Louisiana—The Pelican State (18)
Capitol: Baton Rouge
Admitted into Union: April 30, 1812
State Flower: Magnolia
State Tree: Bald Cypress
State Bird: Eastern brown pelican
State Animal: Louisiana Black Bear
Population: 4.5 million

Do you voodoo? In New Orleans’s colorful open-air markets, you can buy fresh produce, Creole spices, even voodoo trinkets. Louisiana voodoo, a unique blend of ancient African religions and Catholicism, is a spiritual practice focused on healing. Contrary to bogus Hollywood depictions of vampires and blood sacrifice, voodoo’s purpose is to heal relationships with the self, others, and God. Our spacious Louisiana Market Sac comes with an authentic gris-gris bag, a small pouch of herbs that bring prosperity and blessings.

Quel bon marché! In 1680, French explorer Robert de la Salle named all the land drained by the Mississippi River “Louisiana,” for Louis XIV of France. In 1803, Napoleon sold the 828,000─square mile region (which stretched to the Continental Divide) to the United States for $15 million. It was later divided into all or part of 13 states. The “territory of Orleans” became the state of Louisiana in 1812.

Party state: Louisiana is home to more than 600 annual festivals. Mardi Gras alone generates over $840 million annually, filling New Orleans’s 30,000 hotel rooms for weeks on end. Tens of millions of shiny bead necklaces—along with millions of plastic cups and “gold” doubloons—are tossed from hundreds of parade floats during several Mardi Gras parades each year.

Oh Baby! A King Cake—a must for any Mardi Gras fête—is a ring-shaped, braided pastry crowned with green, gold, and purple sugar. Served to mark Epiphany and honor the three Magi (kings), a tiny plastic baby doll representing the Christ child is baked inside. The person who gets the piece with the baby is declared "king" and must host the next party. New Orleans consumes more than half a million King cakes annually.

Tie one on: No, we don’t mean laissez les bon temps rouler with a belly full of hurricanes. We’re talking about the world's largest manufacturer of neckties, Wemco, Inc., which calls New Orleans home.

Odd delicacies: Louisiana is the nation’s top producer of crawfish (98% of the world supply), shallots, salt…and alligator. So does that mean you can dine in, then wear your leftovers home in the form of some mighty fine boots?

I’m ready for my close up! Movies filmed in Louisiana include Faust, Tarzan of the Apes (the first one), A Streetcar Named Desire, Lolita, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Steel Magnolias, JFK, and Interview with a Vampire.

Down by law: In Louisiana, it’s illegal to gargle in public places, tie an alligator to a fire hydrant, or rob a bank and then shoot at the bank teller with a water pistol. Biting someone with your natural teeth is "simple assault," while biting them with false teeth is "aggravated assault." Technically, it’s illegal for a woman to drive a car unless her husband is waving a flag in front of it.

Saucy style: New Orleans cuisine is a hybrid of French, Spanish, and African cooking styles, with some Native American ingredients thrown in for good measure. Authentic New Orleans cooking relies on local produce, meat, and seafood to create highly seasoned and often saucy dishes.

Mighty but muddy: The Mississippi River releases 2.3 million cubic feet of water per second into the Gulf of Mexico, taking with it more than 400 million cubic yards of mud, sand, and gravel each year. The river provides water for over 4 million people along its banks.

Simply superlative: The 24-mile Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest over-water bridge in the world. Louisiana's 6.5 million acres of wetlands are the greatest in the nation. Orleans Parish, the lowest point in the state, is five feet below sea level.

Twisted roots: New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz and Zydeco, two music styles that draw from many cultures. The hydrid New Orleans music was first dubbed “jazz” in the early 20th century. Trumpeter and singer Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong made jazz popular worldwide. Zydeco music—with its roots in Black Creole music, which featured French dance melodies and borrowed elements from Cajun music—features the accordion and the washboard.

Famous Louisianans: Louis Armstrong, Geoffrey Beene, Harry Connick Jr., Truman Capote, Van Cliburn, Fats Domino, Lillian Hellman, Al Hirt, Mahalia Jackson, Sammy Kershaw, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wynton Marsalis, Tim McGraw, Jelly Roll Morton, Aaron Neville, Huey Newton, Paul Prudhomme, Alton Ruben, Britney Spears.