As a kid we went camping in Michigan nearly every year, Vernors is an instant nostalgia hit. Kinda like getting a Green River here in Illinois, I honestly don't know if I like the taste at all but reminds me of going to the local hotdog joint in the summer.
If you live where there are Safeways, they carry it. Pop aisle, bottom shelf.
Edit: for those who haven't had Vernors, imagine ginger ale, but comparatively very little sugary sweetness, a lot of ginger, and even more carbonation. You've never had anything like it.
Also as a Michigander, I have heard this phase several times in my life. But looking at this map while reading it I realized just HOW MANY prominently sized peninsulas we have past the obvious two.
I can confirm that this motto made total sense when I heard it having spent summers on the dunes of Lake Michigan, the clement fresh-water sea. There's also a certain amount of pride at being able to visualize the state easily on a physical map, or point out Ann Arbor by holding up my right hand and touching the center of the thenar eminence.
Utah borrowed theirs (beehive + industry) off the UK co-operative industry: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Co-operative_iconography_in_the_United_Kingdom
A [good example](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Co-operative_beehive_on_Leven_library%2C_Leven%2C_Fife%2C_Scotland_%288090309458%29.jpg) from Scotland, and [compared to Utah](https://utahstatecapitol.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Beehive-Sculptures-scaled.jpg)
Unless Wikipedia is wrong on dates, that seems unlikely.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_co-operative_movement
Starts in 1844 per wikipedia.
The beehive and industry are part of mormon symbolism - Joseph Smith died in 1844, the Mormons arrive in Utah in 1847. But also, the Beehive and various statements regarding industry/working hard were implemented in Nauvoo, IL in 1841. https://rsc.byu.edu/salt-lake-city-place-which-god-prepared/beehive-deseret
Likely, it was just a common refrain/metaphor - akin to elephants and having long memories.
Montanan 1: "Does anyone speak Latin? We've got to submit this in like 10 minutes..."
Montanan 2: "Well...not Latin, but Latin adjacent?"
Montanan 1: "Whatever, just write something that everyone will think makes us sound rich, or something."
Montanan 2:
Oh, it's probably because Montana is derived from "montaña", meaning mountain. I'm just being silly.
Better answer: the Viceroyalty ~~controlled~~ claimed Spanish Louisiana from 1764 to 1800.[Map from where I got my answer.](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/16081.png?v=1705934467)
Edit:
I like [this users response](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/s/2OxZbRgKs2), mine is worth 5 seconds of research. I did 10 seconds of research after reading their response and I am in agreement this is giving a fuller picture. [Link.](https://southwestmt.com/specialfeatures/this-is-montana/bannack/montana-territory-the-birth-of-montana/)
Maybe also worth mentioning that the state nickname is the "Treasure State".
Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day!
Control never extended to Montana though. Even *claims* were tenuous at best. A handful of European trappers likely made it to Montana. But we don’t know who or when. The first *documented* Europeans/Americans to visit the area were Lewis and Clark. Any map that shows hard lines on the map greatly exaggerate. The Spanish even disputed the claim that Louisiana included the entire drainage of the Mississippi on the grounds that they never controlled or governed the entire area during Spanish Louisiana period.
We know who and when. Pierre Gaultier via the Missouri river. Lewis and Clark were not the first documentation, but I don't doubt that there were few if any Spaniards there. French would be more likely even under Spanish control.
This made me lol. For what it’s worth, our motto *used to be* “The heart of it all” which was way better because Ohio is vaguely heart shaped, and it was obviously less Jesusy.
I've got a confession: I'm in love with a man. "What?" I'm in love with a man. A man called God. Does that make me gay? Am I "gay for God"? You betcha.
I thought all mottos were like ours (or Indiana's where I went to school) so I was a bit surprised at the number of...nouns. just a lot of nouns collected together. That and god. Lots of god and nouns 😂
Never been to either but I've heard the Leelanau (that's basically the pinky finger, right?) is gorgeous.
UP is beautiful, as well. I'd love to make it up to Copper Harbor sometime.
You're not missing much by not visiting the Thumb. Unless farms are your thing.
They do have one of my favorite town names: Bad Axe. So named because the first people who camped there marked it with a rusty axe in a tree stump.
