10+ Interesting State Symbols

As I'm sure you've noticed, there are some pretty universal state symbol categories: the state bird, the state flag, the state flower, even the state gemstones. But since those declarations are left up to the individual state, the categories can be as obscure as any state will allow them to be (check out the official state neckwear category). Here are some of the stranger ones - and if your state has something particularly interesting that I missed, share it in the comments.

State Beverages


Similarly, 19 states have declared milk as the official state beverage. How original. However, in addition to milk, Nebraska has Kool-Aid because the beverage was invented in its town of Hastings in 1927. Oh yeah!! (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Florida's orange juice should come as no surprise, but what about Rhode Island's coffee milk? Yeah - not coffee, not milk - coffee milk. It's like chocolate milk, but instead of chocolate syrup, coffee-flavored syrup is used. Umm... yes, please. Why hasn't this caught on across the country? We're not sure if it originated in R.I. or not, but Rhode Islanders definitely have a special affinity for the drink. One of the major producers of coffee syrup is located in Rhode Island, and I've read you'll find it on tap in the Brown dining halls (true, Bears??). Another quick fact: the drink was invented because back when diners were all the rage, owners were always introducing new drinks and dishes to try to differentiate themselves from the many competitors. Photo from Kraft Foods.

State Foods


Oklahoma really went all out - they declared 11 "state menu items," plus a state fruit and a state vegetable. In case you ever want to have yourself an official Oklahoma state buffet, here are the menu items: barbequed pork, chicken fried steak, sausage, biscuits and gravy, fried okra, squash, grits, corn, black-eyed peas, cornbread and pecan pie. Sounds like a veritable feast to me, but I'd probably need the official state medical apparatus after that: the stomach pump. (Note: There isn't really an official state medical apparatus. I don't think.) Massachusetts and Pennsylvania both declared the chocolate chip cookie as the official state cookie, but the official state snack food of Utah makes me a little urpy: Jell-O. I can't stomach Jell-O; it's the texture. This was unbeknownst to me, but apparently it's a popular stereotype that Mormons adore Jell-O - the Mormon Corridor is sometimes even referred to as the "Jell-O Belt." Photo from Flickr's Stu_Spivack.

State Dinosaurs


D.C.'s official state dinosaur and official state fossil is the Capitalsaurus. This dino was found in downtown D.C. in the late 1800s while ground was being excavated for sewer lines. However, despite the fact that it holds two official state categories, there's a problem: the Capitalsaurus isn't scientifically recognized, according to the Smithsonian. http://paleobiology.si.edu/dinosaurs/collection/nmnh_collections/specimen_c12.html Because only a bit of vertebra was found, there's not really enough to declare a whole new genus, which is what "Capitalsaurus" would be. But this hasn't stopped the Capitalsaurus craze in D.C. - the street where it was discovered has even been renamed "Capitalsaurus Court" and January 28 marks Capitalsaurus Day.

State Dances


Twenty-one states call the square dance their official state dance; some states get greedy and declare it the official folk dance and then claim other dances as well. South Carolina claims three dances - the square dance as its folk dance, the Richardson waltz as its waltz, and the Shag as... the Shag. As you might suspect, Hawaii has the Hula. New York has staked the Lindy Hop, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania both take the polka, and Texas has the Texas Two-Step.

State Theaters


Only a handful of states have declared official state theaters, and fittingly, one of them is California. I thought it was perhaps El Capitan, the theater on Hollywood Boulevard in L.A. It has been around since 1926 and Citizen Kane had its premiere there. But nope - the state theater is the Pasadena Playhouse. It's nine years older than El Capitan. A theatre arts school was founded there in the late '20s and it has definitely churned out its share of stars - in fact, the Playhouse is sometimes called "The Star Factory" in Hollywood circles. Notable graduates include Eve Arden, Charles Bronson, Raymond Burr, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, William Holden, George Reeves, Sally Struthers, Gloria Stuart and Robert Young. Photo from the California State Library.

State Renaissance Fair


Of all places, Alabama has declared a state Renaissance Fair. But it's not as strange as it sounds - the city that plays host to it is Florence, Alabama, which is known as the Renaissance City. They also have an official outdoor drama - The Miracle Worker - and an official outdoor musical drama - The Incident at Looney's Tavern.

State Neckwear


Maybe it's no surprise that Arizona has called the bolo tie their official state neckwear since 1971, but as of 2007, Texas and New Mexico do too. I had no idea any state had declared official state neckwear at all, so this is all very surprising to me. Although the bolo tie is said to be a pioneer creation, Arizona silversmith Victor Cedarstaff claimed that he invented the tie (he did patent the slide on the tie) in the late 40s. Photo from StevieRay.com (it's Stevie Ray Vaughan's bolo).

State Sports


Maryland has two official state sports - individual and team. They're jousting and lacrosse, respectively. Alaska's official state sport is dog mushing, which makes sense but is definitely unique to the state. South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming all call rodeo their state individual sport. Hawaii has surfing as their individual sport, of course, and outrigger canoeing as their team sport.

