Top 10 things we learned about St. Louis

Normally, when we travel, it’s to new places.

However, our recent trip to St. Louis was the fifth or sixth since the late 1990s.

So, with that in mind, we came up with a “Top 10” of things we learned about St. Louis that we did not know before:

1. St. Louis is home to the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States (New Orleans, of course, is No. 1).

2. Outside of Washington, DC, St. Louis has the most free attractions (museums, parks, etc.) in the United States. These include the St. Louis Art Museum and the Missouri State History Museum.

3. St. Louis was once home to two Major League Baseball teams – Cardinals and Browns. The Browns were sold and relocated to Baltimore as the Orioles.

4. St. Louis is home to a Chess Hall of Fame, let alone the World Hall of Fame.

5. St. Louis University mascot Billiken is actually based on a charm doll.

6. Busch Beer was actually named after the baseball stadium. When August Busch agreed to buy the Cardinals, he supposedly asked the commissioner if Sportsman Park could be renamed Budweiser Park (after the No. 1 selling beer). When told no, he asked if it could be named after the family. That was fine. So, after the stadium was renamed Busch, the owner told brewery employees to develop a new Busch beer. Product placement all the time. LOL. We learned this on our Busch stadium tour.

7. St. Louis hosted an Olympics (1904).

8. A woman sued for the right to vote in the late 1800s and the case was heard at the Old Courthouse.

9. The ice cream cone was introduced as part of the World’s fair in 1904.

10. The City Museum. Which isn’t actually a museum. It’s a giant playground for kids of all ages, with life-sized play equipment and other attractions.