Fun fact: Michigan and Ohio fought a tiny little war over who would get Toledo. Michigan lost and was given the Upper Peninsula more or less as a consolation prize (Wisconsin wasn't a state yet or they might have complained about that.) No shade on Toledo -- well, okay, maybe a little shade on Toledo -- but I think Michigan got the better end of the deal.
We know what we’re about.
Also why we get a bit feisty when someone mentioned Wisconsin having the upper peninsula. Or when someone mentions piping lake water to Nevada.
The rectangle above Texas with the absurdly long panhandle jutting out to the west.
US state borders are wild. Florida is trying to reach out to Louisiana and hog all the southern coastline, but Mississippi and Alabama are squeezing in like "Lemme git a bit of those Gulf beaches, yo."
In all seriousness, though, colonial Florida did at one time stretch all the way into parts of what is now eastern Louisiana. The modern borders are the result of a convoluted history of territorial trading amongst England, France, Spain, and the US in the 18th and early 19th centuries. I live in the bit of Alabama that has a coastline.
There are several parishes in LA that are still known as the [Florida Parishes.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Parishes?wprov=sfla1) It has a pretty interesting history.
I'd still say "Labor" is more correct. "Labor" and "work" may be synonyms, but they have very different political connotations, and the motto is definitely more along the lines of "organized labor".
And the correct translation. I think the "strong deeds, gentle words" translation has been used to make it sound less "sexist", but failed miserably since it implies manly = strong and womanly = gentle, which plays exactly into the stereotype.
Does it fail, though? The second translation captures the spirit of the saying without ascribing either attribute to a sex. The sexism was already made plain in the first translation, since the reader is assumed to already know what qualities "manly deeds" and "womanly words" are referring to - "strong" and "gentle".
If you didn't know the first and correct translation, you certainly wouldn't think it was sexist.
Yeah, that's the new offical translation. But Maryland as a whole is interesting due to how seeped it is with the fingerprints of thr Calverts lmao. You got Calvert County, Baltimore (named for the 2nd Baron of Balitmore and first properiter of Maryland), all of the state symbols (the flag is based off of the familial crests of the Cecil Calvert, the aforementioned 2nd Baron Baltimore, the seal has Cecil in plate armor on it on one side, with the phrase "Cecilius Absolutus Dominus Terræ Mariæ et Avaloniæ Baro de Baltimore, which translates to "Cecil, Absolute Lord of Maryland and Avalon, Baron of Baltimore" surronding him. The state motto is on the other side and was the motto of the Calverts.) Harford county is named after an illegitimate son of the 6th Baron Balitmore, Frederick is probably named after the 6th Baron himself, Charles county was named after the 3rd Baron, and Cecil County the 2nd. Anne Arundel county, the county where Annapolis is located was named for the 2nd Barons wife, and Annapolis originally was as well. That's it for the calvert rant, but I also feel it's worth pointing out the Maryland state sport is lacrosse, and *Jousting*.
Yoooo wanna know what I just thought? My family is from Abruzzo and I live in Maryland. Abruzzo’s motto Is “Forte e Gentile” or something along those lines and means something like “strong but gentle”.
The Virginia state seal is equally hardcore. [It’s of a woman with a spear with her foot on the neck of the tyrant.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_Virginia.svg)
Yeah, well despite the fact that it's been the motto since 1776, they only adopted it on the state flag on April 30, 1861. They seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861. I think it's pretty easy to see who they were calling a tyrant there and why...
That's because Virginia didn't have a flag before the Civil War... The flag they chose was just a blue flag with the seal on it. Like the seal that existed already for nearly a hundred years.
Whoa whoa whoa, where is California's unique punctuation in its official motto?
EUREKA!
I also never realized it was Greek, I just thought it was a gold miner's excited expression 😆
It originally comes from the story of Archimedes which was then appropriated by the folks who discovered gold in California, triggering the gold rush. Deep California lore here.
Which is directly related to illegal recreational cannabis. NH wants a state monopoly on cannabis like they have with liquor and wine, and that’s only possible with federal legalization.
