Seattle Facts
Interesting Tidbits About the Emerald City
We decided to have a little fun with this blog post and found 5 different, interesting facts about the city we all know and love…. Seattle, WA. Without further ado, here are 5 interesting facts about Seatown.
1) Seattle’s Sports Fans Set Records
Last year alone, Seattle Fans set two separate records, for two different teams! First, in October, the Sounder’s set the record for the highest attendance of a Major League Soccer Game for the fifth year running, with an average of 44,038 fans attending each game at Century Link Field. For a little perspective, that doubles the average attendance of an L.A. Galaxy game (the 2nd place holder on the list), which averages 21,770 a game.
The second record belongs to the Fans of the Seahawks, who help set the record for the loudest Outdoor Sports Stadium on December 2nd when the ‘hawks beat the New Orleans Saints, 34-7. Guinness World Records recorded the sound of the stadium and rated it an ear-splitting 137.6 decibels! As a reference, according to most decibel charts, pain begins at 125 decibels, and a loud concert is usually around 120 decibels. And now the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl! Go Hawks!!
2) The City Used to be 22 Feet Lower
Due to the Great Seattle Fire in 1889, which burned 25 city blocks, part of the city was covered over, and the streets raised 22 feet. Because much of the fire had destroyed wooden buildings, the city also created an ordinance that new buildings had to be made of brick and concrete. The fire was not an entirely bad thing for the city, however, as it killed an estimated 1 million rodents and the population of the city doubled, from 20,000 to 40,000, as many new people moved in to aid in the recovery effort. Today, Seattle’s Underground Tour is a popular tourist attraction where you can explore parts of the city that have been preserved and covered over.
3) Chief Seattle
Seattle gets its name from Chief Seattle, a Duwamish leader. His name, originally pronounced and spelled Si’ahl, was anglicized into the modern usage we all use now. Si’ahl was an important figure in the city’s formation as he strove to accommodate white settlers peacefully. He was known to be a great leader, warrior and orator.
4) Seattle’s Best (mini-list)
There are many things that Seattle is best at. So many, in fact, that it’s impossible to pick just one to list here. So I’ve chosen five factoids, a top-five if you will, of Seattle’s best:
- Seattle is the most literate city in the country! Seattle public library has the highest percentage of library cardholders per capita in the nation!
- Seattle has the highest percentage of residents with college degrees
- Seattle has the most technology-dependent jobs per capita when compared with every other major U.S. City.
- The farmer’s market at Pike Place is the longest continuously operation farmer’s market in the U.S.
- Last of all, for you music fans out there, Seattle was the very first U.S. city to play the Beatles on the radio.
5) Not That Rainy!
Finally, my favorite fact on the list, Seattle is not that rainy! At least not as much as you might imagine. When average annual rainfall is taken into account, Seattle actually ranks 44th on a list of major US cities, with around 38 inches of rain each year. Further up the list, you’ll find New York (43in), Houston (48in), Nashville (48in) Memphis (52in), and New Orleans (60in).
