nearly 300 miles in three states (Arizona, Utah, and Nevada,) a 5 hour drive, just to get to Kingman, their county seat. (Check it out on Mapquest.)

But, at Four Corners, you can stand in four states at the same time! (The photo is an old family snapshot of Jamus there on a childhood vacation.)

Part of Tombstone Marshall Wyatt Earp's job was filling in pot holes and collecting fees for dog licenses. By the way, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral wasn�t. It was in an empty lot near the corral (but who�d remember �the Gunfight at the Empty Lot�?)

The first barrel of tequila produced in the U.S. came from Nogales. Lift your margarita glass to the good folks of Nogales!

In Prescott, no one is permitted to ride their horse up the stairs of the county court house.

Arizona has more parks and national monuments than any other state, more mountains than Switzerland, and more golf courses than Scotland.

In Phoenix, you can't walk through a hotel lobby with spurs on.

You know about Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, but have you ever heard of Colonel Francesco de Pinedo? In 1927, this Italian pilot attempted to fly around the world in his seaplane, the Santa Maria. After flying 16,000 miles -- from Italy to Africa and on to Brazil, then across South America to Columbia, and, from there, to the U.S. -- he landed on Lake Roosevelt, north of Globe. Twenty minutes after the Santa Maria landed, a carelessly thrown match destroyed the plane, which was mostly wood, and she sank into the lake. The rest of the story can be found here.

The largest meteorite crater in the world is in Winslow. It is 4,150 feet across and 150 feet deep.

In Globe, it is illegal to play cards in the street with a Native American.

In Maricopa County, no more than six girls may live in any house.

In Nogales, it is illegal to wear suspenders.

Grand Falls, on the Little Colorado River (as opposed to the regular ol� Colorado River, which, despite its name, runs mostly through Arizona,) is 185 feet high, taller than Niagara Falls. Of course, that�s only during the early spring when the snow runoff from the White Mountains causes it to actually have any water in it.

The planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. The world�s three largest solar telescopes are at the National Solar Observatory on Kitt Peak.

In Mojave County, a decree declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up.

Yuma has the most sunny days in the U.S. On average, each year there are 332 sunny days. The annual rainfall there averages 3.27 inches!

Historically, Arizona�s economy has been based on the Four C�s � cotton, copper, cattle, and citrus. In recent years, a fifth � climate (which promotes tourism) � has been added.

Arizona leads the country in copper production with 65% of the total U.S. mine production. So important has copper been to Arizona�s history that the roof of the Arizona State Capitol building is sheathed with copper equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies. The copper star on the state flag is another tribute. (Here in Globe, we actually live in the Cobre -- Spanish for �copper� -- Valley.)

The mountains of southern and southeastern Arizona are home to the second greatest variety of hummingbirds in North America: 18 species. Texas beats us by one.

An estimated 80-95% of the world�s peridot -- August�s birthstone -- comes from the San Carlos Apache Reservation just east of Globe.

The bola (or bolo) tie is the official state neckwear. (Yes, we�re the only state to have one!)

If you�re collecting the state quarters, you�ll have to wait a while longer for Arizona�s: Arizona was the last state in the continental U.S. to be admitted to statehood, on February 14, 1912. Because of the date, it is sometimes called �The Valentine State.�

In Tombstone, it is illegal for men and women over the age of 18 to have less than one missing tooth visible when smiling.

Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.

�The World�s Largest Rose� -- 8000+ square feet of rose tree -- is in Tombstone. It has bloomed every year since it was planted in 1885. (That�s right: eighteen-eighty-five!)

Less than 20% of Arizona�s land is privately owned. A quarter of the state�s area is owned by our native tribes, 21 of them. The rest of the state is made up of public lands such as national parks and forests.

The only place in the world where saguaro cactus grow naturally is the area within 150 miles of Phoenix. Consequently, there is a possible 25 year prison sentence for cutting down a saguaro. A one-year sentence is mandatory for removing or intentionally destroying a saguaro.

In 1927, Leo, the MGM Lion, who was being flown from L.A. to New York as a publicity stunt, unintentionally visited Gila County when the plane crashed in Hell�s Canyon near Payson. Here�s an article from The Payson Roundup.

In 1937, Dr. Willys Carrier, the inventor of air conditioning, refrigerated the entire Magma Copper Mine near Superior; it was the first time a/c was used in mining. (And you thought your electric bill was high in summer!)