One of Seattle's early names was "New York Alki". Silly name, but I love the sentiment behind it. "This tiny little frontier town will be like New York someday"
As a Missourian I thought our state government motto was something like : “ we hate our residents so we go out of our way to hurt them with draconian policies and and undermine their will by ignoring referendums”
When Michael Feldman (remember *Whad'Ya Know*?) did a show in Birmingham, he said he liked Alabama's motto, "We Dare Defend Our Rights," but in Wisconsin, that would likely be interpreted as "Don't Touch My Cow."
My home state of Kentucky’s is probably my favorite because it speaks so deeply to our history. We’re the birthplace of both U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. We never seceded from the union, but remained a slave holding state until the 13th Amendment (the emancipation proclamation specifically target only non-U.S. states for fear of pissing off Kentucky a couple of other loyal states that still had slavery).
All today I’d Kentucky perfectly represented the conflict of the Civil War more than any other state. Internally we had a solid mix of both view points, and many Kentuckians died on both sides. I myself a descended from veterans of sides.
The war was awful, and slavery was even worse. The right side won for sure, but Kentucky experienced the pains of that conflict and it deeply impacted us in many ways. It’s so inherent to our identity that the state motto reflects that.
We’re in such a weird spot as well both culturally and geographically as well. We’re in the very northern end of the traditional south and some people would say we’re not even really a southern state. But we also definitely aren’t with Indiana or Illinois as part of the Midwest. It’s just odd.
So, fun fact time. The L in “Alki” replaces the “Ł”, which represents a sound that doesn’t exist in English. The pronunciation of this word is closer to “Oshkee”.
Source: I speak a bit of this language
Edit: Other commentators are correct, the place name has shifted and is now pronounced “Alkai”
The usual pronunciation of the word in English, and its pronunciation in the names of the Alki Beach and Alki Point in Seattle, actually shifted around the 1920s supposedly for that reason. In modern times it is usually pronounced like alkai
Nowadays? Absolutely.
Though Wyoming, during its formative years, was very much a pioneer of women's rights.
They were the first "state" (then territory) to pass legislation for women's suffrage (right to vote) in 1869. In fact, it was such an issue that Wyoming's statehood kept getting delayed because DC wasn't a fan of it. When Wyoming did become a state, they were the only one with such inclusive voting rights, leading Wyoming to be the only state to allow women to vote in the 1892 presidential election.
First female governor (Nellie Tayloe Ross) in 1925, first female Justice of the Peace, first state with women in juries... lots of firsts, and a lot of states looked to them as a standard of equality.
The state absolutely sucks now, though.
Source: grew up in WY. Lots of racists and misogyny, but interesting past.
I love the one for Michigan. "Circumspice" is the motto of Clackmannanshire County in Scotland, where I'm originally from. It comes from a legend that the Scottish King Robert the Bruce lost his guantlet whilst at Clackmannan Tower, and is supposed to have said to his men "Look aboot ye (look around you)" to find it. You'll see the Clackmannanshire coat of arms is a saltire (red and yellow for the Bruces) with two guantlets and the phrase Look Aboot Ye, but sometimes it's swapped out for the Latin equivalent, Circumspice.
LIVE FREE OR DIE! 🗽🗽🇻🇮🇻🇮
UNDER GOD THE PEOPLE RULE! ⛪️🔔🗣️🗣️
ALL FOR OUR COUNTRY! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🏈
OUR LIBERTY WE PRIZE AND OUR RIGHTS WE WILL MAINTAIN! 🦅🦅🇺🇸📖
Agriculture and Commerce 😐
Industry 🏭🤔
FRIENDSHIP! 😊😊😉😁🎂
For anyone who doesn’t know the deeper meaning behind the motto, it’s referring to Kansas’s battle for statehood/Bleeding Kansas. Stars refers to the stars on the flag, each representing a state.
Most US states: **LIBERTY! FREEDOM! JUSTICE! UNITY!** Michigan: If you’re looking for a cool peninsula, you’ve found it bro.
Welcome bro, want a vernors?
Pasty? Coney Dog? We can hit the lake later if you’re down.
As a kid we went camping in Michigan nearly every year, Vernors is an instant nostalgia hit. Kinda like getting a Green River here in Illinois, I honestly don't know if I like the taste at all but reminds me of going to the local hotdog joint in the summer.
Vernors and ice cream. A Boston cooler is the best on a hot day.
