The name Topeka is a Kansa-Osage sentence that means "place where we dug potatoes". The city is well known for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which declared racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional.

Kansas is nicknamed the Sunflower State because of the wild sunflowers that line Kansas' plains. It is also recognized as the state flower.

Wyatt Earp, "Wild Bill" Hickok and "Bat" Masterson were three of the legendary lawmen who kept the peace in rowdy frontier towns like Abilene, Dodge City, Ellsworth, Hays, and Wichita.

"Home on the Range" is a classic western folk song sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. It is also the official anthem of the state of Kansas.

In Cold Blood tells the story of two ex-convicts, Perry Smith and "Dick" Hickock, who murder a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas. The film charts their time as fugitives, capture by police, and eventual executions. Some scenes were filmed in Garden City and Holcomb, at the locations of the original events, including the Clutter family's farm where the murders took place.

Kansas is named after the Kansas River, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks. The tribe's name (natively kką:ze) is often said to mean "people of the south wind".

The first European to set foot in present-day Kansas was the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, who explored the area in 1541.

The state of Kansas gradually increases in elevation from the east to the west. As such, "Mount" Sunflower, while the highest point in the state in terms of elevation at 4,039 feet (1,231 m), is virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was raised in Abilene, Kansas, which he considered his hometown.

In 1918, a scientific survey established the geographic center of the 48 contiguous U.S. states about 2.6 miles (4.2 km) northwest of Lebanon, Kansas. A monument was subsequently erected at the site.