Though he now lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, Houston Bernard was born in Oklahoma. In fact, he is a direct descendent of George ‘Bittercreek’ Newcomb, who was a member of the infamous ‘Wild Bunch’ and a most wanted man in the 1890s. Below are a few more interesting facts about Oklahoma and the people of the state.
- The state has more than fifty-five thousand miles of shore line. The majority of this is due to the presence of large lakes in the state, such as Lake Texoma and Lake Eufaula.
- The name Oklahoma is derived by two Choctaw words. ‘Okla’ means people, whereas ‘Humma’ means red, meaning the name of the state can be literally translated to red people.
- Gordon Matthews, who was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is responsible for voicemail. He invented and patented an electronic message system that recorded and stored audio messages in 1982.
- Oklahoma is famous for its lakes, but did you know it has the most man-made lakes of any state in the USA?
- The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is home to the Saurophaganax Maximus, which is the official state fossil of Oklahoma.
- The world’s first parking meter was installed on First Street and Robinson Avenue in Oklahoma City in 1935.
- Cimarron County in Oklahoma is the only county in the United States that shares borders with four other states. These are Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas.Houston Bernard was born in Oklahoma and now lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, where he owns Mass Mobile Massage.