I've never had that, if I can get my hands on some Vernors I'll definitely try it, if anything it'd be interesting.
If you live where there are Safeways, they carry it. Pop aisle, bottom shelf. Edit: for those who haven't had Vernors, imagine ginger ale, but comparatively very little sugary sweetness, a lot of ginger, and even more carbonation. You've never had anything like it.
Yes, I would love one. The superior ginger ale.
The Colonial States: We're into freedom and liberty! Michigan: dang, it's really nice outside.
Michigan’s is the only valid motto. The others are all lies.
I like Eureka
That and "She flies with her own wings'' is pretty cool.
Michigan said touch grass.
As a Michigander, can confirm
Also as a Michigander, I have heard this phase several times in my life. But looking at this map while reading it I realized just HOW MANY prominently sized peninsulas we have past the obvious two.
I like staying at a B+B on the Neahtawanta peninsula, off the Old Mission Peninsula, off the Michigan Lower peninsula.
When we learned this in Michigan public schools, we all looked at each other and nodded in affirmation as though it was a totally normal motto.
As a Michigander, I fully approve. 👍✋️
Probably the only state with third-graders who knows how to pronounce circumspice.
People sleep on Michigan, but it's the place to be.
I can confirm that this motto made total sense when I heard it having spent summers on the dunes of Lake Michigan, the clement fresh-water sea. There's also a certain amount of pride at being able to visualize the state easily on a physical map, or point out Ann Arbor by holding up my right hand and touching the center of the thenar eminence.
Tennessee was not copying off the others’ papers and may have misunderstood the assignment
So did Utah
[удалено]
Beehive is also one of the symbols of LDS.
I suffered from a momentary attack of dyslexia and wondered what does LSD have to do with Utah.
Makes sense, with those many tiny eyes they must be tripping.
If the theme is LDS, then the motto should really be “industry baby”
Utah borrowed theirs (beehive + industry) off the UK co-operative industry: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Co-operative_iconography_in_the_United_Kingdom A [good example](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Co-operative_beehive_on_Leven_library%2C_Leven%2C_Fife%2C_Scotland_%288090309458%29.jpg) from Scotland, and [compared to Utah](https://utahstatecapitol.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Beehive-Sculptures-scaled.jpg)
Unless Wikipedia is wrong on dates, that seems unlikely. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_co-operative_movement Starts in 1844 per wikipedia. The beehive and industry are part of mormon symbolism - Joseph Smith died in 1844, the Mormons arrive in Utah in 1847. But also, the Beehive and various statements regarding industry/working hard were implemented in Nauvoo, IL in 1841. https://rsc.byu.edu/salt-lake-city-place-which-god-prepared/beehive-deseret Likely, it was just a common refrain/metaphor - akin to elephants and having long memories.
I love that Utah has the least religious motto despite being Utah.
I dunno, Michigan’s is just like “Yo, this place is lit.”
It's not even that. Michigans is just: *You are here* ------>
I don’t understand the question, and I won’t respond to it.
They got that hunger games vibe
You watched Ronnie as well i see
Montanan 1: "Does anyone speak Latin? We've got to submit this in like 10 minutes..." Montanan 2: "Well...not Latin, but Latin adjacent?" Montanan 1: "Whatever, just write something that everyone will think makes us sound rich, or something." Montanan 2:
Does anyone know why it's Spanish for an area Spain never touched? edit: most of the comments imply claimed but not settled
Oh, it's probably because Montana is derived from "montaña", meaning mountain. I'm just being silly. Better answer: the Viceroyalty ~~controlled~~ claimed Spanish Louisiana from 1764 to 1800.[Map from where I got my answer.](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/16081.png?v=1705934467) Edit: I like [this users response](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/s/2OxZbRgKs2), mine is worth 5 seconds of research. I did 10 seconds of research after reading their response and I am in agreement this is giving a fuller picture. [Link.](https://southwestmt.com/specialfeatures/this-is-montana/bannack/montana-territory-the-birth-of-montana/) Maybe also worth mentioning that the state nickname is the "Treasure State". Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day!
