1. Lansing got its start founded by two brothers from New York back in 1835. At the time they settled the area just south of present-day Lansing, they called it "Biddle City." Most of the area was actually flooded for most of the year. Ironically, those two brothers were from Lansing, New York.
2. When the brothers went back to New York they reported that the area was fully established and ready for people to move in. A group of excited residents moved there immediately, only to find that they had been scammed and the area was underwater! The people stuck it out, though, and the rest is history.
3. The highest-ranking Okinawan master of martial arts Beikoku Shido-kan Karate-do calls Lansing home. His name is Seikichi Iha.
4. The co-founder of Google Larry Page actually grew up in Lansing, Michigan. Lives in Palo Alto, CA, now, but everyone knows he started out as a Midwest boy.
5. For a period of time, the great Malcolm X and his family once resided in Lansing.
6. Lansing was chosen to be the state capital not by reputation, but out of frustration. In 1847 the state constitution required that the capital be moved from Detroit, and it was such a process deciding which city to pick instead that Lansing was finally chosen in order to end it.
7. At the time Lansing was made the state's capital in 1847, there were less than 20 people living in town.
8. If it wasn't for Lansing, Michigan, we would've never had GM's Oldsmobile. Early resident of the town Ransom E. Olds built the first Curved Dash Oldsmobile (before anyone had really heard a guy called Henry Ford) and began his own motor car company in 1904 called REO Motor..
9. Before Earvin Johnson became "Magic," he was just a boy from Lansing.
10. Lansing has its own Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's called the "Michigan Walk of Fame," and it honors only state residents, such as state librarian Mary Spencer and hockey star Gordie Howe.
11. Lansing was the first city in the country to establish an organization dedicated to women's history: the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame.
12. Lansing is one of the only cities to have a minor league baseball team named after a tool: the Lansing Lugnuts.
13. One of the largest family-owned pet stores in the state exists right in Lansing. It's called Preuss Pets. It's the size of a large department store at 22,000 square feet, with shopping space for all sorts of critters. Part of the store feels like you're walking through a rainforest.
14. Everyone’s favorite young adult stories about children fighting to the death would never have made it to the big screen without Art Director and Lansing native John Collins.
15. It's been said that you can't be a TRUE Spartan unless you kiss someone in the shadow of MSU's prestigious Beaumont Tower.
16. The largest bell in MSU's Beaumont Tower weighs a whopping 2.5 tons.
17. MSU sought to protect its pride and joy in the mascot "Sparty," believed to be the world's largest freestanding ceramic figure, by safely hiding it away inside the campus stadium to protect it from the outside elements. So the campus installed a bronze version of the statue - but that hasn't kept University of Michigan Wolverines from defacing it with paint.
18. It's been said that MSU has underground "dungeons." Pretty creepy, right? Well, they're actually not dungeons—they're steam tunnels utilized to house the campus utilities. They're so well known that MSU students often go exploring.
19. MSU was supposed to see its first graduating class (of seven students) in 1861, but the students were excused just a few months before graduation so they could join the Union Army in the Civil War.
20. Michigan State University went through five other names before the current name was finally chosen.
21. The MSU Spartans have won 70 percent of all the football games they play at home in Spartan Stadium.
22. You can actually traverse the entire solar system on foot simply by walking through downtown Lansing. It's called the "Planet Walk," featuring a scaled-down replica of the solar system depicting all the plants, starting at the Impression 5 Museum and ending all the way at Potter Park Zoo.
23. In 2012 The Atlantic magazine ranked the Lansing area 16th on its list of "Brainiest Cities in America."
24. You'll probably notice that Lansing's capitol building looks very similar to the one in D.C. That's no coincidence. The structure was one of the first inspired by and built to emulate the nation's Capitol building.
25. The first capitol building in Lansing was actually made of wood, having been hurriedly constructed once the city was chosen for the capital. A grander home for the state's government wasn't built until 1871.
26. Lansing's capitol building features 20 chandeliers. They're all one of a kind, featuring deer and elk horns.
27. Lansing has one of the few cash-only breakfast diners in the state: the Golden Harvest Restaurant. Most items at $6 or less (yes, really), and to this day it's one of the most popular restaurants in town.
28. Out of all the states in the U.S. Lansing is the only state capital that doesn't happen to be the county seat. The county seat of Ingham County is actually Mason, Michigan.
