My mom was kind enough to send me the Oklahoma Centennial edition of the Daily Oklahoman. It turns out that even after that eighth grade class on Oklahoma history, there are still lots of things for me to learn about Oklahoma.

Here they are, pretty much verbatim, ripped straight from the headlines:

One: Langston University is home to the number one goat research institute in the world.

Two: Oklahoma offers a wide range of scenery.

Three: With a wide range of trained doctors in the state, most medical problems can be handled in Oklahoma.

Four: Where are some of us from? There are foreign-born Oklahomans from every continent.

Five: Oklahoma governors came from diverse backgrounds. (For twenty-four white guys.)

Six: An Oklahoman invented the shopping cart, a product that revolutionized merchandising and changed shopping habits across America. (Take that, Texas.)

Seven: Oklahoma schools have graduated well beyond one-room buildings.

Eight: There is a toy and action figure museum in Pauls Valley.

Nine: Oklahoma’s planes, trains, and automobiles have received a technological facelift over the past century.

Ten: Oklahoma is home to many creative talents. Not just Will Rogers and Carrie Underwood and Reba and Garth. (But please don’t mention Gore Vidal.)

Eleven: All-Indian schools still produce pride.

Twelve: The interstate highway system converges in Oklahoma. I-40 and I-35 make it easier for Oklahomans to make cross-state travels. (I-44, apparently, can go to hell.)

Thirteen: The number of Oklahomans working in mines or in backbreaking factory work has declined.

Fourteen: At Oklahoma City University, you’re a name, not a number. (Apparently, it is no longer one of seventeen Harvards of the Midwest.)

Fifteen: Oil still pumps vitality into the Oklahoma economy.

Sixteen: The Indian tribes have mixed feelings about the Centennial.

Seventeen: Oklahoma is growing into a world-class state.