Info on American States?

[der_kluge]

State Slogans

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Alabama: Yes, We Have Electricity

Alaska: 11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!

Arizona: But It's A Dry Heat

Arkansas: Literacy Ain't Everything

California: By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda

Colorado: If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother

Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only The Kennedys Don't Own It Yet

Delaware: We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water

Florida: Ask Us About Our Grandkids

Georgia: We Put The "Fun" In Fundamentalist Extremism

Hawaii: Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, But Leave Your Money)

Idaho: More Than Just Potatoes. Well Okay, Not Really, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good

Illinois: Please Don't Pronounce the "S"

Indiana: 2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free

Iowa: We Do Amazing Things With Corn

Kansas: First Of The Rectangle States

Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names

Louisiana: We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, But That's Our Tourism Campaign

Maine: We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster

Maryland: If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It

Massachusetts: Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's (For Most Tax Brackets)

Michigan: First Line Of Defense From The Canadians

Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes

Mississippi: Come And Feel Better About Your Own State

Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars At Work

Montana: Land Of The Big Sky, The Unabomber, Right-Wing Crazies, And Very Little Else

Nebraska: Ask About Our State Motto Contest

Nevada: Whores and Poker!

New Hampshire: Go Away And Leave Us Alone

New Jersey: You Want A ##$%##! Motto? I Got Yer ##$%##! Motto Right Here!

New Mexico: Lizards Make Excellent Pets

New York: You Have The Right To Remain Silent, You Have The Right To An Attorney

North Carolina: Tobacco Is A Vegetable

North Dakota: We Really Are One Of The 50 States!

Ohio: At Least We're Not Michigan

Oklahoma: Like The Play, Only No Singing

Oregon: Spotted Owl - It's What's For Dinner

Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal

Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY An Island

South Carolina: Remember The Civil War? We Didn't Actually Surrender

South Dakota: Closer Than North Dakota

Tennessee: The Educashun State

Texas: Si' Hablo Ing'les (Yes, I Speak English)

Utah: Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus

Vermont: Yep

Virginia: Who Says Government Stiffs And Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?

Washington: Help! We're Overrun By Nerds And Slackers!

Washington, D.C.: Wanna Be Mayor?

West Virginia: One Big Happy Family - Really!

Wisconsin: Come Cut The Cheese

Wyoming: Where Men Are Men (And The Sheep Are Scared)

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Cutlurally, the northeast coastal cities are one block (and arguably the northwest coastal cities are in the same block). While Philly and NYC aren't in New England proper, NYC and Philadelphia residents have far more in common with Boston residents than Buffalo and Pittsburgh (respectively) residents.

Wow, I think you need to take a closer look at New England if you believe that. I would not consider each state in New England on culturally similar block, let alone adding in the rest of the Northeast.

 

[diaglo]

Wow, Coca-Cola's from Georgia? That's hard to process, such a massive global icon/presence being from a particular place.

not all of GA. just Atlanta even.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Washington, D.C.: Wanna Be Mayor?

Heh, I thought it was: "Our mayors don't do crack ... anymore!"

 

[nothing to see here]

I find this thread hilariously funny. I mean...if this was about people from different countries tooting their own horns and talking up stereotypes about their neighbours...the thread would be closed by now. Yet Americans talking about other Americans...and it's all in good humour and even better spirit.

As a Canadian by birth, this is one of the things I find enviable about America. The Americans in the thread should be proud. This "we can be different but still love our country" spirit is one of the things that makes your country great.

 

[Henry]

I think Rangerwickett did more to foster understanding of the 'States than people are giving him credit for.

...In my own experience, outside of Charleston and the beaches near the NC border, SC is a wasteland on the order of Beyond Thunderdome. Seriously, this is the state that probably saw a decent % of its income from sales of fireworks near the NC border (because for the longest time they were illegal in our state). SC is the state of 'South of the Border' the largest and most tasteless tourist trap in the world. They have a giant sombrero with a glass elevator leading up to the rim, and that's not the worst of it.

PedroLand typifies SC for you. Once you've seen the place and realize that it's serious about itself, it's one of those moments where a state just reaches out, shakes you like a British nanny and says 'Where's your God now?'.

Get thee behind me, Gehenna-boy! SotB is indeed a tourist trap, but most of the people paying money to see it are from North Carolina.

South Carolina is separated into three geographic regions - Low country (along the coast) where the original crops were indigo and rice (more tobacco and cotton now, I believe), the piedmont (literally, foothills, which is heavily dependent on textile industry and is horribly suffering right now because of the drop in the textile industry, and the Up Country (higher elevated reaches, some lump the piedmont region in with the Up country). The three largest cities are Charleston, Columbia (capital), and Greenville. It was the 8th of the 13 colonies to secede from Great Britain, and one of the biggest losses of the British in the Revolutionary War took place near Cowpens, SC. It has a VERY long history with slavery and civil rights battles, and was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860, and readmitted in 1868.

