I write a lot about Massachusetts. It comes naturally — I live in New Hampshire, and the Bay State is a big influence on us. For the most part, it’s a negative one — we look what they’re up to to the south of us, see just how dumb it is, and learn from their mistakes. But as a consequence, we New Hampshirites consider ourselves pretty well informed on the commonwealth.
But it turns out that for all my vaunted knowledge, there are a whole host of things of which I was unaware…
“Hunting on Sundays is prohibited”
They hunt in Massachusetts?
With what?
Spitballs?
Im amazed the Blowhard made the list as often as He did? He must have connections.
I grew up in Massachusetts, just south of Nashua NH. This was my favorite:
The highest point in Massachusetts is Mt. Greylock at 3500 feet. It was recently re-named “Mt. Whitelock” after it successfully defeated a Balrog.
After having lived in NYC for 12 years, I do in fact pronounce my ‘R’s.
don surber:
We didn’t hunt with spitballs, we hunted with a bottle of whiskey and a car.
Believe it or not, hunting is HUGE in Massachusetts.
Actually, one of the principle reasons New Hampshire is so pro-Republican is because of expatriate citizens from Massachusetts.
They drive up 93 to towns like Bedford, Derry, Londonderry, to avoid taxes and vote Republican for the rest of their lives. It is just one pocket of the state like that, this 2004 Presidential results map shows it clearly.
The truth is that when Massachusetts was a Colony, on the eve of the Revolution, she had the most soldiers, the most literacy, the most dynamic economy, and by far the most popular (diffuse power) government of the Colonies. They were also the most puritanical, by far.
By comparison, literacy in Virginia was almost non-existent, they relied on one crop, and they didn’t have many soldiers. These Aristocrats who ran it, though, even though they drank and swore and gambled and raced and did everything that made the Puritanical citizens from Massachusetts disgusted, did produce some darn fine Politicians.
Mass. also has to be the only state where an argument about Fluffernutter in the legislature would be possible.
MesaBlue,
I don’t know about that.
The Florida legislature has a law that the theft of one dollar from someone over 65 is a greater degree felony than firing a missile into a building or throwing a grenade into a mall.
That’s gotta be the craziest legislature in America.