State Dogs


Some state dogs are named simply because they bear the name of the state. But I like the story of North Carolina's Plott Hound. The story goes something like this: Johannes Plott of Germany (or possibly Bohemia) settled in present-day Cabarrus County, N.C., with a group of big-game hunting dogs he brought with him from Europe. They quickly became known for their courage and tenacity and would hunt big game - even bear - for days at a time. Johannes bred them, and so have his descendants ever since. Other states with official dogs: Texas (the Blue Lacy) and Wisconsin (the American water spaniel). Photo from PuppyDogWeb.

Other State Categories


Just a few other incredibly specific state insignia - Georgia has a State Peanut Monument (it's in Ashburn on the west side of I-75, if you're road tripping), Kentucky has an official state tug-o-war contest (it's in Fordville), Massachusetts' official Glee Club song is The Great State of Massachusetts, North Carolina's state carnivorous plant is the Venus Flytrap, Ohio has an official state groundhog named Buckeye Chuck and Oregon has official state parents (mother: pioneer Tabitha Moffatt Brown, father: Dr. John McLoughlin who helped early settlement of the state).

I grew up in Newport, Rhode Island and in elementary school we were able to select what kind of milk we wanted from the lunchroom. The choices? Whole milk (red carton), skim milk (green carton), chocolate milk (brown carton), and coffee milk (light brown carton). Fortunately for the teachers, there was no caffeine in the coffee milk - only the coffee flavor.
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Mormons and Jello ?

Is it because it's such a low-tech "food"?

And it figures Nazi-chusetts would have an official glee club song. Unreasonable gun laws, forced health insurance, potholes the size of Aunt Ethels hole...I mean, WHOLE family.

I sing gleefully to work every day !
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Rhode Island is also little known for being the only state that has legal prostitution. Yeah, I know you think that Nevada has legal prostitution, but it is only in some counties (And Las Vegas is not one of them)

www.happyendingsdoc.wordpress.com
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As an Alabamian (if that's word), I'm slightly offended by the "Of all places," comment. I know the state gets a rep of stupid and redneck, but, really, we have some culture!

Anyway, that Renaissance Fair is awesome.
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Oh, feeling_madness, nothing against Alabama! I didn't mean it that way. It's just that when I think of Alabama, my first thought isn't, "Hey, Ren Fair!" I would probably say the same thing about Iowa if we were known for a huge Renaissance Fair. Anyway... no harm intended.
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Washington's state clam is the gueduck (pronounced gooy-duck) and the official state rock song is "Louie Louie".

Washington, D.C. has no offical state ANYTHING - it is not a state.
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I'm a native Rhode Islander, and also grew up with the option of coffee milk in elementary school (through high school as well.) The amazing thing to realize about RI is exactly how widespread coffee is here. There are 127 Dunkin Donuts listed within 10 miles of Providence, RI. And every morning, there is a line around each, with very few baked goods being sold. There is often a debate with parents as to how young is too young for coffee. And the average answer is to let your kid start drinking coffee at 12. This state may have coffee milk as it's official beverage but coffee in general was just too obvious.
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Barry: The statehood of DC is held back by the Constitution, which designates that the Nation's Capitol be independent from all states.

As far as the "Team" sport of Maryland is concerned, we wouldn't have had to worry about that crap if the whiny babies from the Hopkins lacrosse team hadn't sprayed lobby juice all over the legislature. Lacrosse isn't even a sport...it's a GAME that was created in freaking VIRGINIA, and doesn't even have a true connection to Maryland at all!
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And for some reason The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has named my favorite living blues singer, Taj Mahal, as the official Blues Artist of the Commonwealth.

http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw06/sl060019.htm

(I mention a few other official symbols in this blogpost: http://shellgrowback.blogspot.com/2008/04/stagger-lee-saturdays-taj-mahal.html )
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New Mexico has a state question: Red or green?

Referring to the chile, of course. Green chile as it is known today was invented at New Mexico State University. When someone orders Mexican food, here you can get it with either red or green chile.
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Sadly, "jousting" in Maryland is the 'lancing a ring' kind, and not the 'knocking your opponent off his horse' kind.

@A Noun, Lacrosse was a plains Indian sport originally. Virginia didn't enter into it, and still doesn't :P
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Oh my god... coffee milk is glorious. I grew up in RI, but I'm in Chicago now so I have Autocrat coffee syrup mailed to me. Actually, there was a tight race for RI's official beverage, between coffee milk and Del's Lemonade (which is also a delicious RI thing that I get shipped to me). Rhode Island cuisine could be a post in and of itself. Clam cakes and hot weinies FTW!
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The NJ state dinosaur is the Hadrosaurus foulkii. (fool-kih-ee)

It was the first almost complete skeleton ever found when it was discovered in Haddonfield, NJ in 1838.
There is even a statue in downtown Haddonfield.

Photos and info here:
http://www.hadrosaurus.com/
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