Seattle Facts

The world's tallest Christmas tree in 1950 stood 212 feet high at Northgate Mall in Seattle, Washington—a record for its time.

Seattle's Beacon Food Forest, which opened in 2012, spans seven acres and is filled with hundreds of edible plants including fruit trees, berry bushes, vegetables, and herbs. It's free and open to anyone who wants to harvest food, making it the first public food forest in an urban area in the United States.

In 2006, developers offered 84-year-old Edith Macefield $1 million for the tiny Seattle house she had bought for $3,750 in 1952. She said no. So they built a five-story shopping complex around it. During construction, the site superintendent started checking on her, bringing groceries, driving her to appointments. When Edith died in 2008, she left the house to him.