912 Day: What makes Savannah great

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — It’s the day that aligns with Savannah’s area code, 912. Let’s take the time to celebrate nine little-known facts, plus celebrities and some animals from the Hostess City.

Savannah’s iconic Spanish Moss isn’t really moss

Spanish moss hangs from a tree in Savannah, Georgia.

Only growing in tropical regions, this epiphytic flower plant is more closely related to pineapples and orchids than moss.

How do they get onto trees? the seeds from the moss are carried by the wind until they land on nearby tree bark. The plant also has some practical applications such as stuffing for furniture and home insulation.

Why are there so many dolphins?

In this undated photo, bottlenose dolphins swim in open waters off Sarasota Bay, Florida. Photo taken under NMFS MMPA Permit No. 20455 issued to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. A new study has found that female bottlenose dolphins change how they vocalize when addressing their calves. (Sarasota Dolphin Research Program via AP) — (Sarasota Dolphin Research Program via AP)

Due to the geography and coastal environment of Savannah’s waterfronts, bottle-nosed dolphins love to feed in its waters.

They’re known to utilize strand feeding, where they corral small fish into tidal ridges and scoop fish up from the shallow mug. That is why you can see so many happy dolphins along Tybee Island and the Savannah River.

The very first African-American church

First African Baptist Church is officially the oldest standing Black church in America. Established in 1776, the same year as America’s founding, this church stands in the heart of the city.

Where did the name “Savannah” come from?

Around the 1680s, the Shawnee tribe came to the area from the Carolinas and named the river they lived off of after themselves. Savannah and Shawnee both come from the word ‘šaawanwa’ meaning southerner.

Tunnels underneath the city

Abandoned empty old dark underground vaulted cellar.

There is an unknown number of tunnels underneath the city of Savannah and little is known about their purpose and how they got there.

Some, like the one under Pirate’s House Restaurant, led to the port while others, like the cellar under First African Baptist Church, led out of the city for runaway slaves.

There are supposedly also tunnels underneath Wright Park used to smuggle slaves and one under Forsyth Park used to hide bodies from the yellow fever epidemic that hit the city in 1876.

The furthest city from Savannah

Walking path along Gnarabup Beach – Prevelly, WA, Australia

On the opposite side of the Earth, the farthest city from Savannah is a city on the southwest side of Australia called Gnarabup. Between the two cities, 11,806 miles and a direct flight would take over 21 hours.

Girl Scouts!

The founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, hails from Savannah. After meeting the founder of the Boy Scouts in England, she came back to Savannah to start her own Girl Scouts.

Low also became partially deaf, due to the combination of a poorly treated ear infection when she was young and rice thrown at her wedding damaging her eardrum.