Georgia's official state....dirt?

Proving that tough issues, like education and taxes are no match for a legislative body, the Georgia Assembly last week took a step toward resolving another pressing matter, naming our official state dirt.

Yes, you heard me correctly, naming our official state dirt.

Apparently it's not enough to have an official state prepared food (Grits), crop (Peanut), 'possum (Pogo 'Possum), insect (Honeybee), or beef cook off ("Shoot the Bull"), now we need an official state dirt. If the proposal is successful, georgia red clay will become our official state soil and will be the 46th such state symbol.

I'm not exactly sure how important this is, especially in a state where our most visible symbol, our state flag, has been surrounded in controversy for a number of years and had to be voted on by the general public in a referendum. People are still bitching about that one.

In any event, I started looking at a few other states and found some fairly interesting things. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Ohio has an official state invertebrate fossil, Isotelus, as well as an official state beverage, "The canned, processed juice and pulp of the fruit of the herb Lycopersicon esculentum." That's tomato juice to you and I.
- California's official state animal is the grizzly bear, an animal which no longer exists in the state.
- The official state rock of Oregon is the thunderegg.
- New York has an official muffin, the apple muffin.
- Alabama has an offical renaissance fair, horse show, horsehoe tournament, outdoor drama, outdoor musical drama, historic theatre and barbeque championship.
- Louisiana has an official state meat pie, the Natchitoches Meat Pie.
- Kentucky not only has an official state silverware pattern, but also a state tug-of-war championship.
- The state flower of Texas is the bluebonnet. It also has an official state bluebonnet festival, bluebonnet trail and bluebonnet city.
- The state of Massachusets, which apparently contains a lot of music lovers, has an official state song, state folk song, state patriotic song, state glee club song, state ceremonial march and state polka.
- Kool-Aid is the official state soft drink of Nebraska.
- The state animal of South Dakota, the coyote, is considered a nuisance animal in many other states. They also have an offical state hall of fame, the aptly named South Dakota Hall of Fame.
And finally,
- The state of Florida has not one, but three, official state railroad museums as well as an official state litter control symbol.

With all of the progress we've made on these issues, it's a wonder we even need governement.