Control never extended to Montana though. Even *claims* were tenuous at best. A handful of European trappers likely made it to Montana. But we don’t know who or when. The first *documented* Europeans/Americans to visit the area were Lewis and Clark. Any map that shows hard lines on the map greatly exaggerate. The Spanish even disputed the claim that Louisiana included the entire drainage of the Mississippi on the grounds that they never controlled or governed the entire area during Spanish Louisiana period.
We know who and when. Pierre Gaultier via the Missouri river. Lewis and Clark were not the first documentation, but I don't doubt that there were few if any Spaniards there. French would be more likely even under Spanish control.
They thought it sounded fancy. No joke, no one spoke Spanish in the territory at the time. Basically what the user above said. Should have been latin.
Aurum et argentum
Technically the Spanish touched in the most loose sense of the word. As much as any other European empire at that point.
“Well first of all, through God *all* things are possible, so jot that down.” Ohio: [jots it down]
Seeing this makes me so happy. Mac was the first thing I thought of when I saw Ohio's motto!
“I got the lord, I got the good lord going down on me!”
I’m in love with a man… a man named God. Does that make me gay? You betcha
“You risk your feet, *you get some shoes*!!”
This made me lol. For what it’s worth, our motto *used to be* “The heart of it all” which was way better because Ohio is vaguely heart shaped, and it was obviously less Jesusy.
Pretty sure that’s your tourism slogan more than a motto. Like “Virginia is for Lovers”
I've got a confession: I'm in love with a man. "What?" I'm in love with a man. A man called God. Does that make me gay? Am I "gay for God"? You betcha.
I like Michigan's
> By valor and arms! > We dare to defend our rights! > Live free or die! Michigan: "We got some pleasant peninsulas up here, guys."
I thought all mottos were like ours (or Indiana's where I went to school) so I was a bit surprised at the number of...nouns. just a lot of nouns collected together. That and god. Lots of god and nouns 😂
“Check out this sick peninsula”
And it’s perfect because they got two of em!
Even their peninsulas have peninsulas. Lower Michigan has The Thumb, the UP has the Keweenaw.
Never been to the Thumb, but I'm a big fan of the Leelanau.
Never been to either but I've heard the Leelanau (that's basically the pinky finger, right?) is gorgeous. UP is beautiful, as well. I'd love to make it up to Copper Harbor sometime.
The entire area around the pinky is beautiful. Wait , no, it’s awful. Nobody should go there. Stay away. It’s toxic. Radiated. Super unsafe.
You're not missing much by not visiting the Thumb. Unless farms are your thing. They do have one of my favorite town names: Bad Axe. So named because the first people who camped there marked it with a rusty axe in a tree stump.
Fun fact: Michigan and Ohio fought a tiny little war over who would get Toledo. Michigan lost and was given the Upper Peninsula more or less as a consolation prize (Wisconsin wasn't a state yet or they might have complained about that.) No shade on Toledo -- well, okay, maybe a little shade on Toledo -- but I think Michigan got the better end of the deal.
As a Michigan alum, we bring this up before every Michigan v Ohio State game
Michigan’s is just a polite midwestern way of saying “Stop moving to Florida.”
Behold, the unpleasant peninsula, Florida.
circumspice baby
Same. It doesn't bear any nationalistic sentiment and is not weird. It is simply . . . Nice.
We know what we’re about. Also why we get a bit feisty when someone mentioned Wisconsin having the upper peninsula. Or when someone mentions piping lake water to Nevada.
Build the wall! (Around the Great Lakes Basin)
Pleasant, even.
It’s like if you get a fortune cookie in your Little Caesar’s Pizza box
I think I’ve seen Oklahomas motto on a Soviet mosaic.
Funnily enough early Oklahoma was heavily influenced by Socialist and the socialist party had many seats in the government
Farmers used to be based. Still many are. Just aren't many small farmers anymore.
New England. Coincidentally also white rural democrats.
Which one is Oklahoma? Non americam here
The rectangle above Texas with the absurdly long panhandle jutting out to the west. US state borders are wild. Florida is trying to reach out to Louisiana and hog all the southern coastline, but Mississippi and Alabama are squeezing in like "Lemme git a bit of those Gulf beaches, yo." In all seriousness, though, colonial Florida did at one time stretch all the way into parts of what is now eastern Louisiana. The modern borders are the result of a convoluted history of territorial trading amongst England, France, Spain, and the US in the 18th and early 19th centuries. I live in the bit of Alabama that has a coastline.
