Depths of Despair: 35 Insightful Facts About The Great Depression

During the Great Depression, to help combat further Dust Bowls, the Forest Service started the "Shelterbelt Project." They planted a line of trees that ran vertically across the US. It ran from southern Texas up through North Dakota, to help block the wind.

27. Armadillos were hunted for their meat during the Great Depression. Those who blamed President Hoover for the crisis referred to them as "Hoover Hogs."

28. Jigsaw puzzles soared in popularity during the great depression, as they provided a cheap, long-lasting, recyclable form of entertainment.

29. The longest financial downturn in the history of the United States wasn't The Great Depression but took place about 50 years earlier. The "Long Depression" was nearly two years longer than the Great Depression, and caused 18,000 business bankruptcies, and the failure of 89 railroads.

30. During the Great Depression, politicians and the wealthy feared chaos and revolution. Joseph Kennedy Sr. said later that he had been willing to give up half of his fortune "if I could be sure of keeping, under law and order, the other half."

Empire State Building's opening coincided with the Great Depression in the United States, and as a result, much of its office space was vacant from its opening. The lack of renters led New Yorkers to deride the building as the "Empty State Building."

32. During the Great Depression, UNC Asheville accepted vegetables, eggs, and milk as tuition payments.

33. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a US Government-sponsored work program that provided training and income for young men and their families during 'The Great Depression.' The program is credited for having improved morale, physical health, and employability for those who participated.

34. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, massive oil discoveries in Texas, alongside falling global demand for energy, sent oil prices tumbling downwards. A barrel of oil cost only 65 cents.

35. The Great Depression was one of the few if not the only times that emigration from the USA was greater than immigration.