Category: Rhode Island

First of all, check out this story on Chuck's site. Go now. OK, so Massachusetts has an official State Cookie. That's weird. But it turns out all of our states have weird official "things." Steve points to the Nutmeg State's (that's Connecticut) official tartan (Maine has one too) and fossil, which is a bizarrely popular category, as California and Louisiana have state approved fossils, too. In the Biggest Little, I am happy to report, we downplay our idiosyncratic nature when it comes to official business (ha!). There's the obvious State Bird, the Rhode Island Red and the State Motto, Hope (compare that to Alaska's "North to the Future!"). Not surprisingly, the State Shell is the quahog, which Seth MacFarlane introduced to the world as the fictional RI town home to the Griffin family. We have both a State Mineral and a State Rock, the latter being Cumberlandite, found exclusively in and around, you guessed it, Cumberland, RI. The official State Flagship is the Sloop Providence, not to be confused with the official State Yacht, the Courageous. Charlie Hall, of Ocean State Follies fame, wrote the State song (separate from the State March) after being inspired by none other than hizzoner Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci. Says Hall: "I see [Buddy] at a jazz club, and he says, 'Why do you always have to write something negative about the state? Why don?t you write something nice?' So I went home and I wrote some lyrics, lyrics that make you want to puke." Last but certainly not least, the State Drink: Coffee Milk. I remember well the controversey over whether the honor would go to the only-in-RI coffee flavored beverage or the RI original, Del's lemonade (click that link to see the dangers of too much Flash). I'm glad I didn't have to vote on that bill. When my brother comes to visit he can't get enough Dels, though my non-native nephews don't share our appreciation for it. Man, I could really go for a peach-mango lemonade right now... So yeah, cawfee milk, official drink of the Ocean State (the non-official state nickname!) This fall I plan to introduce legislation to make A Cry for Help the official State Blog. Write your State Senators!