Minnesota was named after the Minnesota River. The river appeared to have "smoky water" which the Dakota Sioux would term "mnishota." Minnesota is commonly called 'The North Star State' derived from the State Motto "Star of the North."

Minnesota has thousands of lakes, in fact so plenty that counting proved to be terribly confusing. The ways to count revealed these estimates: exactly 11,842 lakes that are 10 acres or more or 15,000 depending on one's definition of a lake. Meanwhile, the license plates of modern Minnesota display "10,000 Lakes." In any count, one can find 201 Mud Lakes, 154 Long Lakes, and 123 Rice Lakes -- in Minnesota.

The land of "10,000 Lakes" actually contains more than 15,000 such bodies of water whose total shoreline exceeds 90,000 miles - more than California, Hawaii and Florida combined. It is easy to understand why Minnesota saw to it that there is one recreational boat per every six people, more than any other state; so was the need to invent the water ski.

The Minnesota portion of Lake Superior is the largest body of water in the state. One among the thousands, Lake Itasca, is the home of the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River. The Red River of the North and the St. Lawrence also began their long journeys within the state of Minnesota.

Certainly, the Mall of America in Bloomington, the size of 78 football fields, was not built to accommodate the lakes. But it is not known whether the waters have got to do with some creative Minnesota inventions like masking and scotch tape, stapler, snowmobile, and armored car.

• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities