Tennessee Statehood Day

In 1807, Kingston was named the state capital for one day. That's because the general assembly met there in in order to fulfill a treaty obligation made with the Cherokee, according to the state encyclopedia.

Tennessee is the birthplace of the tow truck: Ernest Holmes, of Chatanooga, invented the vehicle in 1916. Coca-Cola owes much of its success to Tennessee. According to the company's website, the beverage was created in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886 and was sold as a fountain drink for years. But it wasn't until 1899 that two Chattanooga attorneys had the idea of starting a bottling company. They pitched the idea to the Coca-Cola president, who gave the attorneys the bottling rights for $1. The dollar never was collected, but the the first bottling facility later opened in Chattanooga.