29. Just out of college and ready to start somewhere new? In 2010 Kiplinger named Lansing one of the "10 Great Cities for Young Adults."
30. Sparrow Hospital has been recognized as a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center - an honor only held by 6 percent of hospitals in the country.
31. The Thomas M. Cooley Law School, founded in Lansing, was named the second best law school in the country last year by U.S. News and World Report.
32. Lansing Community College, believe it or not, has an extension site for students located in Otsu, Japan. That's a long way away to get to class.
34. Lansing's Green Cab Company service uses cars that meet the standards for Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicles—the highest energy-efficient status a gas-powered vehicle in the U.S. can achieve.
35. The popular Peanut Barrel of Lansing celebrates an odd holiday: "National Eat Outside Day."
36. Lansing's Beal Botanical Garden is the oldest continuously operating botanical garden in the country, and holds more than 5,000 species of plants.
37. If it wasn't for Abraham Lincoln and the Morrill Act of 1862, Lansing's Michigan State University might never have been the same. The university was, in fact, one of the first federal land-grant institutions established after the Morrill Act.
38. You don't have to be anywhere near the Mississippi to enjoy a riverboat cruise. The J&K Steamboat Company offers such a cruise down the Grand River, right through Lansing, and it even offers music and a murder mystery theater show.
39. Lansing was initially a contender for the state's capital over the more logical (and larger) Detroit because the bigger city was considered too close to British-controlled Canada at the time.
40. The Greater Lansing Ballet Company has garnered international attention, and hosted dancers from the National Ballet School in Gdansk, Poland and the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg.
41. Although not considered the largest city in the state (it barely makes the top five), Lansing kills the competition when it comes to education: two medical schools, one veterinary school, two nursing schools, two law schools, and, of course, Michigan State University.
What’s your favorite fun Lansing fact? Tell us in the comments below!
If you believe that your mover didn’t treat you or your belongings right, you have options available to try to set matters straight.
As if the move weren’t hard enough, you can’t put your pets on the moving van.
LANSING, Michigan – In a huge surprise to everyone in Los Angeles, Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey reveals in a new interview that he is 
ABF Freight System has instituted a $5.92 surcharge for each shipment going to or from California.
Wardrobe Boxes. Wardrobe boxes have a double-strength cardboard and a metal hanger bar, so you can simply transfer hanging items from your closet to the moving box. These generally come in two sizes, a shorter one for shirts and folded over pants and a taller one for dresses, coats, and other long clothing. Wardrobe boxes can also be used for large items such as hanging plants and large lamps. Many people keep them after the move to use for off-season storage.
Boxes for paperwork. If you have sturdy filing cabinets and will be able to transport it with a hand truck, its usually best to just wrap the cabinet and move it with the files inside. Otherwise, but boxes made for paperwork. These sturdy boxes come in a variety of sizes to hold legal- or letter-size files. They are also ideal for manuals, receipts, and other important documents. Most have an easy-open top or removable lid, so no taping is needed–and you can easily get at the papers.
Cell kits. A cell kit, also called a partition kit, slips into a matching box to isolate glasses and other small objects. Most kits have two or more cell sizes. Small cells are typically 41/2 inches square and 61/2 inches deep for each section, and these are 12 sections or cell grids. Larger cells are commonly 41/2 inches square but 13 inches deep. Make sure your valuables will fit loosely into the cells, so you can wrap them.
Dish Barrel. Also called a dish pack, this is a large box with walls made of double-thick cardboard for extra strength and cushioning. It can also be used for packing a number of small pictures and other fragile items. Typically we use them to pack in blankets and pillows as it is easy to overload the box and make it too heavy to lift.
Lamp Box. This tall, relatively slim box is just the right size for most lamps and may accommodate the shade as well. Make sure your lamp will fit with several spare inches to allow for packing material. Some lamp boxes can also be used for golf clubs and other tall items.
TV Boxes. If you managed to save the boxes that originally housed your TV, monitor, stereo components, and other electronics, it’s always best to reuse them–especially if you have the foam packing. Otherwise consider buying boxes made specifically for electronics and small appliances. Some are designed to hold, for instance, and 70 inch TV, or a standard-size CD or DVD players.
New players in the self-move category–and an increasingly common sight on streets and driveways–are containers that can accommodate the contents of one room or a room and half. The rental company drops off the containers; you load and pack them. Then the rental company picks them up and delivers them to the new home or a storage facility.
Dawn Parker