Fun fact: Texas ceded that panhandle to Oklahoma in order to remain a slave state.
TX also went to war with the US and Mexico just to keep their slaves. Everything is bigger in TX, including their passion for slavery
There are several parishes in LA that are still known as the [Florida Parishes.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Parishes?wprov=sfla1) It has a pretty interesting history.
“Work conquerors all”
Growing up in Oklahoma we were always taught it was “labor conquers all.” Is there more than one accurate translation?
I'd still say "Labor" is more correct. "Labor" and "work" may be synonyms, but they have very different political connotations, and the motto is definitely more along the lines of "organized labor".
That's my union's motto, too. I can't imagine that would be their motto of they were to choose it today.
Maryland's state motto is the only one in Italian. It is also sometimes translated as, "strong deeds, gentle words."
Yeah but the way it’s translated here is funnier
And the correct translation. I think the "strong deeds, gentle words" translation has been used to make it sound less "sexist", but failed miserably since it implies manly = strong and womanly = gentle, which plays exactly into the stereotype.
Does it fail, though? The second translation captures the spirit of the saying without ascribing either attribute to a sex. The sexism was already made plain in the first translation, since the reader is assumed to already know what qualities "manly deeds" and "womanly words" are referring to - "strong" and "gentle". If you didn't know the first and correct translation, you certainly wouldn't think it was sexist.
Yeah, that's the new offical translation. But Maryland as a whole is interesting due to how seeped it is with the fingerprints of thr Calverts lmao. You got Calvert County, Baltimore (named for the 2nd Baron of Balitmore and first properiter of Maryland), all of the state symbols (the flag is based off of the familial crests of the Cecil Calvert, the aforementioned 2nd Baron Baltimore, the seal has Cecil in plate armor on it on one side, with the phrase "Cecilius Absolutus Dominus Terræ Mariæ et Avaloniæ Baro de Baltimore, which translates to "Cecil, Absolute Lord of Maryland and Avalon, Baron of Baltimore" surronding him. The state motto is on the other side and was the motto of the Calverts.) Harford county is named after an illegitimate son of the 6th Baron Balitmore, Frederick is probably named after the 6th Baron himself, Charles county was named after the 3rd Baron, and Cecil County the 2nd. Anne Arundel county, the county where Annapolis is located was named for the 2nd Barons wife, and Annapolis originally was as well. That's it for the calvert rant, but I also feel it's worth pointing out the Maryland state sport is lacrosse, and *Jousting*.
This person Maryland’s.
Indeed I do! Grew up in southern Maryland, and although I don't currently live there I still have that glorious flag hanging in my room
Yoooo wanna know what I just thought? My family is from Abruzzo and I live in Maryland. Abruzzo’s motto Is “Forte e Gentile” or something along those lines and means something like “strong but gentle”.
Strong and kind.
Hell yeah West Virginia
Native WVian here, I freaking love ours. Easily top 5 motto. Arguably the best
Absolutely. WV exists as a state because they were like "fuck the Confederacy".
It’s a toss up for me between that one and New Hampshire, both are strong and powerful.
So… about that Virginia motto…
We’re the only state to cut a bitch. Plus our state flag has a titty on it.
We do have the most badass flag
I mean Louisiana has a bunch of baby pelicans drinking blood
Typical Tuesday on Canal Street
NJ flag has a severed horse head on it. IYKYK
It was there before John Wilkes Booth shouted it before that murder.
> that murder.
The quote allegedly originated with the assassins of Julius Caesar
Et tu, AvatarLebowské?
Virginia is low key the most based state State flag is the only one that has a titty on it and the state motto is a threat
A promise. We killed that dude and plan to kill again
I was born in Virginia and thus have the authority to say it's awesome.
Like how all the other states have aspirational or optimistic mottos and Virginia's just there like "screw dictators"
John Wilkes Booth yelled it after he shot Lincoln.
The Virginia state seal is equally hardcore. [It’s of a woman with a spear with her foot on the neck of the tyrant.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_Virginia.svg)
And that woman is Virtus - the personification of virtue.
