Keychain: United States. Seal and Flag of Iowa

Key Chain Representing Iowa State

The name Iowa comes from the Ayuxa Indians; in French this is spelled Ayoua and in English it's spelled Ioway. Either way it means "one who puts to sleep." Speaking of putting to sleep, English majors would be interested to know that Iowa is the only state in the Nation to start with two vowels.

Famous people from Iowa include; entertainer Johnny Carson, poll taker George H. Gallup, columnist Ann Landers, actress Cloris Leachman, painter Grant Wood, actress Donna Reed, columnist Abigail "dear abbey" Van Buren, and legendary actor John Wayne.

Places to visit:

- Iowa's oldest theater in Story City along with the state's oldest operating antique carousel.
- You can visit the manufacturer of campers and motor homes in Winnebago County. You wondered where the name Winnebago came from?
- The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art where you can find the largest collection of Grant Woods artwork. Also in Cedar Rapids is Quaker Oats which is the largest cereal manufacturer in the world.
- Burlington's Snake Alley was dubbed by Ripley's Believe It or Not as the most crooked street in the world.
To commemorate all these fun facts you can purchase a keychain online at World-Wide-Gifts.com.

Iowa's State Symbols as Souvenirs

Iowa's state flag resembles the flag of France with its red, white, and blue vertical stripes. On the white stripes in the middle is the bald eagle with a blue streamer in its beak that displays the state's motto "Our Liberties We Prize, and Our Rights We Will Maintain." The name of the state is in red letters just below the motto. The actual seal shows the Eagle and the state's motto and also portrays a soldier holding an American flag while standing in a field of wheat. Behind the soldier is a cultivator that is resting in his field and smoke trails from a small cabin's chimney with a ship streaming through the water in the background. These symbols are depicted on either side of a keyring at internet store World-Wide-Gifts along with other memorabilia.