Take a spin on the country’s oldest carousel in continuous operation in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The Watch Hill Flying Horse Carousel was built in 1876 and has stood on its current site since 1883. As its name suggests, the Flying Horse is no ordinary carousel — instead of being attached to the floor of the carousel, the horses are suspended from the top with chains.

Take a glass of ice-cold milk and add coffee syrup to it and you've made yourself the state drink of Rhode Island — coffee milk. The concoction has been popular in the Ocean State since the 1930s, when brands like Eclipse (based in Warwick) and Autocrat (based in Lincoln) began selling bottles of the flavored syrup.

Maine has the oldest median age in the United States by a considerable margin, with the average resident being 44.8 years old. After Maine comes New Hampshire (43), Vermont (42.8), West Virginia (42.7), and Florida (42.2). More than 20% of Maine's population is 65 or older. On the flip side, the youngest state in the country is Utah, with a median age of just 31.1 statewide.

Candlepin bowling was first invented in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1880. Though similar to standard tenpin bowling, candlepin has a few notable differences. The pins are shaped differently, appearing more like cylindrical "candles" than the curvy pins in most bowling alleys. The ball is also much smaller than a tenpin bowling ball, weighing a maximum of two pounds, seven ounces. The scoring is a bit different as well.

The Chinook, a traditional sled and work dog, is the only dog breed that originated in New Hampshire, so it’s only fitting that it was named the state's official dog in 2009. A rare breed that was once on the verge of extinction, Chinooks are devoted family pets known for their intelligence, patience, and eagerness to please. The breed was started by Arthur Treadwell Walden of Wonalancet, New Hampshire in the early 1900s.

Before European colonization greatly reduced their numbers, the area now known as New England was inhabited by Native American nations of the Algonquian language group, including the Narragansett, Wampanoag, Pequot, Nauset, and Nipmuc peoples. At the beginning of the 1600s, there were approximately 85,000 Native Americans in the area, who lived in small agricultural villages. The Shoshone people, on the other hand, are native to the western United States.

With a length of 410 miles, the Connecticut River takes the title as the longest in New England. The body of water flows from the Canadian border straight down to the Long Island Sound south of Connecticut. Along the way, it flows through Massachusetts and its namesake state , and also forms the entire border between New Hampshire and Vermont.

With a height of 6,288 feet, Mount Washington is the tallest peak in New England. Found in the White Mountains' Presidential Range in New Hampshire, it is named for Founding Father George Washington. For 62 years, the peak also held the world record for the fastest wind gust ever recorded on the surface of the earth (outside of tornadoes and hurricanes) at 231 miles per hour.

The historic seaport town of Mystic was founded in 1654, where the Mystic River meets the Atlantic Ocean in southeastern Connecticut. For several centuries, it was a prominent shipbuilding center, but the 1988 film “Mystic Pizza,” starring Julia Roberts, gave it a much different claim to fame. The movie’s title was inspired by an actual pizzeria in town of the same name, which opened in 1973, and the movie was filmed there and several other locations downtown.

Invented in 1891, Fig Newtons were named for the town of Newton, Massachusetts, which was just a few miles away from the original home of the Kennedy Biscuit factory in Cambridge. Kennedy Biscuits eventually merged with other bakeries in 1898 to form the National Biscuit Company, which is now known as Nabisco.

Only two states incorporate the same color reference in their nicknames: Vermont, the Green Mountain State, and Washington, the Evergreen State. In the case of Vermont, the state itself is named for the French words for green (“vert”) and mountain (“mont”). Washington state earned its nickname thanks to its lush evergreen forests, which retain their verdant hue all year long.

Connecticut and Rhode Island both have beautiful southern coasts, Massachusetts has Cape Cod, and Maine — if you include all of its islands — has more coastline than California. While New Hampshire does have fewer than 20 miles of Atlantic shoreline, it's still something, leaving Vermont as the only landlocked state in New England.

Established as a national park in 1919 (when it was known as Lafayette), Acadia is still the only national park in New England — and was the first national park established east of the Mississippi River. Located on the southern coast of Maine, Acadia protects the natural beauty of the rocky headlands along the rugged Atlantic coastline.

If you've ever experienced a nor'easter storm, you won't be surprised to learn that "downeaster" is a nickname sometimes given to residents of Maine. We have sailors to thank for the moniker, as they're believed to have coined it sometime in the late 18th century when shipping goods to and from New England; while heading east, they would also be pushed "downwind" by strong gusts at their back.

Founded in 1959, the New England Patriots chose their name to honor the Revolutionary heroes of the early United States. Throughout its history, the team played its home games at Boston University, Harvard, and Fenway Park, before moving to their present location in Foxborough, Massachusetts in 1971. Since then, the Patriots have won six Super Bowls, tying them for the all-time record (tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers).

Between 1692 and 1693, during one of North America's starkest examples of mass hysteria, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, and 20 were executed in Salem, Massachusetts. The "guilty" parties were convicted primarily on "spectral" evidence — evidence based on dreams and visions. Years later, the court would declare the trials unlawful and Massachusetts formally apologized in 1957.

Though Connecticut’s official nickname is the “Constitution State,” one of its many unofficial nicknames is the “Nutmeg State,” which makes residents “Nutmeggers.” In the colonial era of American history, Connecticut merchants imported nutmegs from the Spice Islands of the East Indies and sold them throughout the country for use as a cooking spice. Since then, locals of the state have been referenced by their historical relation to the aromatic and versatile seed.

On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to Concord to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm and colonial militiamen mobilized to meet the Redcoats. They clashed at Lexington and the British were soon beaten back, kicking off the Revolutionary War. Both sites are now part of the Minute Man National Historical Park.

Located in the northeast corner of the United States, New England is made up of six states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Though each state has its own distinct culture, the region shares a colonial history dating back to the arrival of English settlers in the 1600s. The area was named New England by Captain John Smith, who explored its shores way back in 1614.

With a population of just over 600,000 people (and 4.7 million in the greater metro area), Boston is the capital of Massachusetts and New England's largest city. Since its founding in 1630, Boston has long played a significant role in American history. New England’s second-largest city, Worcester, is located just 40 miles from Boston.