Fun Warshington Trivia!!!

Yes, I know, but I spelled it wrong on purpose.

This trivia is brought to you by the State of Washington Voters' Pamphlet, which we received in the mail today. The cover features an exciting array of Washington Symbols. I had no idea we had so many! Note that the cover says, "Edition 1", which can only mean that we are in store for many more Editions of symbols that apparently represent the state. Bird: Willow Goldfinch. I know that Kristy of the "Eats Shoots & Leaves" blog knew this, based on a blog entry she did today. But in my 8+ years here, I have never laid eyes on a Goldfinch. Tons of Stellar Jays though. And woodpeckers.

Fruit: Apple. No huge surprise there; Eastern WA is thick with apple orchards.

Mammal: Orca. I'm on board with that one for sure.

Insect: Green Darner Dragonfly. I have to confess that I breathed a sigh of relief, because based on the number and huge size of the spiders, I really thought that would be the state insect. But the dragonflies are huge and absolutely beautiful. Like flying jewels.

Grass: Bluebunch Wheatgrass. Here's another one to satisfy the folks in Eastern WA so that they don't start whining again about how everything in the state revolves around Western WA (read: King County & Seattle).

Gem: Petrified Wood. OK, if they say so. I never really considered petrified wood to be a gem; I always thought it was more like a rock.

Tree: Western Hemlock. Are they serious? How can it not be the Douglas Fir??????

Fossil: Columbian Mammoth. Hmm....my money was on Jean Enerson, an anchorwoman on KING-5 news who's gettin' a bit long in the tooth. It's not a pretty sight when she wears anything with a v-neck that shows her upper chestal area.

Frog: Pacific Chorus Frog. Is that anything like the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus?

Vegetable: Walla Walla Sweet Onion. Yeah, our onions do rule, and I am not now, nor have I ever been, a huge fan of onions. But these are really good.

Dance: Square Dance. HUH? Not the mosh pit?

Fish: Steelhead Trout. Again, HUH? Why isn't it salmon? Are Steelhead Trout salmon? And if so, why don't they just call them salmon?

Flower: Coast Rhododendron. They are glorious too. There's a beautiful rhododendron garden on the Weyerhaeuser campus. Too bad the season's so short.

Ship: The Lady Washington. And not the Kalakala? That poor, rusted old hulk of what was once an amazing ferry back in the 30's? Poor Kalakala....it's the Rodney Dangerfield of Puget Sound...it gets no respect.

Folk Song: Roll On, Columbia, Roll On. Never heard of it.

Song: Washington, My Home. Again, never heard of it. I was expecting "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

I was surprised that there was no state candy listed. Last time I checked, Aplets & Cotlets were still duking it out with Brown & Haley's Almond Roca (East v. West again) for the coveted "state candy" title. Perhaps our next voting pamphlet will solve that mystery.

This cartoon cracked me up. The dog on the right reminds me of little Pepper with the floppy ears.