What's the deal with Rhode Island?

[rumguy]

What a pissant of a state.

[theorist]

1. I've been to Providence. Good pizza. n/t

[elperromagico]

2. Hey! Taht "psiasnt of a satte" is sldloiy Damectroic.

It wlil lekliy gvie Krrey 60% of its vtoe cmoe Nvroebmer. ;)

[Dookus]

9. holy shit

you typed that with your face, right?

[elperromagico]

12. No I did not.

I tpeyd it wtih my fignres. :D

[arwalden]

23. Tahts' oto fuynn, ooDkus!!

A veyr mausing emntal imgae!

-- llAne

[qnr]

3. I used to love their license plates...

"Discover Rhode Island" ---- What? They've misplaced it again???

[Hand]

35. HAR!

:toast:

[Tom Kitten]

4. Sounds like time for a history lesson

Rhode Island's first permanent settlement was established at Providence in 1636 by English clergyman Roger Williams and a small band of followers who had left the repressive atmosphere of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to seek freedom of worship. Canenicus and Miantonomi granted Williams a sizable tract of landfor his new village. Other nonconformists followed Williams to the bay region, including Anne and William Hutchinson and William Coddington, all of whom founded Portsmouth in 1638 as a haven for Antinomians, a religious sect whose beliefs ressembled those of Quakerism. A short-lived dispute sent Coddington to the southern tip of Aquidneck Island (also purchased from the Narragansetts), where he established Newport in 1639. The fourth original town, Warwick, was settled in 1642 by Samuel Gorton, another dissident from Portsmouth. During this initial decade two other outposts were established: Wickford (1637). by Richard Smith, and Pawtuxet (1638), by William Harris and the Arnold family.

Because titles to these lands rested only on Indian deeds, neighboring colonies began to covet them. To meet this threat, Roger Williams journeyed to England and secured a parliamentary patent in March 1643-44 uniting the four towns into a single colony and confirming his fellow settlers' land claims. This legislative document served adequately as the basic law until the Stuart Restoration of 1660 made it wise to seek a royal charter.

Dr. John Clarke was commissioned to secure a document from the new king, Charles II, that would both be consistent with the religious principles upon which the tiny colony was founded and also safeguard Rhode Island lands from encroachment by speculators and greedy neighbors. He succeeded admirably. The royal charter of 1663 guaranteed complete religious liberty, established a self-governing colony with local autonomy, and strengthened Rhode Island's territorial claims. It was the most liberal charter to be issued by the mother country during the entire colonial era, a fact that enabled it to serve as Rhode Island's basic law until May 1843.

The religious freedom which prevailed in early Rhode Island made it a refuge for several persecuted sects. America's first Baptist church was formed in Providence in 1639; Quakers, who arrived in Aquidneck in 1657 and soon became a powerful force in the colony's political and economic life; a Jewish congregation came to Newport in 1658; and French Huguenots (Calvinists) settled in East Greenwich in 1686.

from
http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/studteaguide/RhodeIslandHistory/rodehist.html

[rumguy]

6. that's no excuse

fuckin' Rhode Island....

[AmyStrange]

10. exactly and Rhode Island isn't even it's full name...

it is much longer than that... much longer. Something to do with plantations or something like that,

d

[skygazer]

33. It is, if I remember correctly

The Commonwealth of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The smallest state but the largest name.

[FlemingsGhost]

5. It's not even an island.

Pffffftt ...

[AmyStrange]

15. It has more coastline percentage wise than Hawaii...

and almost as many islands and don't forget it's smaller than HI,

d

pffffffffft t t

[FlemingsGhost]

19. Still don't make it an island. (effin' posers)

;-)

Alas, Rhode Peninsula doesn't quite roll off the tongue.
(Although I am partial to "Rhodinsula.")

[AmyStrange]

27. but at the time

it was more of an island than any other state (I think 10% plus of the state are islands) and Hawaii wasn't a state back then,

d

[AmyStrange]

7. I was born in Providence and lest we forget H.P. Lovecraft...

Rhode Island is far from a pissant state.

