Thursday, May 04, 2006

Square Dancer License Plate and Fascinating Washington Facts!



I saw one of these license plates the other day and I thought: "Seriously, who would want this? Are there really enough avid square dancers in Washington to justify creating this specialized plate?" So I decided to Google it and guess what? Yep, Square Dancing is Washington's official state dance! Who knew?!?! "State Dance: The square dance (or quadrille) was named the official state dance on April 17, 1979..."
Ash says: Some crazy shit happened in the '70's and I think this is near the top of the list!

I also found some other interesting facts that I never knew about the great state of Washington. I found most of this info on this site and I have summarized all of the interesting tidbits and added my comments for your reading pleasure.

State Nickname: The phrase “The Evergreen State” appears on Washington license plates and in numerous official and unofficial uses, but it has never been formally adopted...

State Slogan: "Say WA?" (Kind of like "Say what?" without the H and the T.)
Ash says: See comment under State Mollusk.

State Mollusk: No official designee, yet, but many favor the banana slug. This could be the geoduck’s second chance for immortality as well, but HistoryLink favors the magnificent Giant Pacific Octopus, which is the largest of its kind and also the most intelligent of all invertebrates.
Ash says: Do we really need a state mollusk? I guess not, but if we chose the clam for our state mollusk then we could use "Jam out with your clam out" for our official state slogan instead of that ridiculous "Say WA?" that they just came up with. I know Chris would vote for this!

State Mammal: We don't have a terrestrial mammal yet, so HistoryLink nominates the mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa), which is actually a large and primitive rodent... Aplodontia is ugly, stinky, and host to the world's largest fleas...

State Marine Mammal: We do have a state marine mammal: the orca.
Ash says: How clever!

State Flower: The Coast Rhododendron was selected over five other candidates (including clover) to be Washington’s floral representative at the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago. The 1892 special ballot was limited to women, who did not then have the right to vote in official elections.
Ash says: Give us an inch and we'll take a mile! ;)

State Grass: The native bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum) was named the official state grass in 1989. The other popular candidate for this honor remains illegal except for medicinal use in some states.
Ash says: He he heeeee.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You know, some people say that =I= spend too much time on the intarwebs!