The Nifty Fifty: Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state in the southern region of the United States with the abbreviation of OK. Oklahoma became the 46th state on November 16, 1907, making the state 118 years old, as of November, 2025. The name Oklahoma comes from a Choctaw word meaning red people.

Oklahoma is the 20th largest state and the 28th most populous; the capital of Oklahoma is Oklahoma City and its demonym is Oklahoman. The state of Oklahoma is bordered by the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.

The motto of Oklahoma is Labor Omnia Vincit, which is Latin for Labor Conquers All.

The unofficial, yet popular, nickname for Oklahoma is the Sooner State. The nickname refers to the late 1880s, when the mostly unassigned lands of Oklahoma Territory were opened up for settlers to claim. Thousands of people waited in line at the border of Oklahoma for the signal to race into the territory to claim a stake of land, however, some people, who went in early and staked their claims, were known as the Sooners.

The landscape of Oklahoma is covered in forests, grasslands, high plains, and mesas with mountains to the east and arid prairies to the west.

Oklahoma is known for its western culture, for being located in tornado alley, for raising cattle, for producing rye and canola, and for being the only state in the US to produce iodine. The land of Oklahoma contains many resources, such as the aforementioned iodine as well as lead, zinc, iron, copper, titanium, manganese, uranium, gold, and silver.

On May 24, 1919, James Elbert “Jake” McNiece was born in Maysville, Oklahoma. McNiece’s family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma during the Great Depression, where he attended school before working in road construction; McNiece later worked at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, gaining experience in the use of explosives. In 1942, McNiece enlisted in the army and he was assigned to the demolition saboteur section of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment — the demolition saboteur section was later known as the Filthy Thirteen. McNiece’s unorthodox methods and defiance of commanding officers earned him the nickname McNasty, sometimes Filthy McNasty, and even caused his promotion from Private to Private First Class to be delayed much longer than it was for most other paratroopers. McNiece’s first combat jump was during the invasion of Normandy in 1944. The leader of the Filthy Thirteen was killed in action during the invasion, after which McNiece led the unit. McNiece also performed combat jumps during Operation Market Garden — where allied forces attempted to take a series of bridges in the Netherlands to break through German lines — and at the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. McNiece’s final jump was near Prüm, Germany, where he helped resupply the cut-off 90th Infantry Division. To recognize his natural leadership skills, McNiece was made the acting First Sergeant for the Headquarters Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment by the end of the war; McNiece had also been awarded 4 Bronze Stars, 2 Purple Hearts, and the French Legion of Honour medal, however, McNiece was kicked out of the military in 1946 after his latest fight with an MP. After the war, McNiece traveled the United States and temporarily settled in California before returning to Ponca City, Oklahoma, where he worked for the United States Postal Service for more than 28 years. McNiece passed away in January, 2013, at the age of 93.

In the 1970s, a man named Gordon Matthews invented the first voicemail machine. Matthews was inspired by a client’s garbage bin that was overflowing with message slips that were used by the receptionists to inform their boss that someone tried to call him while he was away. Matthews’ machine allowed the caller to record a message for the person they were trying to reach.

On October 22, 1862, the Battle of Old Fort Wayne occurred in Delaware County, Indian Territory, which is now near Sycamore, Oklahoma. US Brigadier General James Blunt and his troops of the First Division of the Army of the Frontier attacked Confederate Colonel Douglas Cooper near Old Fort Wayne. The Confederates put up fierce resistance for thirty minutes, but overwhelming numbers of Union troops forced them to make a hasty retreat, leaving behind artillery and equipment. This caused the battle to end in a Union victory with Union troops only suffering 14 casualties while the Confederates suffered 150.

An interesting fact about Oklahoma is that Oklahoma is home to Cimarron County; Cimarron County is the westernmost county in the Oklahoma Panhandle, which means the county borders the states of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Cimarron is the only county in the United States to border 4 other states!

A strange, and tragic, fact about Oklahoma is that the state has the highest concentration of tornadoes per square mile in the entire world. This happens because the moist air from the Gulf of America collides with the dry air from the Rocky Mountains over Oklahoma.

What fact about Oklahoma most interests you?