By the way, more of RI is an ISLAND percentage wise than any other state in the Union,

d

[Bossy Monkey]

8. Even Hawai'i? Wow!

Just pulling your chain, Dave:D

[AmyStrange]

11. hoisted by my own petard...

gosh darn it

(waving)

d

[AmyStrange]

14. Wait a minute... I take that back...

Rhode Island still has more ocean coastline (Narragansett Bay) percentage wise than any other state (even Hawaii - don't forget RI is smaller than HI) - especially if you include the many Islands that are part of Rhode Island (five - and more small ones - all total),

d

[Bossy Monkey]

16. Upwards of 132 islands in Hawai'ian archipelago

http://library.kcc.hawaii.edu/main/wwwvlhawaii/
It's possible that Rhode Island has a higher percentage of coastline, but...

[AmyStrange]

18. well RI is a lot SMALLER than Hawaii...

and it was admitted to the Union over 150 years before Hawaii. Plus, the official name only briefly mentions the word Island... it goes on to say blah blah blah about plantations and other stuff. It was shortened to Rhode Island because of a lot of lazy Americans didn't like the WHOLE name,

d

[TheFarseer]

13. I thought Providence was neat looking

Cool skyline for a smaller city. I went through Providence on a Sunday night the only time I was there with some friends. It's hard to party in Providence on Sunday night, but I had some damn fine fish there!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

17. no SHIT

motherfuckers. Mother fucking Rhode Island.

My state could EAT five THOUSAND fucking Rhode Islands and then crap them all out five minutes later and we wouldn't damn notice it.

*I* could eat Rhode Island and I'd only be a little bit full.

What is their POINT anyway?

[Tom Kitten]

20. Their entire reason for being

Is just to piss off a bunch of drunken stoner DU Lounge lizards early in the morning of October 8, 2004.

[tigereye]

31. what prompted that rant Moonbeam?

did you used to live there or what! Or are you just cranky? :hi:

they are near the ocean and in New England. Doesn't that count for something? :)

[SarahB]

21. The beaches are nice.

The Newport Jazz Festival is cool.
When I want to take the kids to a zoo, Roger Williams Zoo in Providence is the closest one and I don't even have to get on the highway (there is no convenient highway from central CT to RI which isn't such a bad thing in this day and age)-- just a nice, scenic drive on Rt. 44 through rural eastern Connecticut and in 40 minutes or so, I'm in Rhode Island.

[stellanoir]

22. I've spent 2/3 of my life in RI

This place is totally quirky & diverse. I live in a most beauteous seaside berg and wouldn't have it any other way.

The actual place that was named Rhode Island is now called Aquidneck Island. It consists of three towns: Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. The rest of the state is considered to be Providence Plantations but no one refers to it as such cause it's so-o-o politically incorrect.

I love this state but we admittedly, really aren't very good at naming things.

That doesn't make us total pissants though, IMHO. So there.

[arwalden]

24. Without Rhode Island We'd Have Nothing To Compare Land Areas To

Lichtenstein is a country about twice the size of Rhode Island.

The ice sheet that broke away from Antarctica is about the size of Rhode Island.

Rebel forces are now controlling an area about half the size of Rhode Island.

-- Allen

[regularguy]

25. You've obviously never had a few Narragansetts at Lupos.

Or been to a Paaaty at Maaak's...

[sniffa]

26. providence has the best strip cLub i've ever been to

in the US.

don't knock it

[Lavender Brown]

28. Jerry Seinfeld, is that you?

[Bunny]

29. Okay - point out the bad parts.

[sleipnir]

30. It's the bastard love child of Massachusetts and Connecticut

And no one will claim responsibility.

Rhode Island isn't as bad as Connecticut, but it's certainly not as great as Massachusetts.

Providence is on the "Cool City Scale" between Hartford and Boston, if you ask me. Not the greatest place to live, but you sure could do worse (about 90 miles to the West :evilgrin:)

[qnr]

32. I thought Ohio was

or wherever Case Western Reserve is....

[skygazer]

34. I like Rhode Island

But Washington! What a worthless state that is! ;)