Pacific Northwest Trivia is a readable, entertaining potpourri of fascinating facts about a region of ecological diversity, captivating history, a progressive political culture with hints of separatism and colorful characters:• The world’s largest strawberry shortcake, weighing 5700 pounds, is served to more than 15,000 people at the Lebanon Strawberry Festival in June• Adam West, of Batman fame, was born in Walla Walla, Washington, and played the lead character in that campy TV series from 1966 to 1968• Despite being a semi-arid to arid climate, summer in Idaho is known for its wildflower blooms, covering literally thousands of acres• The site of the nation’s only fatal nuclear reactor meltdown is just one of the more than 50 nuclear reactors built at the national testing site near Idaho Falls• Bertha Knight Landes (1868–1943), the nation’s first female mayor, served as Seattle’s mayor from 1926 to 1928• The name for the city of Portland was settled by that most scientific of methods: a coin-toss.
