Michigan: A state in the USA, on the North American continent of Earth.

• Lansing is the State Capital.
• The total area is 58,527 square miles.
• The population¹ is 9,477,000.

Michigan is known as the 'Wolverine State' and the 'Lake State'. The State motto is Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice, or If you are looking for a beautiful peninsula, look around you.

Michigan is composed of two peninsulas: the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula.

The Toledo War was a dispute between Michigan and Ohio, from 1835-1837, over the southern boundary of the state... and the ownership of the city of Toledo. There were no fatalities in this war², but there was a scandal about the disappearance of a pig, whose fate is still unknown. The result of this boundary war³ was that Toledo became a part of Ohio; and Michigan became the proud owner of a second peninusula.

The second peninsula became the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the outline of which resembles a running rabbit. The Lower Peninsula is said to resemble a mitten, but this is just a ploy used by residents of the Lower Peninsula, who are jealous of the ability of Upper Peninsula residents to hold up their hand in the form of a rabbit to point out geographical locations⁴, plan trips, and identify likely places to go for lunch.

The Upper Peninsula is known to its residents as da Yoop. The residents are known as Yoopers. The residents of the Lower Penninsula are known as Trolls, because they live below the 'Mighty Mac' bridge

The major cities in Michigan include Sault Ste Marie, which is the third oldest continuous settlement in the USA; Ann Arbor; Grand Rapids; Midland; Port Huron; and Detroit, which was not fought over in the Great Toledo Wars.

Michigan also is a border state and connects to Canada at three points: Detroit, Port Huron and Sault Ste Marie. There are bridges in all three of these cities, but there were no trolls living below them as of this writing.

An assortment of people from Michigan:

Ellen Burstyn, Bruce Catton, Roger Chaffee, Francis Ford Coppola, Thomas E. Dewey, Edna Ferber, Henry Ford, Ali Haji-Sheikh, Julie Harris, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Ring Lardner, Charles A. Lindbergh, Madonna, Dick Martin, Terry McMillan, John N. Mitchell, Ted Nugent, Gilda Radner⁵, Della Reese, Jason Robards Sr., Diana Ross, Steven Seagal, Bob Seger, Tom Selleck, Lily Tomlin, Danny Thomas, Margaret Whiting, Robin Williams and Stevie Wonder.

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¹ From the 1993 census, which makes Michigan the tenth most populous State in the union.
² No shots were fired.
³ The resolution of the dispute led to Michigan being admitted to the Union.
⁴ For some reason the knack of simulating the shape of a mitten has not caught on.
⁵ She went to school with the Researcher of this entry.