Fight in SC Over Official State Fossil Latest Example of Strange State Designations
There's a state that made Jell-O its official snack food.
April 10, 2014— -- South Carolina lawmakers cannot agree on whether to designate a woolly mammoth bone as the official state fossil, with one lawmaker pointing out what he says is an absurd trend in designating official state stuff.
"Quite frankly, I thought we had passed a bill in the Senate putting a moratorium on official state whatevers," State Sen. Harvey Peeler said when speaking to the legislature earlier this month, according to USA Today.
"It's nothing against you, nothing against your effort. But I must object to the bill. There's got to be a stopping point," Peeler said.
The bill also faced blowback from legislators who wanted to insert a clause referencing the Biblical story of creation by noting that "the Columbian Mammoth ... was created on the Sixth Day with the other beasts of the field."
The mammoth bone is the latest in a long tradition of designating state stuff, notably official state flowers and birds, but also more obscure designations. Prepare to be perplexed by some of these state designations:
Official State Dirt - "Monongahela" in West Virginia
Official State Possum - The Pogo Possum, a cartoon character, in Georgia
Official State Crustacean - The Blue Crab in Maryland
Official State Snack - Jell-O in Utah, Popcorn in Pennsylvania
Official State Soft Drink - Kool-Aid in Nebraska
Official State Rock Song - "Do You Realize" by The Flaming Lips in Oklahoma
Official State Sport - Jousting in Maryland
Official State Toy - The Slinky in Pennsylvania
Official State Cryptid - The New Jersey Devil
Official City Bird - The Pink Plastic Flamingo in Madison, Wis.