There’s no exact definition of which states constitute the Deep South, but most folks agree on Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. And within those five states, you’ll find some eye-opening quirks and trivia, from record-breaking bridges and drive-ins to statues of weevils (yes, really).
New Orleans has the longest continuous bridge over water in the world
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway holds the Guinness World Record at nearly 24 miles long. Unusually, it has never been significantly damaged by a hurricane and was a major route for recovery teams after Katrina in 2005.
Graceland is the second-most visited private home in the USA
The home of Elvis Presley for over 20 years, Graceland currently receives around 600,000 visitors a year – only the White House in Washington is more popular – with over 20 million people having passed through the doors since it opened as a museum in 1982.
Nashville has the world’s only full-size replica of The Parthenon
Constructed for Nashville’s centenary in 1897, this replica has none of the damage the original has sustained. Inside, there’s a sculpture of Athena that’s said to be the tallest indoor sculpture in the West.
The South has its own literary genre
Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction exploring themes of moral and physical decay, alienation and violence, and made famous by authors such as William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and Flannery O’Connor.
Alabama has the world’s only monument to an insect
And it’s not ironic either – the townspeople of Enterprise, Alabama, are genuinely grateful to the boll weevil, a fearsome pest that destroyed over half the town’s cotton crop in 1915. This forced the town to switch to peanuts, which turned out to be far more lucrative.
The teddy bear got its name after a hunting trip in Mississippi
After US President Theodore Roosevelt famously refused to shoot a bear on a hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902, toymaker Morris Michtom created a bear cub which he called “Teddy’s Bear,” and the name stuck.
The first Mardi Gras celebration was actually in Alabama
Mardi Gras first took place in Mobile in 1703 – 15 years before New Orleans. Mobile was originally Louisiana’s capital, and when it moved to New Orleans in 1718 the Carnival followed.
Creole and Cajun cuisines are distinct from each other
Although they share much in common, creole cuisine originated in New Orleans and was influenced by French, Spanish, German, English and African settlers. The more rustic cajun style developed when French immigrants from Acadia moved to Louisiana and adapted their cooking styles to suit local ingredients.
The biggest drive-in restaurant in the world is in Atlanta
From its humble origins as a hotdog stand in 1928, The Varsity has grown to become the biggest drive-in in the world, with room for 600 cars. More Coca-Cola is served here than any other restaurant in the world.
There’s a hotel in Memphis with famous ducks
The Peabody Hotel has five resident ducks who march along a red carpet to the fountain lobby with much fanfare every morning and night. Each duck only stays at the hotel for three months, however, before it’s reintroduced back to the wild.