Oh, and don't forget that it's not illegal to buy 198 proof alcohol here for consumption, either. (at least, last time I checked.)

 

[RangerWickett]

Massachusetts? No, that can't be right. Check again. Your state probably mispelled it. I mean, they wanted 'unalienable' rights.



In Georgia it is illegal to buy alcohol on Sundays, because people shouldn't be drunk on the Sabbath. Of course, certain bars can still sell alcohol, because God's okay with you defying him if you have a state-issued license.

And yes, you can buy Coca-Cola any day of the week. The World of Coca-Cola (called "the coke museum" colloquially) is basically a trick that makes people pay money to be advertised to, on the pretense that you get all the Coke you can drink. People who visit the museum are typically those with intense phobias regarding fast food restaurants. Exhibits include recreations of an early 20th century pharmacy where a dude in a funny white hat makes you a fountain drink (no cocaine included), a simulated bottling facility, feel-good reminders of how Coke played a role in everything good in the world (even Santa Claus drinks Coke), and a showcase of all the packaging Coke has been through.

The college I went to, Emory University, has a lot of money in Coke stocks. New students are sent in large groups to visit the museum.

Sadly they don't serve New Coke. I don't know what it tastes like.

 

[Captain Needles]

A little more about Massachusetts:
-We're pretty liberal about a lot of issues. Love us or decry us as the center of satan's future works on earth, we don't care. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, most of us are cool with a lot of things.
-We are very self educated. Most people from around here pride themselves on being able to hold a serious discussion on anything, at any time, with anybody. We are bright people. But there is an agenda to this; we are all terribly sarcastic wisea es! And the more you are informed about in the world, the more you can mock with scathing comments and dry wit.
-We have our own religion in this part of the country. It is a lot like Roman Catholicism in that it takes a lot of suffering and pain to finally collect what you've earned. It requires patience and at least several pilgrimages to Landsdown street in Boston. While there is no signs pointing you to the church, you can't miss the large lights and green walls of Fenway park. Also, there will be drunk people in the vicinity saying some derogitory things about the Yankees and Uncle George. Some people will tell you that this is not a church, but locals will argue that nowhere else in this region of the country will you find one building where as many SINCERE prayers have been offered over the years, than beautiful Fenway Park. If you lived in this area during the Fall of 2004, you know how true all of this is.
-If you don't like Baseball (nothing better to have on in the background while writing up your new character or game notes): we also happen to have a first rate Football (American) Dynasty in town as well. While great in our hearts, The Patriots will always be little brother to our beloved Sox.
-There's also some pretty decent/historic basketball, Hockey (?) and Soccer franchises here as well.
-Don't ever think of Boston as representative of all of Mass or New England. It's just one point of interest. That would be as wrong as including New York city in with the New England states (really, that's just wrong. New Yorkers would feel just as passionate about this as Bostonians do).
-We have a ton of historical sites around here. Way too many to ever be able to list in a whole series of books. We also have Salem Mass for all the little goth kids to flock to (it's great on Halloween!), and one of the most haunted sights in America; Danvers State Hospital.
-According to a new poll, apparently Boston uses more marijuana than any other city in the nation. I could care less, but it's a drawing point for people with all sorts of agendas. Just don't expect to go to a concert and be able to breathe clean/non-toxic air.
-There is a great music scene in Boston/New England, for almost every type of music out there. If you can listen to it, there's a place to catch a good show.

More later...

 

[Aeson]

Thanks guys, this is great!

(Taken with a pinch of salt as recommended ...)

Iowa most beer per capita, huh? As an Aussie I can respect that.

Wow, Coca-Cola's from Georgia? That's hard to process, such a massive global icon/presence being from a particular place. How about McDonalds, is that 'from' anywhere?

Love to hear any more comments people have got.

Can anyone educate us about Nebraska?

Cheers all!

McDonald's was started in Des Plaines, Illinois.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

Washington: Actually, Nike is based out of Oregon. However, Seattle has the Experience Music Project (if you're into music) and the Sci-Fi Museum (because Billionaire Paul Allen is a sci-fi geek ). We also have three national parks (Mt. Rainier, the Olympic National Park which houses a great temperate rainforest, and the North Cascades) and a national monument (Mt. St. Helens...the Ape Caves in the vicinity were named as such after a supposed sasquatch attack on a miners' cabin yeeeeeears ago). Lots of beautiful natural places from rainforest to desert. Seattle also has tons of bands and shows, good music scene if you're into hanging out.

The San Juans, from which I just returned from visiting, are exceptionally beautiful and is also the terrain from which we (the U.S.) almost went to war against Britain...over a pig. A. Pig.

As a native Washingtonian, I've noticed two things about the people: The natives are weird...this is where the serial killers come from, after all, and everyone else is from Somewhere Else. Two, there is a big difference between the people of Western Washington (that is west of the Cascade Mountains) and the people of Eastern Washington (those people from...over................there), especially politically.