Five Fun Facts about Birmingham:
• Birmingham is the largest city in the state of Alabama, with a metro population of approximately 1 million.
• Birmingham is home to the nation’s oldest baseball park, Rickwood Field, which opened in 1910 and hosted baseball greats such as Jackie Robinson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.
• Birmingham is the only place in the world where all the ingredients for making iron are present: coal, iron ore and limestone—all within a 10-mile radius.
• Vulcan, the mythical god of metalworking, is the largest iron figure ever cast and is second in size only to the Statue of Liberty. The statue was Birmingham’s entry in the 1904 World’s Fair, where it won first place.
Southern Living, the nation’s most successful regional magazine, is published in Birmingham.
Famous People from Birmingham:
Mel Allen, Bobby Allison, Charles Barkley, Bo Bice, Bobby Bowden, Rick Bragg, Paul “Bear” Bryant, Dennis Covington, Courtney Cox, Deidre Downs, Fannie Flagg, Louise Fletcher, Bo Jackson, Kate Jackson, Joe Naimath, Paula Poundstone, Ruben Studdard, Pat Sullivan, Heather Whitestone
Local Slang:
The ‘Ham – Short for Birmingham
Southside – The culturally-diverse south side of downtown
‘Brookie – A person who is from Mountain Brook
Over the Mountain (OTM) – The communities of Homewood, Hoover, Vestavia, and North Shelby County, which are located “over the mountain”
Coke – Any kind of carbonated beverage