1. "Esse Quam Videri" - To Be, Rather Than To Seem - our state motto
2. The first powered flight ever happened at Kitty Hawk, NC
3. NC contains the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River - Mount Mitchell
4. The first English settlement in the New World was in NC - The Lost Colony that no one knows what happened to!
5. NC is the longest state east of the Mississippi River at 560 miles long
6. The largest, privately owned house in America is Asheville's Biltmore House
7. NC boasts the most outdoor dramas of any state, we also had the first outdoor drama - The Lost Colony that details the first English settlement
8. The Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest brick lighthouse in the US
9. Pepsi Cola was invented in North Carolina 100 years ago in 1998
10. North Carolina was the last state to secede from the Union during the Civil War
11. North Carolina was named in honor of King Charles I (no, I do not know how Carolina comes from Charles!)
12. Belmont Abbey was the first abbey cathedral in the Western Hemisphere
13. The top industry in the state is Textiles, followed closely by Furniture

Many of the items for this list are taken from Our State: down home in North Carolina. The specific reference is:
Grizzle, Ralph. "65 Fascinating Facts about North Carolina." Our State June 1998: 42-54.

I will add to this page as I uncover interesting facts and figures...keep checking back to see what's new!