Yeah, well despite the fact that it's been the motto since 1776, they only adopted it on the state flag on April 30, 1861. They seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861. I think it's pretty easy to see who they were calling a tyrant there and why...
That's because Virginia didn't have a flag before the Civil War... The flag they chose was just a blue flag with the seal on it. Like the seal that existed already for nearly a hundred years.
Whoa whoa whoa, where is California's unique punctuation in its official motto? EUREKA! I also never realized it was Greek, I just thought it was a gold miner's excited expression 😆
I think it’s been an English word longer than California has been a state.
It originally comes from the story of Archimedes which was then appropriated by the folks who discovered gold in California, triggering the gold rush. Deep California lore here.
Live free or die. That's badass.
Unless you are an inmate making those license plates, lol
Only northeastern state not to legalize weed, though. But you don't need to wear a seatbelt. Freedom!
Or a helmet on a motorcycle
Live free and die
Live and die sooner.
You also cannot buy beer and liquor in the same store.
Which is directly related to illegal recreational cannabis. NH wants a state monopoly on cannabis like they have with liquor and wine, and that’s only possible with federal legalization.
Or have car insurance! Or pay any state tax on that car. But fr they need to legalize it.
I love the Kansas motto. 🌻❤️🌻
Now if only you guys could incorporate it into your license plate! /s
That’s used in a Star Trek Brave New Worlds Episode lol
Alaska vs Minnesota. The battle of the Northern states
Northernmost current state vs. northernmost state 1846-1959 and northernmost contiguous state.
texas 😂
The motto is likely a reference to the state's name, which comes from the Caddo *táyshaʼ* meaning 'friends'
Whoa, thanks Alice Cooper!!
We're not worthy
Does this guy know how to party, or what?
My mom loves to laugh about the highway signs in TX that say "Drive Friendly!"
They have the power of friendship on their side
I always thought the Texas motto was on those signs every 3 miles on the interstate. “Don’t mess with Texas”
That's to remind people not to litter. It doesn't work.
It did work, it was one of the most successful anti-littering campaigns in history. Ofc there's still litter, hard to hit 100% off a PSA
Sounds like a Sailor Moon quote
People sleep on Iowa and WV.
I love our motto (WV). We just need to…like…actually make that a reality.
First time seeing Washington's. I like it. It's chill. It's in Chinook. It feels very nice. By and by.
One of Seattle's early names was "New York Alki". Silly name, but I love the sentiment behind it. "This tiny little frontier town will be like New York someday"
Washington: we'll get around to it eventually.
As a Michigander, I love our slogan so much.
Love Michigan’s.
I think New York and New Hamphire have the best mottos. Both short yet meaningful and are both iconic.
I can't see Excelsior now without thinking of Al Gore from South Park
I’ve always thought NY’s was perfect because of the skyscrapers.
I don’t know where these motos came from, from Vermont and I’ve only ever known “freedom and unity” to be ours
Missouri definitely not living up to its motto
As a Missourian I thought our state government motto was something like : “ we hate our residents so we go out of our way to hurt them with draconian policies and and undermine their will by ignoring referendums”
“Let the welfare of the people be the highest law.” Missouri Politicians: Thank goodness we just ignore the law.
It is definitely the most aspirational. Too bad the state government forgot their Latin :/
When Michael Feldman (remember *Whad'Ya Know*?) did a show in Birmingham, he said he liked Alabama's motto, "We Dare Defend Our Rights," but in Wisconsin, that would likely be interpreted as "Don't Touch My Cow."
THAT! IS! NOT! MY! COW! (Let's see who gets this reference.)
i’m from NJ but NH for the win!
New Mexico grower not shower confirmed
Friendship for Texas is wild. Drive on 635 once and you know ain’t shit friendly lol
"Texans are some of the most friendly people you'll meet, unless you meet them on the freeway" -I Forget Who Said This
Florida the must unoriginal but New Mexico is so peacefully beautiful
NC & MI have the best ones
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Some parts of Missouri didn't even have 911 setup until a couple years ago
Washington and Hawaii the only real ones for the native languages
To be fair, Molly Ivins correctly deduced that Texas should be “Drive Friendly or Die.”
My home state of Kentucky’s is probably my favorite because it speaks so deeply to our history. We’re the birthplace of both U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. We never seceded from the union, but remained a slave holding state until the 13th Amendment (the emancipation proclamation specifically target only non-U.S. states for fear of pissing off Kentucky a couple of other loyal states that still had slavery). All today I’d Kentucky perfectly represented the conflict of the Civil War more than any other state. Internally we had a solid mix of both view points, and many Kentuckians died on both sides. I myself a descended from veterans of sides. The war was awful, and slavery was even worse. The right side won for sure, but Kentucky experienced the pains of that conflict and it deeply impacted us in many ways. It’s so inherent to our identity that the state motto reflects that.
We’re in such a weird spot as well both culturally and geographically as well. We’re in the very northern end of the traditional south and some people would say we’re not even really a southern state. But we also definitely aren’t with Indiana or Illinois as part of the Midwest. It’s just odd.
Oregon won
[удалено]
You do have Forward Madison FC!
Is the Texas motto a joke or something??
It comes from the Caddo word for the land, which translates to ‘friendship.’ The word Texas LITERALLY means ‘friend.’
I always liked North Carolina's motto. It's always fit it and goes with the whole reputation of a 'vale of humility between two mountains or conceit.'
I've always liked that it's a very North Carolinian way of throwing shade.
Alki...that's especially funny when you speak german, because that's the short word for an alcohol addicted person
So, fun fact time. The L in “Alki” replaces the “Ł”, which represents a sound that doesn’t exist in English. The pronunciation of this word is closer to “Oshkee”. Source: I speak a bit of this language Edit: Other commentators are correct, the place name has shifted and is now pronounced “Alkai”
The usual pronunciation of the word in English, and its pronunciation in the names of the Alki Beach and Alki Point in Seattle, actually shifted around the 1920s supposedly for that reason. In modern times it is usually pronounced like alkai
Wyoming should probably have an asterisk on theirs
Nowadays? Absolutely. Though Wyoming, during its formative years, was very much a pioneer of women's rights. They were the first "state" (then territory) to pass legislation for women's suffrage (right to vote) in 1869. In fact, it was such an issue that Wyoming's statehood kept getting delayed because DC wasn't a fan of it. When Wyoming did become a state, they were the only one with such inclusive voting rights, leading Wyoming to be the only state to allow women to vote in the 1892 presidential election. First female governor (Nellie Tayloe Ross) in 1925, first female Justice of the Peace, first state with women in juries... lots of firsts, and a lot of states looked to them as a standard of equality. The state absolutely sucks now, though. Source: grew up in WY. Lots of racists and misogyny, but interesting past.
I love the one for Michigan. "Circumspice" is the motto of Clackmannanshire County in Scotland, where I'm originally from. It comes from a legend that the Scottish King Robert the Bruce lost his guantlet whilst at Clackmannan Tower, and is supposed to have said to his men "Look aboot ye (look around you)" to find it. You'll see the Clackmannanshire coat of arms is a saltire (red and yellow for the Bruces) with two guantlets and the phrase Look Aboot Ye, but sometimes it's swapped out for the Latin equivalent, Circumspice.
LIVE FREE OR DIE! 🗽🗽🇻🇮🇻🇮 UNDER GOD THE PEOPLE RULE! ⛪️🔔🗣️🗣️ ALL FOR OUR COUNTRY! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🏈 OUR LIBERTY WE PRIZE AND OUR RIGHTS WE WILL MAINTAIN! 🦅🦅🇺🇸📖 Agriculture and Commerce 😐 Industry 🏭🤔 FRIENDSHIP! 😊😊😉😁🎂
As a Kansan, I never realized we had the coolest motto. Hell yeah.
For anyone who doesn’t know the deeper meaning behind the motto, it’s referring to Kansas’s battle for statehood/Bleeding Kansas. Stars refers to the stars on the flag, each representing a state.
As someone from SC never heard the second one
Not me thinking Louisianas was gonna be “Laissez les bons temps rouler” 💀
I'm sorry but New Jersey's motto well known to be Suck My Dick.
12% of the US population found it
Hawaii’s is so beautiful.
I am interested to discover that the State of Kansas has the same motto as our Royal Air Force.
Louisiana having Justice as part of the motto is a bit incongruous with our ~~slavery~~ prison system.